In Wedding Storyteller, Volume 1: Elevating the Approach to Photographing Wedding Stories from Rocky Nook, photographer and educator Roberto Valenzuela delivers what so many of his followers have been asking for: a book specifically dedicated to helping photographers improve their wedding photography. A wedding photographer himself, Roberto built his business from the ground up by delivering high-quality imagery that tells the compelling and beautiful story of his clients' most important day.

In Wedding Storyteller you will not be given a collection of looks which neither inspire or teach you anything. Nor will you find a predictable and banal wedding shot list. Instead, this first volume of the three-part Wedding Storyteller series goes beyond the superficial and delves deeply into the truly important topics, themes, and subject matter you need to know in order to noticeably elevate your wedding photography.

Author: Roberto Valenzuela    Softcover, 384 Pages    Published September 2017

Learn how to conquer the locations you encounter as a wedding photographer. Roberto teaches you how to work with light, context, clutter, walls, depth, and other compositional elements such as frames and reflections.

Weddings are often high-energy, high-stress environments; your attitude and behavior have an enormous impact on your ability to succeed as a photographer. Roberto discusses the crucial people skills you need to know and teaches his unique approach to situational and group posing.

Roberto discusses the five approaches he uses to build a wedding story for his clients. These five approaches are: photojournalism, interactive photojournalism, stylized aware posing, stylized unaware posing, and story development.

The concluding section builds and expands upon everything covered in the previous components. Roberto addresses topics such as emotionally valuable people, lens choices, helper light, posing patterns and when to break them, capturing peak action, achieving a unique perspective, and creating multi-layered stories within a single photograph.

PART 1: BECOMING A WEDDING STORYTELLER

• Chapter 1: A Very Difficult and Risky Decision
• Chapter 2: Overview of the Wedding Storyteller Skill Components

PART 2: FOUNDATION COMPONENTS: LOCATION TECHNIQUES

• Chapter 3: Circumstantial Light
• Chapter 4: Showing or Removing Context and Clutter
• Chapter 5: Depth and Walls
• Chapter 6: Compositional Elements
• Chapter 7: Luminosity Levels and Contrasts

PART 3: FOUNDATION COMPONENTS: PEOPLE TECHNIQUES

• Chapter 8: Breaking Down Defensive Barriers
• Chapter 9: Expert Confidence and Trust
• Chapter 10: Being Flexible, Likable, and Professional
• Chapter 11: Situational Approach to Posing
• Chapter 12: The Mechanics of Group Posing

PART 4: STORYTELLER APPROACH COMPONENTS

• Chapter 13: The Storytellers Approach

PART 5: EXPERT COMPONENTS

• Chapter 14: Storytelling Expert Techniques: Emotionally Valuable People (EVP)
• Chapter 15: Technical Expert Techniques: Lens Choice and Helper Light
• Chapter 16: Posing and Expression Expert Techniques
• Chapter 17: Composition Expert Techniques

PART 6: EXECUTION OF THE WEDDING STORYTELLER'S SKILL COMPONENTS

• Chapter 18: Putting It All Together to Become a Master Storyteller
• Conclusion

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. Hi, may I know what is the weight of this kit?

A: According to our records, the kit in its original packaging would weigh 43.6 lbs.

Q: 2. Is there a way to tuck or attach the excess strap on the shoulder straps after adjusting?

A: I do t think so. You could cut the excess off and fix the end so it won't fray

Q: 3. I'm torn between this and the Perception Pro for my Sony 6300 and 3 lenses. Which one would be the best choice?

A: I really like Think Tank bags, and I use the Urban Approach 15 to store my Fujifilm X-E2s gear and when hiking longer distances with more gear (Canon FD lenses.) Otherwise, I use a ThinkTank Restrospective 5, when travelling. I removed the dividers and can carry the Fujifilm X-E2s, 18-55 mm, 10-24 mm, and 55-200 mm, with a Nissin i40 electronic flash, remote release, and 16 mm lens extension tube. I have no experience with the Perception Pro; however, I would not consider the ThinkTank Urban Approach 15 if I wanted rapid access to switch lenses in an urban environment or street photography. I hope this information is helpful to you.

Q: 4. Hi, how big is the Pelican type equipment case?

A: The EXTERIOR measurements of this case are approximately:31 inches long20 inches wide11 inches deepI hope this is helpful to you. It's a pretty well-made case and should last a long time, by the way

Q: 5. What is the size of water bottle can fit ?

A: This bag can hold up to a medium water bottle.

Q: 6. Wondering if it is convenient to access camera in bag like a sling bag??

A: This is a standard backpack and a sling bag gives much easier access to a camera.

Q: 7. Whats the difference between v-mount and gold mount?

A: V-mount and Gold mount are two different battery mounting options. V-mounts have a v shaped notched they attach with, and gold mount have three circle shaped prongs that they attach with. The batteries themselves are similar, but how they mount to equipment is the difference. Beyond lights, cameras and other equipment may also offer one of these two mounting options. So you want to pick the mounting option that best fits the type of batteries you already have, or plan to use across multiple devices.

Q: 8. Will this pack fit comfortably as a day/travel pack for a 5'3" woman?

A: Yes this would be quite a comfortable day pack and travel option for someone who is a 5'3" woman. The straps are padded nicely to provide comfortable carrying when bag is heavily loaded and has easy access to equipment. .

Q: 9. have anyone tried to carry a moza air2 gimbal or anyother of the same size here? the moza backpacks seem not to good

A: We do not feel this would be a good fit for the Moza Air 2.

Q: 10. What is the difference in the Dracast LED500D in this kit and the LED500 offered in other kits?

A: As I understand it, the only difference is color temperature. The lights in this kit are Daylight Balanced (5600K) and are marked D. Other kits have Bi-Color lights (3200K-5600K) and are marked B.