This helpful blog post by Southern Weddings offers advice to brides and grooms about wedding day photo bliss. Here’s a short synopsis:
1. Book an engagement session as a “test run” in front of the camera for your wedding day. This will help you and your spouse-to-be to get comfortable with your photographer!
2. If you ask for photos of you and your bridal party while you’re getting ready, keep the space clean and choose a room that looks good in photos (natural lighting, neutral colors, calm atmosphere, etc.).
3. Invite close family and friends to be there while you’re getting ready for your day! And ask these special people to get ready early.
4. Allow your photographer as much time as possible for photos — “create a generous timeline.”
5. DO a first look. The Southern Weddings blog says “consider” it, but I say do it! There are so many reasons why: hair and makeup is fresh; you’re not making your guests wait for you; you’re calm for your ceremony because you see your significant other first; you have more time for photos … need I say more?
6. Trust your photographer to get the right photographs. You can’t predict special moments: “Dad whispering last minute advice to groom” is one of the specific [and somewhat ridiculous] requests SW lists on their blog. We do the best we can — you chose us, right?
7. BUT create a shot list for group photos, like family shots. Who do you want in the photos? When? What variations of grouping? Get this together for us photographers.
8. Once it’s ready, distribute it to everyone who will be in them. This will save time [and possibly prevent hair loss].
9. If the small details are important to you [from the wedding favors to the table settings], get it all ready early! Your photographer will want to take photos of the reception area BEFORE everyone arrives. Make it as easy and clean as possible for your photographer to capture every part of your special day.
10. Ask your photographer questions! Anything from “how can I help you do your job” to “what else do you need to know” helps us ensure everything will be captured in our images.
And this, friends, is a wonderful list to remember. Use it! 🙂
>>Lanie
lanielouisephotography@yahoo.com
Comments
This is a great list, I just shared this with a friend who is getting married next year. She will appreciate this. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for commenting, Darcel! I’m glad you enjoyed the list — as a wedding photographer myself, I thought it was quite helpful. Hopefully I will be posting more tips like these, so keep following the blog. 🙂