I receive questions about photography & about being photographed almost daily. I share some of my favourite questions on the blog, so that everyone can benefit from the answers.
Q: I’m a bride planning a wedding and I’m wondering if you have any advice about what we should be aware of and take into consideration in regards to our photography during the day?
A: Congratulations on your engagement!
First of all, take some time thinking about the style of photography that most speaks to you. Be honest about what is important to you – are you keen on traditional images and formal group shots, or is it more important to you to catch the real moments – and choose your photographer accordingly.
While preparing for the actual day, think about the details and colours, as well as the kind of atmosphere you want to create, and try to instil your personality into everything – the more individual the style of your wedding is, the more interesting the pictures will be. If you’re getting married outside, check out how the light falls at the time of your ceremony. If one of you is under weird spotty light, you might want to consider moving slightly, or having some sort of cover, such as fabric or a parasol, to even out the light.
Expect everything to take a little longer than your initial instinct is, and then write down a schedule for the day – and remember to give this to your photographer. Also keep in mind that if you do want formal group shots, make a list of the groups and designate a person in your wedding party who will get these groups organised – and, you guessed it, give this information to your photographer. Expect each group to take around 3-5 minutes (when you start adding the times up you realise how much time this takes away from actually capturing what’s happening on the day, which is why I limit the amount of group shots I take).
If creative portraits of the two of you are important to you, allow at least 30 minutes to be spent alone with your photographer. If you’re after some magical sun-flair shots, the best light for those is generally around one hour before the sunset, so see if at least some portrait time can be worked into your schedule at that time.
For me personally, the most important thing you can do is to ENJOY your day and let me capture your happiness in a relaxed environment. So once all the planning is done and the big day is upon you, just let go of the reigns and trust the professionals you’ve hired for your day!
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