The church has special meaning for couples, and for wedding photography, is a good choice of location for portraits. It also offers many posing opportunities, and usually a good quantity of natural light. You will have to be aware of the background in altar shots, and this includes objects of veneration, such as crucifixes, and the large mass of strong horizontal lines formed by the communion bar, the dais, and the altar itself.

Don't cut off flowing lines if you use a shot showing the entire altar because you will interrupt the rhythm of the picture, Let windows, paintings, and statues fully show, a decapitated statue is as disturbing a pictorial element as a cropped hand.

The steps of the altar are good for the display of the bridal gown, particularly those dresses with long trains. When draping a gown, lift it slightly and let it fall naturally. Look for gracefulness, not elaborate braiding. You can have the gown flow down the steps like water running over rocks, or have it sweeping along the steps to the side of the bride. Don't cut the bridal gown off at the bottom because this will ruin the composition of the picture.

You can either have the altar sharp in the background or have it go soft through the use of a long lens and narrow depth of field. The textures on cloth and building materials that make up the construction of the altar make for wonderful colour combinations, and a soft focus effect can make the area resemble a finely painted backdrop.

If you use flash for the portraits at the altar, shoot at a slow shutter speed so that you'll have the natural light and surroundings as part of the scene. Shooting at 1/125th, for example, may light your subjects properly with flash, but it will also close the shutter down too quickly to allow any of the environment, lit by natural or artificial light, to appear on the film.