Wedding photography tips & suggestions

Tips for a smooth wedding and great photographs

Before the Wedding

✓Arrange for your florist to deliver your flowers before your pre-ceremony wedding photography. Have your bouquet and as many flowers as possible delivered to your home where you are getting ready so that they are with you for your preparation pictures.
✓If either of you wear glasses, then borrow a lens-less set of similar frames from your optometrist for your nicer pictures. This is important because glare from your glasses can not be completely removed during retouching.
✓Prepare a list of all the formal group shots you would like and ask a friend or relative to help with gathering up people for the next shot so that waiting around time is minimized.
✓Avoiding shine is critical if you want to look like a model in your pictures. Use mineral powder makeup and have someone keep it handy throughout the day for touch-ups.
✓A bit of glitter might work in your hair, but skin glitter will reflect the light from the flash – don’t do it.
✓Make sure you allow time for your hair and nails to dry before dressing if you have them done on your wedding day.
✓Men should shave about an hour or two before we start doing pictures to avoid redness or five o’clock shadow.
✓If you hire a limo, don’t let its schedule cut in to your photography time.

During and Immediately Following the Wedding

✓Be aware that aisle runners often get pulled out of position and left that way all during the ceremony. Large straight pins work better to keep a runner in place than the self adhesive tape that comes on the runner. Have someone at the rear of the church pull and straighten the runner after you make your entrance.
✓Greeting lines form by accident. If you and your fiancée pause after exiting the ceremony everyone will naturally start lining up to see you. If you want this then it is fine, but you should plan for it when scheduling your pictures. Our advice is to consider that everyone genuinely wants to see you, but nobody really likes standing in line. It is often seen as a win-win if someone announces that you will be roaming to greet everyone at the reception instead.
✓For fun shots of the bridal party between the wedding and reception, consider including meaningful props such as your dog, a classic car, a motorcycle, etc., and plan accordingly.
✓Bring dark sunglasses for some of the fun outdoor shots. Wedding party sunglasses (if any) will look best if they match those of the bride and groom..
✓Bubbles? Bird seed? Rice? We like bubbles, which look great in photos. Rice or bird seed can hurt and look bad when stuck in hair or someone’s ear!
✓Meals for the photographer(s)? Sooner or later everyone needs to eat. The first skipped meal is usually lunch and it is normal for the photographer to bring snacks of their own to eat on the fly. If your wedding shoot also extends through dinner then it is customary to provide dinner. The same applies for other professionals such as DJ, the band, etc.

Tips for Unexpected Circumstances

✓Take a few little emergency items with you, such as straight pins, bobby pins, safety pins, scissors, panty hose, and something for a headache. And of course make sure you pack the makeup bag, including hair brush and hair spray. Don't forget to pack face powder for touch ups throughout the day, especially in hot weather.
✓Does rain mean you need to take all your pictures indoors? Not necessarily! You may want to move a good portion indoors, but we can do some great shots of you, your husband, and even your attendants dancing and partying in the rain under umbrellas. If the weather is threatening then have someone buy a bunch of umbrellas. Several black umbrellas with a white umbrella for just the bride & groom will look great. Having every umbrella a different solid color also looks great. Avoid any patterns.
✓What about snow? You picked the season, embrace it! Buy a bit of fake fur for all your bride’s maids and head outdoors. Even if we only stay there for 2-3 minutes at a time, you will get some very special pictures.

How much time do we need for photographs?

Photo time is fun time. From early in the morning everyone is smiling and living it up and your photos are there to capture your day in the spotlight. Below is a typical photography schedule assuming a 2PM ceremony and 6PM reception. Some weddings will do much more.

11:00-12:30 – Bride’s home with family and all the bridesmaids. Every step of the process is special… Hair and makeup may be fairly complete before we start shooting, but it is nice to get shots before you put on your wedding gown… laying out the dresses and shoes, un-boxing the flowers, you and your mom looking at childhood portraits, the special phone call from a relative far away, and all the lace and detail. After you are dressed there is your dad’s expression when he sees you for the first time, individual and group shots by the fireplace, on the stairs, and basking in the light of a window. We also want fun shots of just the bride and her bridesmaids. These can be outdoors or even at a different location.

12:45-1:45 – Groom and groomsmen. We take creative shots with the groomsmen in at least two locations. The last of these is typically the site of the ceremony. We also want some family shots such as the groom with his parents and with his mother pinning on his boutonniere.

1:45-2:00 – Anticipation and back-scene arrival of bride. We set up any necessary lighting and capture the building or park, flowers, decorations, and everything else that will help tell the story of your special day. We may do some candid shots of the friends and relatives as they arrive, but the focus now is to get the bride as she arrives. There are the final back-stage hugs, instructions for the flower girl, smiles, and even tears with your parents.

2:00 – The Ceremony. Our photographer(s) will capably and unobtrusively capture the key elements of the wedding processional, ceremony, and recessional.

No receiving line. Of course you can do one if you want, but they can form by accident and take a lot of time. If you want to avoid this, plan in advance to have your photographer take charge and begin the formals immediately.

2:30 or Immediately after Ceremony – Formals with parents, family and friends. Classical group portraits will always be a treasured part of weddings. Taking the formals right away also allows parents to leave to host your important guests and relatives while you are having fun.

3:30-5:30 – Post-ceremony bridal party pictures. This is normally when the couple finally gets to relax and let loose. This is a happy and excited time, and it always shows in our pictures. We take creatively-posed and candid shots in at least two or three nature and urban settings. Time permitting, it’s nice to pick one nice urban location and one grunge location such as a brick wall with colorful graffiti. It is also ideal if we have time to walk barefoot on a beach, sit on motorcycles, or do anything else that is absurd in a wedding dress and will make the day memorable. Bring some champagne. Typically, our couples look back at this block of time as one of the best parts of their wedding day. Assuming we have 2 hours for this session, we will send the attendants away to the reception so we can spend the last 30 minutes shooting just the bride and groom. If your priority is to get to the reception quickly, then we will prioritize and cut this time down as needed. One hour will allow us to do two locations that are within walking distance of each other.

6:00-8:00 – Reception. There are many elements you will want us to capture such as the venue and decorations, your grand entrance, your toasts, first dances, posed and casual guest shots, and close-up pictures of the flowers, cake, and all the other decorations. Most of this is done prior to dinner being served. If you need to scale back on photographer time, then the later portions of your reception might be the best place to do it.