Wedding Day Photography tips

 

I’ve been doing this for a few years now, I thought it would be a good idea to post some wedding day photography tips for the bride, groom and bridal party. For the most part these are photography focused, not surprisingly as I am a photographer!  So here are 10 tips/thoughts!

Tip #1
Think about bringing some comfortable shoes. This is mostly for the bride and the women in the bridal party.  Sometimes we end up walking long distances to get the photography done, sometimes the areas could be like a beach where your footing is less stable.  Or it could be as simple as wanting to do some photos on the lawn.  Have you ever tried standing in one place for a few minutes with high heels on grass?  If not trust me the heels start sinking in… and that can get tiring for sure!  This could prove to be helpful on your wedding day for some of you, for others it may not be necessary – just something to think about.

Tip #2

Location planning.  In order to allocate the correct amount of time and make sure the wedding day timeline works out, it helps to have the locations sorted out in advance, including the travel time to/from them.  If that involves pre scouting the location I will be happy to do that, especially if it somewhere I have not shot in the past.  It’s important to have time available for spontaneity and letting the day just flow at each location.

Tip #3

Do I really need a shot list?  It really boils down to how you and I are going to ensure that none of your important “must have” photos are missed.  It’s not a pleasant feeling after the wedding if one of those key photograph you really wanted is missed.  So what I’m really saying is we need to take some time to figure out together how we’re going to manage this on the wedding day.

Tip #4

Shoot the large family groups first and as soon as possible after the ceremony.

Tip #5

Receiving lines are great, but they always seem to take longer than planned.  This can affect the rest of the timeline, so plan accordingly.

Tip #6

Shooting in bright sunlight and hot days.  In case you didn’t know, many photographers pray for cloudy days…  whereas the bride & groom almost always want a beautiful sunny day!  It’s harder for photographers to shoot on hot sunny days as the bright overhead lighting and hot conditions are more difficult to work in.  But don’t worry, we can handle whatever the weather throws at us!  On a sunny day you’ll find us looking for shady spots and this brings several advantages.  The lighting is better, and it’s not so hot (which is also great for your guests standing for photos as well).  OK well maybe this isn’t quite a “tip” but I’m leaving it here anyhow!

Tip #7

B & G portraits before or after the ceremony?  Just something to think about!  Ask your photographer if they have a preference.  (I don’t, I will do it whichever way makes you happy).  There’s quite a few lengthy articles out there with the advantages of each, you can look for them if you like…

Tip #8

Delaying must have photos until the reception…  not always a good idea.  Once the reception starts things start to get super busy and it can be quite hard to coordinate these photos in between all the activities, food, visiting long lost relatives etc.  The exception to this can be the Crazy Booth, people can head over there for studio like photographs as well as the crazy ones the booth is famous for.

Tip #9

Do I really need getting ready photos?  Well that’s up to you to make the final decision, but in my opinion they are a great choice.  Most of the photos I take during “getting ready” are pretty candid and fun.  It also gives me an opportunity to get some photos of the dress, decorations, flowers etc that I might not have time or opportunity to get later.  There can be some great emotions captured at this time too.  Do I need to be there for the whole getting ready?  No, not really but an hour to and hour and half towards the end works great.  I need to leave in plenty of time to get the ceremony location and be 100% ready for the ceremony start.

Tip #10

Make sure you like your wedding photographer…  not just their photos.  You will be spending a lot of time with them on your wedding day!