After your wedding is over, your photos become your memory of the day.
You want your wedding photos to be as beautiful as possible, and to reflect your style and personality. This means finding the perfect photographer for you, then setting the scene for them to create the beautiful images you saw in their portfolio!
Of course choosing an experienced photographer who you trust is most important. But there are a lot of things you can do at the planning stage to make sure your photos turn out beautifully! Things like your venue choice, your wedding day schedule, and styling all play a huge role in how your photos will turn out!
1. DECIDE ON A PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE
There are many ways to define different photography styles these days. One of simplest ways wedding photography styles are often described is ‘light and airy’ or ‘dark and moody’ images. This can often be the best way to narrow your search down.
It’s also important to observe whether the photos you love are created with natural light or artificial light. Are the shadows soft or harsh? Artificial lighting or direct sunlight can create some very dramatic images, which natural light tends to be much softer and more flattering.
My photography style leans towards lighter images, with occasional darker images when it fits the mood i’m trying to create for certain images. I use natural light whenever possible, usually for the entire daytime portion of the wedding. For darker receptions I do use artificial light and off-camera flash.
Some common photography styles
My photography style falls in the Fine Art category, but I also love the Documentary style for capturing emotional candid images during times like the ceremony and reception. I also mix in a small amount a editorial style shots.
Fine Art: Fine art wedding photography is a style that’s elegant, romantic, timeless, organic, and artistic. Many fine art photographers like myself, use film photography to achieve this look. This style draws inspiration from classic art such as paintings. Artistic elements such as lighting and composition are very important, but photos are created to look natural and effortless. On the wedding day, you will be guided into natural looking poses that take advantage of soft natural light. Images usually have a soft, airy, dreamy feel and range between pastel or richer tones depending on the lighting.
Photojournalistic/Documentary: This approach has a very strong focus on candid images. The photographer will provide very little guidance or posing and will instead try to just capture moments as they happen naturally throughout the day. Portraits are often created by asking couples to engage in games or improvise based on prompts. This style is perfect for parts of the wedding day like the ceremony and reception when emotion is most important. But this approach can lead to less flattering portraits and can be difficult for couples who aren’t naturally comfortable in front of the camera.
Editorial: This style is inspired by fashion photography and tries to create images that might appear in a bridal magazine. Artificial lighting is often used throughout the day to dramatic effect. If this style is overused though, images tend to look unnatural and too posed. Plus it often favours serious looks rather than naturally happy images.
Traditional: Traditional wedding photographers put a strong focus on posed photos and much less importance on candid images. They give lots of direction and are very involved throughout the day. They’ll spend lots of time posing the bridal party, bride and groom and family photos. In additional they will often pose the bride and groom for other moments throughout the day that are usually captured candidly by other styles of photography. Rather than capture candid photos of guests, they will usually do traditional ‘table shots’ or ask guests to pose for portraits smiling at the camera. Capturing natural emotion and moments isn’t highly valued.
2. PICK THE RIGHT VENUE
After your choice of photographer, your venue choice probably has the biggest impact on your wedding photos. Keep in mind that it isn’t just your ceremony or reception venue that’s important. Any place that you will be photographed on your wedding day is important, including where you get ready. Your choice of venues should match your preferred style of photography as much as possible.
If you love romantic, bright and airy images, make sure you choose a venue with lots of nice natural light. Outdoor venues are always best for these types of photos. But if you’re indoors, this means light coloured walls, high ceilings and big windows.
Many Fine Art wedding photographers, like myself, achieve the soft dreamy look of their images by shooting film. It’s super important to have nice natural light when using film, so if you fall in love with this look, make sure your venue choice will work!
Maybe the most important venue for photography on your wedding day is your portrait location. It’s a good idea to choose a ceremony or reception venue that also provides a beautiful space to do your portraits on site since it saves travel time and means you don’t have to pay an extra permit fee! Also keep in mind that many photography locations reserve their spaces exclusively for their own wedding clients so finding come place for photos in downtown Toronto can be difficult. It’s even better if the entire wedding can be done at the same location.
I almost always recommend doing these photos outdoors. Make sure the location your choose has a few different areas with beautiful backgrounds to work with. For my style of photography I recommended either natural backgrounds (think trees, lakes, fields etc) or a neutral toned building with classic architecture. Another important thing to look for when having an outdoor wedding is a venue that offers some shaded areas, and positions the sun behind the ceremony spot.
Whenever possible, it’s always a good idea to pick a venue that offers an outdoor ceremony and reception so your photos can be taken with natural light. It’s also important in Canada especially that the venue offers some type of rain backup option!
3. PLAN YOUR WEDDING DAY
Timing is super important when it comes to creating beautiful wedding photos. Every wedding is unique so I always work with my couples to create a photography schedule that work for them. But there are a few basic things you can keep in mind!
It’s all about the light
When I advise my couples on their wedding day schedule, the first thing I always look up is the sunset and solar noon times for their day. Solar noon means the sun is directly above, which is basically the worst time to take outdoor photos since this creates harsh unflattering shadows.
The rule of thumb, is that photos tend to look better closer to sunset as the sun gets softer and lower. On a sunny day your photos will have a beautiful warm glow about an hour or two before sunset. For this reason I always advise having your ceremony in the late afternoon (for summer weddings).
First look or not?
One of the biggest scheduling decisions is whether to have a first look or not. This can be a great opportunity to enjoy some time together before the ceremony, and means you don’t have to squeeze all the portraits into your cocktail reception!
One thing to keep in mind is that some couples are nervous before the ceremony and find it hard to relax so the photos can look a bit less natural. Also, the light is usually less than ideal. If you choose to do a first look, I still advise couples to try to do it later in the afternoon if possible. If it’s a sunny day, it’s a great idea to schedule another 20 minutes just before sunset to take advantage of that beautiful light! You will also be so much more relaxed and comfortable being photographed by this time!
4. STYLING
Your decor, details, clothing, hair and makeup fall under this category and they all play a role in how your photos will turn out. The most important thing is that your styling reflects your personal style. You want to feel like you, but the most beautiful or handsome and confident version of you! But styling can also be important in creating different style of photos.
The dress
For example, if you want portraits that look natural rather than stiff and posed, think about selecting a dress that moves easily with you and falls nicely without much adjustment. Taking time to rearrange your dress each time you move makes authentic, natural images almost impossible and uses up lots of extra time. A dress that isn’t strapless and has nice movement in the skirt area works for most brides. The right dress should make you feel beautiful, comfortable and confident!
The Flowers
One of the most important parts of styling is your flowers. They will be in almost all of your wedding photos, and can become a really important part of the photo. Often they’re the main bits of colour that show up in your photos. Splurging on a really beautiful bridal bouquet can really elevate the look of your wedding photos!
Flowers are a bit less important for the reception, but can really set the scene for the evening, and are especially important for venues that don’t have much personality. When placing centrepieces, make sure they don’t block faces though so your photographer can capture all those candid expressions through the night!
Details
Details such as your stationery, your shoes, or your even your perfume bottle can also be important in setting the scene. I always start the day photographing bridal details such as these, which I see as kind of the introduction to the story of your wedding day. It establishes the style and vibe of the rest of the day.
5. ENJOY YOUR WEDDING DAY!
Planning for your wedding photography is important, but the best thing you can do on the actual wedding day is relax and be in the moment! If you hired the right photographer you should be able to just trust them to do their thing!
Beautiful images will happen naturally if you’re feeling calm, happy and in love! Also, don’t be afraid to show emotion, whether it’s laughter, affection or tears. Cry over that sentimental speech from your mom, give your new husband or wife lots of hugs, and shares laughs with your best friends. Years from now I bet those will be your favourite photos to look back at!
If my photography style fits your vision for your wedding day, I would love to hear from you!
