Your wedding is a day you’ll never want to forget, and one of the key ingredients to planning your wedding is hiring a photographer to capture each and every moment of your special day—the things you see, and the things you don’t—so that you can look back on all the simple and extravagant memories you created on the day you said, “I do”.
Although professional photographers will usually give you direction on how to stand and where to place your bouquet, here are a few tips and tricks to get you started, so you can know more about what’s going on, and be fully satisfied with the photos you will look at for the rest of your lives!
1. Try as often as possible to practice good posture during your wedding. This helps to make photos look more flattering and professional. Listen to your mom’s wise words, “stand up straight, shoulders back, and chin up.” When you push your shoulders back to align with your back instead of pulling them forward, it gives a straighter and taller appearance to your photos.
2. Hand placement is ever so important in photos—it communicates emotions and feelings! Standing in a more relaxed way, with your elbows slightly bent instead of straight down at your sides, shows comfort and ease in your photos—you want to appear elegant, rather than strained. If you don’t know what to do with your hands, pick up your dress to show a little movement or slowly brush away hair from your face.
3. Your bouquet placement is equally as important. You want to be the focus of your photos, so don’t be hiding behind those blossoms! Low at your waist is the best place for it to be, you don’t want to cover up the neckline of your dress either. Always point your bouquet slightly towards your photographer to make it look fuller, and keep your arms slightly bent, so they don’t appear stiff.
a. This is even more important during your bridal entrance! You want that lucky man at the end of the aisle to see your smile—he’s not getting married to your bouquet ;)
b. If you have a cascading bouquet, the cascading side (where flowers or greenery extend out of the bouquet) should be pointing towards the ground, almost as if it’s overflowing and pouring out.
4. Be genuine, and a little spontaneous. You don’t want to have too many posed shots—laugh at each other and have a good time! It’s encouraged to be a little silly, those candid shots that are taken when you’re just being yourself and living in the moment usually turn out to be the favorites.
a. It’s going to be a day full of smiles and photos. Your feet might be killing you, and you might start to feel exhausted from all the smiling. But try to keep your smiles genuine and your face relaxed. Try not to fake it, because you’ll be able to tell what’s genuine and what’s not when you get your photos back. This is one of the happiest days of your life, and you want your pictures to prove that. It’s okay to take a quick timeout to relax your face—close your eyes and let your lips fall. Take a deep breath and remember how exciting this day is.
5. Don’t be afraid to tell your photographer what shots you want! If you want more close-ups, or certain photos of your guests, make sure you communicate that with the person behind the camera, so you can be fully satisfied when you get your gallery back. This is your wedding day! And you won’t be able to just go back to reshoot the photos you didn’t get.
6. We highly recommend asking a friend or family member to be your “personal assistant” during your wedding! Ask them to watch out for things or people that could get in the way of your photos being clean and clear. This would involve them asking people to step out of the way for photographs or clearing off tables in the bridal suite as you get ready—removing those things that could be distracting elements of the photos when you get them back. You don’t want all the photos of you getting ready to have a plastic water bottle sitting behind you, and you don’t want the back of your guests’ heads popping up behind you in your photos throughout the night. We’ve seen this happen, and we’ve seen how much those personal assistants help in clearing up your photos from distracting elements.
a. On that note, it’s also a good idea to ask your officiant to step aside after he pronounces you as husband and wife, so your photographer can get a clear shot of your first kiss without him in the background. And this is something that can be planned ahead of time!
7. Ask your professional photographer about any ideas or shots they think would be fun, and how you can prepare for those. For example, we think a fun one that some couples do, is pausing in the middle of the isle for a kiss while guests cheer on you newlyweds. Your photographer will likely have some good ideas for fun shots like that to do, so you can look back on your day and remember all the little moments for all they were.
So, there you have it! Some basic tips and tricks to get you ready for all your wedding photos. Oh, one last thing: it’s also important to remember that your photographer is a professional—they’ve done this before, and you’ve seen their work! That’s why you hired them. If you make your needs known to them, you can trust them to get the shots you want!
All of us here at The Barn want to wish you a very happy marriage, and the dreamiest wedding you could imagine. Here’s to forever with the man of your dreams,
Cheers!
The Barn at Aspen Acres
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