10 Easy Things to Do for BETTER Wedding Photos
Let’s face it. Weddings are AMAZING but the chance that they will go exactly to plan is pretty slim. Believe me, I speak from experience. I’ve shot over a hundred weddings, and I don’t recall a single one that went exactly as planned. But, don’t let this freak you out! If you plan for your plans to change, your day will be a breeze. I recommend these ten easy things you can do to achieve stellar photos regardless of how your day turns out!
Here are 10 easy things you can do for better wedding photos.
Designate someone to clean your getting ready space.
As you get ready, there is a very good chance that your hotel room will explode with spare clothing, makeup, assorted snacks, and probably some cans of beer. To get the best getting ready photos, a photographer will want to focus on you and your mates getting ready with you. If there are a lot of distractions in the background, it takes away from the photos. I highly recommend designating someone in your wedding party or family who is getting ready with you to lead cleanup efforts when the photographer arrives. You can continue to focus on getting ready, your friend will be taking care of the mess around you, and your photos will look *chefs kiss*.
Plan to do most of your photos during golden hour.
There is a lot to think about trying to time your photos during golden hour, and I go into it in detail via my lighting guide here, but here is the basic idea. If you want beautiful photos, the best time to take them is at golden hour, hands down. Golden hour is right before the sun sets, so look at when the sun is setting on the day of your wedding, and plan to take photos about an hour before that time. Use golden hour as a starting point, then plan your wedding timeline around that.
Eat food and take care of yourself during the day.
If you’re hungry, your day will inevitably be more stressful, and your wedding photography experience won’t be as good. When my couples eat, they’re happy, and when they’re happy, it really shows in photos! Food helps produce those really great candids because let’s face it, are you really in the moment when your tummy is rumbling?
Work with your photographer ahead of time to make sure they understand your photography priorities.
If you sit down with your photographer ahead of your wedding and express to them the importance of certain moments, you won’t have to worry whether they’re missing those moments or not on the actual day of your wedding. As a photographer, I really want to make sure I capture every single thing my client is looking for. What is important to me as a photographer may not be as important to you, so it’s incredibly important to communicate this to your photographer. In my process, I send my clients a very detailed questionnaire ahead of the wedding and we sit down together to go through it to make sure I’m not missing anything. Try to find a photographer who will do this with you!
Create a list of family photo combinations you want.
Depending on the size of your family, family photos can be a full-on production. I always ask my clients ahead of time for a list of family photos they would like so they don’t forget which ones they need on the day of the wedding. Even more specifically, I ask my clients to list the combinations with names and family member roles (I.e. Bob (dad), Jane (mom), Tom (brother), and bride and groom). With this list I can turn herding cats into a semblance of order and efficiency, and family photos will be a piece of cake.
Be prepared with a small kit of touch-up items.
Is it freezing outside and creating sniffles? Did you cry more than you expected during your first look and you have mascara running all over the place? To keep things moving, have a small kit of touch-up supplies on hand so don’t need to break up the moment by going back inside to address the issue. A touch-up kit can be a total life-saver! Items to consider are mascara, tissues, lipstick/gloss, needle and thread for any tears, blotting paper for shine, extra hair gel and hairpins for fly-aways, and whatever else you think applies. An added bonus? Your photographer will edit your images faster because they don’t have to do heavy retouching to remove those smudged lipstick marks for every image. You’ll receive your photos sooner if you are prepared for touch-ups!
Hire a professional.
Yes, I know this is obvious, but I cannot reiterate enough the importance of hiring a professional. The more experience your photographer has, the more they can handle any situation you throw at them and still make the photos MEMORABLE af. I recommend taking a moment to read this article that explains things you should look for in your photographer to make sure you are hiring someone who has experience and can handle anything that comes their way with ease.
Build buffer room into your timeline.
As I mentioned above, weddings rarely go exactly as planned, and they also rarely stick to the pre-determined schedule. If you want to guarantee that you have some nice photos, I cannot stress the importance of building buffer room into your timeline. Hair and makeup are notorious for running later than expected which obviously pushes the rest of your day back. Other things can happen (like a good ol’ Colorado afternoon summer thunderstorm) that will push your timeline back further. You will be just fine if you add extra time to each event during your day so you don’t have to rush anything, especially photos.
Minimize and combine locations.
Where are you getting ready? Is it close to your wedding venue? Even better, is it at your wedding venue? Where do you plan to take photos of you and your partner? Is the ceremony site sufficient for photos, or are you planning to go elsewhere for photos? Do everything in your power to do everything at the same location because traveling between sites can be a HUGE time-suck. Do you need to have multiple locations? That’s ok, too. However, make sure you try to keep those locations close to each other. For example, if your ceremony site doesn’t include a place for you to get ready, consider getting ready in a hotel or Airbnb that’s nearby. The less time you spend traveling between sites, the more time you will have with your photographer and the more opportunities you’ll have for memorable photos.
Incorporate a first look.
If you want to build in as much time for portraits with your partner as possible, I sincerely recommend doing a first look. If you do that, there will be so much more time to take photos of you and your partner, family, and wedding party. Since you are seeing each other before the ceremony starts, there are additional windows of time to utilize for formal portraits, and it keeps you from feeling rushed during formal portraits. Not to mention, doing a first look can really help with your nerves!
See, that wasn’t so hard! Let your day go however it goes, and roll with it, have fun with it! If you plan ahead and think about some of these things, your day will be as smooth as Tennessee Whiskey.
Xxoo,
Savannah
