Top Wedding Tips
How to get the best wedding photographs with some helpful wedding hacks!
Quick hacks for better wedding photos?
Absolutely!
Do whatever you want - it’s your day!
Surprise, surprise, amazing wedding photographs don’t happen by accident. There’s a little more to it than booking a great photographer and turning up - for one you have to have a great time!
First, before I talk about hacks, tips and tricks to get the most out of your wedding photographer, it’s important that you don’t let everyone tell you what you should be doing. You do whatever you want.
Don’t like cake? Why waste time cutting one?… Want to wear a black dress? you go girl (or boy)! You don’t have to have a first dance, you don’t have to toss anything. Do these things because you want to, not because you should.
Now - let’s talk about a few ways to get the best wedding photos ever!
Getting Ready:
Preparation photos
Don’t worry about your photos. It’s a pretty steady point in the day for a wedding photographer and where I need something, I’ll let you know. Also, let you family and friends know this too. We all have a friend who thinks they have to come up with ideas for photos.
Where you get ready is important, but your make-up artist will usually pick a good spot in good lighting, so I won’t need to help out with that part. Window / natural light is much better than having the lights on. Don’t worry about the room (or house) being neat and tidy either - you’re getting ready for your wedding and this is documentary photography - it’ll still look good because it’s more about the moment than the background.
Try not to skip preparation - it gets you used to having me and the camera around, and is a great start to an album telling the story of your biggest day yet.
Ceremonies:
Your wedding should be fun!
Your ceremony doesn’t have to be all serious and sombre.
Hug the person who walks you down the aisle! Watch your bride (/partner) as they walk in! Give a kiss to each other when you get there - you don’t have to wait until the end. Hold hands during your ceremony, you’re not strangers at an arranged marraige.
Unplugged ceremonies are my favourite. Who wants a sea of phones and people leaning out into the aisle blocking the wedding photographer’s (who you’ve paid) shots. Nobody has ever taken a good ceremony photo with a camera phone, and please ask Uncle Bob to keep his DSLR in his bag.
Unplugged ceremonies mean everyone at your ceremony is present and in the moment and watching you getting, which means I can spot people smiling and crying, rather than their phones.
Pop up a sign, and/or just ask whoever is conducting your ceremony to remind guests to keep their cameras and phones away.
After the Ceremony
Confetti, hugs and mingling
For your confetti shot (confetti shots are compulsory, despite what I said earlier about ignoring advice… #justsaying) I’d normally recommend setting it up as you leave your ceremony venue, or as you arrive at your reception. If they’re at the same place - we just have to pop outside.
Sneak off to one side while your guests leave, I’ll get them prepped and give you the nod, you get covered in confetti - we take home an awesome action shot.
REMEMBER! Ask your venue to hold off post-ceremony drinks until after the confetti shot. You don’t want excitable guests holding a drink in one hand and confetti in the other. Trust me.
Make time for hugs and congrats with all of your friends and family. Venues and planners often cut this point out or don’t schedule enough time, but you seriously get the best photos of your guests during this. Everyone’s excited, they give you hugs, cry for you, shake hands and laugh together. You don’t need to do a formal receiving line, but please put in some time to say hi and thanks to everyone.
Groups
So you probably don’t love the idea of family photos, but a couple are pretty pain-free.
Make a list (I’ll send a helpful timeline questionnaire before your wedding) of the family/group photos you want which cuts the stress out on the day. Find a bossy family member or bridesmaid or groomsman who can round up all the needed people.
Each combination needs around 3-4 minutes, and you don’t want to be standing around smiling for more than 20 minutes!
To make things quicker I’ll usually start with one set of parents, add in siblings and any other family; then both sets of parents; and then the other side of the family.
Friend groups, wedding party photos and stuff we can do whenever, and aim to make them a bit more fun!
The big group photo of everybody there - no. I never recommend this shot. It’s pretty useless as a photo as everyone is tiny and half the people are hidden, and it can take forever. Instead, let’s go get some more drinks and do more mingling and I’ll get most of your guests actually enjoying themselves instead of just one rubbish photo of everybody.
Couples:
Time for the two of you
The most important part of the day! Not just because these are the best photos of the two of you, but it’s also the part of the day when you don’t have to entertain anyone and you get to chill out and celebrate and enjoy each other’s company.
I recommend around 30 minutes of actual shooting time if you want some relaxed shots of you guys being yourselves and not feeling rushed. You’ll feel awkward at first, but your excitement will overwhelm the nerves, and just embrace it - and each other - and you’ll get some amazing photos.
Practical tips!
Hug, squeeze and have a laugh and think about how amazing everything is at that moment.
Mix it up, be silly, be serious. Air guitar, dance, pretend to explore a jungle. I love fun photos, whether they’re hipster straight on hands-just-touching, or rolling in the grass.
Remember, you can’t get it wrong, because these are photos of you. I’ll pick out the awesome ones and we’ll all forget the others were there. Only me (and the cats) get to see the ones that didn’t work out (unless you ask for the ‘secret folder’).
Walking photos are the quickest and easiest. Remember to hold hands or link arms, look at each other and laugh.
Get your clothes dirty - lets get in the woods, the grass or take a dip in a lake at sunset. Whatever we think will work to get great photos that fit your personalities.
While I recommend grabbing some time in the light of day after your ceremony and before any food is served - don’t worry your guests love to be left alone with drinks - I get some amazing photos at sunset and twilight, so if we can sneak away for 15 minutes, you’ll love the results!
Reception
Have stuff to do!
Having something to do at the reception leads to better guest photos.
Think games, photo-booths, or a fire pit - whatever works for you and your guests.
If your reception is indoors or outdoors outside of summer, remember to think about having plenty lighting. I don’t mean football-field floodlights, either. Fairy lights, neons, light up letters or signs, or that fire pit, all make awesome pockets of light to capture photos of your guests. They’re also great for couple photos after sunset.
Do speeches where there’s good light - not with backs to windows - and make sure you’re nearby so you can hug (or kick) the speaker!
Dance floor:
First dance and shenanigans
If you’re having a first dance ask the DJ in advance to leave off his amazing laser show until after it. As cool as they look, the lasers can cover you in multi-coloured spots that are impossible to edit out. Once you’ve had your minute of dancing, get every flashing party light know to man switched on and crank up the tunes.
If you’re not having a first dance but are wanting some dance floor action, think of something that gets people on their feet. Dragging people to the dance floor works really well, as does a bouquet toss.
If you don’t know what bangers to play, get everyone to fill in their favourites with their RSVPs. Crazy dance floors make epic photos and a great way to wrap up your day.
What else?
Trust me, I’m a photographer!
You chose me for a reason, and I’ll make you look awesome. If you’ve got any questions, ask away - I prefer to be the source of your photo advice than some bad internet blog.
If you’re looking for a videographer, I’m happy to recommend, otherwise make sure you pair me up with someone who is documentary-style and candid and doesn’t like to control every moment of the day - that stops me getting all the fun bits.
Second Shooter
If you’ve decided that you want to capture more of your day, including both partners prep, multiple angles of your ceremony, or lots of the little details, then you may need me to bring along a second shooter. Just drop me an email and I’ll add one to your package.
More time
Have you decided that you want all the dancing, all the prep, and the photos of you going off to bed at 1am?
If so, we can always add a little more time to your chosen package. Again, just drop me a message.
Not booked me yet?
No problem! Check out my wedding pricing and info, and get in touch to sort it out!