Wedding Photos: a guide for couples

Wedding

Photos:

a guide for couples

Brad & Rachel Photography

Welcome Welcome to your wedding magazine by Brad and Rachel Photography. Let me start by saying that we’re photographers, not professional marketers. This is put together purely out of love for you, our clients, to help you prepare the best you can for your wedding.

We realized that after years of photographing weddings we have a bit of knowledge that you might find useful. So please accept this conglomerate of words and photos as what it is… words and photos and hopefully a bit of something useful.

In this short magazine, I’ll use we and I to mean Brad and Rachel, Rachel and Camera, Brad and Camera, just Rachel, just Brad. Sorry if it’s confusing. Rachel is writing this. Brad is supporting, as always. I’ll also do my absolute best to use inclusive language. Please forgive me if I make an error. We honestly love all people, and we welcome love of all types.

How to Take Good Photos

This just hit me at a recent engagement shoot. The difference between smooth, incredible photoshoots, and more awkward portraits is the flow. The subtle movement between you and your partner, the playfulness. The key is to act like we’re taking video. As long as our cameras are up, and even if they’re not, keep your passion alive.

Use the engagement session as the most romantic date of your life. Give everything to each other. Maybe it’ll be kind of a foreplay for an even more romantic evening at home (without us, though). Who knows? You might find a deeper connection to each other if you put yourselves out there. And somehow you’ll forget that there’s a camera in your face.

We’ll give you prompts, but it’s just that. A prompt. It’s your job to take it and run with it. Follow the prompt, and then flow with each other. Kiss her on the nose, and then on the cheek and then let her kiss you on the cheek. Use your connection to flow together and meld into each other.

On your wedding day it might feel a bit harder to get into the flow. There’s a lot going on. I totally get it! But deep down, it’s just you and your partner.

It’s just the two of you together having a moment alone. For fifteen minutes, all we ask is to have you and you alone.

Forget momentarily about the stresses of the day, and just be with your partner.

And then sink into it. When we give you a prompt, get into position, and then take a deep breath and sink into each other. It’ll look amaaaaazing. As you do that, rock gently.

Hot tip for a model I once worked with: everytime you hear the camera click, do something different.

Look somewhere else, close your eyes, adjust your hand, move your face.

Engagement Session We love engagements! They are so fun. You get to dance and roll around on the ground and do cartwheels.

It’s a perfect chance to get to know us, learn how we shoot, and to get comfortable in front of the camera. Think of your engagement shoot as a rehearsal for your wedding day. We’re just exploring a cool location and having fun while toting around a camera. You’ll learn that the photo session isn’t scary. It’s just fun and cuddles. We learn who you are as a couple, how you interact with each other, and what you are comfortable with – we want to capture YOU. And you get to learn all about us and our shooting ways. Then you won’t be so surprised when we ask you to do a handstand in your wedding dress.

We pinky promise an engagement session is the best.

When we get to your wedding day portrait session, you’ll be pros, and you’ll be able to relax. Ultimately this “prep session” is the best way of insuring relaxed, fun, and intimate photos on your wedding day.

Not to mention (but mentioning anyways) that a nice professional photo will look fabulous on your wedding invitation.

How to prepare Relax. Make this a whole day thing. Go to lunch, grab a coffee, cuddle for like 3 hours. Set aside plenty of time to get ready and travel to the spot. You’re going to have a hard time being yourself if you came straight from the office or if you’re stressed about traffic.

Let this shoot be a celebration of your adorable love story, not another item on your to-do list.

Have

a

you’ll

good look

meal. You better

might think empty

various poses that capture you and your

stomach, but no one wants a hangry

relationship. We’ll have you hug and kiss

photo

and dance. There will be lots of roaming

shoot.

I

with

promise

an

Brad and I will guide you through some

we’ll

all

be

happier if you feel full

around

and

changing

backgrounds.

We

Open up. We’re going to ask you to be

want you to have a variety of poses and

100% yourself. We don’t want any fake

backdrops to choose from. We’ll ask you if

smiles or cheesy poses. We want to see

there are any specific photos you want,

your relationship in its rawest form.

and we’ll make sure to capture those.

We’ll guide you through, but you gotta promise to not hold anything back Dress

as

you.

and

your back to the sun or have all of us in

evening gown if that isn’t who you are.

the shade. Since our shoots are in golden

Also, browse our website to check out

hour, we want to capture that awesome

some outfit ideas.

light streaming through the lens and not

Leave it in the car. That means your

into your eyes.

phone, your

Don’t

do

purse, your

a

As far as lighting goes, we’ll usually have

tux

extra

stuff.

Minimalism is the way to go. We catch

Here and there, we’ll put the camera down

the in between moments, so we want

and give you a break.

to make sure there’s not extra stuff in

know it, the sun will be down, and we’ll be

the way. We also want to move easily

heading back to the car! It really is that

from

easy. There’s nothing too crazy about it.

one

spot

to

the

next.

Note:

Then before you

phones in pockets don’t look great in photos. Please please please leave it in

Brad and I always have so much fun and

your car! Or throw it in my backpack

leave

Go with the flow. We’re embracing all

amazing our jobs are and how we get to

the

meet the coolest people. We seriously love

spontaneity.

rocks.

Your

Dirt

and

wet

relationship

isn’t

and a

our

shoots

talking

about

how

this job SO MUCH.

perfectly directed film, is it? So why should this photo shoot? We do weird here.

Anna and James say:

I think the engagement shoot prepared me

What to expect:

for

Brad and I both try to be at engagement

understand how fluid and fun everything

shoots,

should be. These didn’t need to feel rigid

but

sometimes

it’ll

just

be

me

(Rachel).

wedding

photos

by

helping

me

and specific. These shoots should match our personalities and who we are as a

We’ll meet up at the chosen spot and chat

couple.

for a few minutes. We’ll make sure you’re

know you and the type of energy you bring

feeling good and are ready to go. We’ll

to these. It made me so comfortable doing

probably start out with some ice breakers.

something

Walk back and forth, spin in circles, get

expect.

the wiggles out. Some fun stuff to make you feel comfortable.

It

also

that

really

I

had

helped

no

getting

idea

what

to

to

First Look

First off, lemme tell you that whatever you choose is okay with us. But this section will definitely try to convince you to have a first look. I can’t hide my bias, but at least I’m admitting it!

What is a first look:

Traditionally, the groom will see his bride for the first time when she walks down the aisle. Modern couples are discovering different ways to do things, and the tradition of an aisle first look is one that has quickly flown out the window. Couples have opted to have the first look be a private moment between the two of them.

The First Look is a photo session that takes place before the ceremony where the couple can see each other all dolled up for the first time.

Why you’ll love a First Look session:

Wedding days are full of feelings. You’re excited to get married, worried that your friends won’t have fun, and concerned about everything going smoothly. On top of that, you have a million things to do: actually get married, chat with all your guests, attempt to eat food. All this is great stuff, but there’s a reason your wedding day goes by so quickly! It’s because so much is happening that you hardly have a chance to breath. Having a first look session gives you and your partner a quiet moment before the craziness really begins. It’s like fifteen minutes on your wedding day where it’s just you two with no pressure to be anywhere else.

Why we love a first look:

From a purely photographical point of view, we LOVE first looks. We’re almost as busy as the couple on their wedding day, and yeah, we’re human and have nerves.

We’re constantly worried about the light and stealing you from your guests for too long.

When you opt into a first look session, you’re getting an extra opportunity for portraits of the two of you in a calm environment. Usually the venue isn’t crowded yet, and we can the pick of spots to take photos. You’re fresh from hair and makeup, and you’ve probably eaten recently.

How to make your First Look special:

We’ve seen lots of cute ways to make your first look special, but one of our favorites is a private vow reading. Tiffany and Drew opted to keep their ceremony short, and instead read their vows to each other privately. Brad and I took photos from afar so they could truly have a private moment together. Even though we couldn’t hear what they were saying, the emotions on their faces gave us all the feels.

Sometimes one partner will face one way while the other partner walks up behind them. Other times the couple will stand back-to-back, and they’ll turn around at the same time. However they choose to reveal themselves (uh, how does that sound so gross?), it’s always a beautiful moment when reality hits.

First Look without the Look:

If you’re opting to see each other for the first time when you walk down the aisle, you can still have a great portrait session before the ceremony! As long as we’re all super duper sneaky, we could do some fun stuff. You could stand back to back and read a letter to each other. You could each stand on one side of an open door, so you’re standing next to each other without actually seeing each other. There might be a cool corner of a house where you could each stand against a wall without being able to see each other.

Even if you want to stay on opposite sides of the earth, we should use that preceremony time for some separate bridal party portraits. Each partner wants photos with their pals anyways, so this is a great time for that! Make sure your parents and siblings are their before the ceremony so we can get those individual photos too. And set aside some extra time during the cocktail hour for us to have some calm moments for some couple photos.

Did we convince you? :)

Group Portraits Group portraits are the most dreaded part of the wedding day for literally everyone involved. They’re formulaic and chaotic, but they don’t have to be awful!

Here are a few ways to make it go a bit more smoothly As soon as you have your guest list, start making a list of all your photo groups. Start with the larger groups like Bride’s Extended family, Bride’s grandparents, bride’s grandmas, etc.

Think of it like Group A and then Group A.1, Group A.2, All of Group A will stick around until we’re completely done with all the variations.

Then we’ll move onto Group B, B.1, B.2… Seems complicated, but it really isn’t if you prepare a bit in advance!

Give each group a name, number, or color. Everyone will be so excited to memorize their group name if it’s something cool like Hippo or Lion. You can send out a blast email with groups or tell your guests their assigned group when you send out invitations. If that’s too much work, just tell people that they’re expected for group photos and to stick around after the ceremony.

We’ll just shout people’s names Get your immediate family at the venue before the ceremony. Ideally we’ll do your first look session, bridal party photos, and then jump right into parents and siblings. Grandparents usually arrive before the ceremony too, so we can take your photos with them earlier also.

After the ceremony, have your officiant or DJ announce to your guests where to go for group portraits. Since your guests already know that they are required for photos, and which group they’ll be in, they can head to the photo spot right away. Have the DJ tell your guests to remove sunglasses, hats, masks, and purses BEFORE they line up for photos Assign someone to call the groups and gather the stragglers. Ideally this person will know most of the people, so consider using a sibling who knows both sides of the family and many of your friends Have a group “on deck.”

The couple will pretty much stay put, and we’ll sift people in and out of formation.

If you follow all these tips, and if your guests cooperate, group photos can be done in 15 minutes or less. Seriously, we’re so speedy!

A quick word about Table Photos.

They’re…uh…awkward. People leaning in their chairs and all sitting around a too large circle with food in the middle. If you want table photos, have everyone stand up next to the table. It’ll be so much better, I promise. Another option we’ve been doing a lot lately is doing a table photo right before they hop into the buffet line.

There’s usually a slightly more open space where the whole table can line up for a picture. The couple isn’t usually in this photo, but it works well!

Send Off

Short section here, but it’s kinda important to talk about. Sparklers are pretty much the most popular way to do a send off these days. Bubbles, flowers petals, or just a tunnel of friends are also pretty cool ways to do them. Oooh, what about a butterfly release?? Anyways…

Send offs give you an awesome chance to get some more super cool photos. They get all your guests together one last time to celebrate you in the coolest way.

However, you might not actually be ready for the party to end, and your guests might take it as a cue to leave. Or a lot of your guests might have already left. The line of sparkler holders might be more sparse than you imagined. Another point to consider is that we generally leave the dance party after an hour or so, but for a grand exit, you’ll need us to stay for a lot longer. You’ll be paying for a lot of additional time.

Imagine with me an alternative to a grand

You smile at each other and kiss in the

exit…a

just

golden hour of sunset, walking down the

finished your sunset photos with your

aisle of friends and continuing onto the

amazing

you’re

dance floor where sparklers light up your

getting ready for your first dance. While

first dance. Your loved ones follow and

you find your way back to the reception

surround you to the sound of your song,

hall, your coordinator is lining up all your

which you swish and sway. The song ends,

guests along the entrance to the dance

and your guests join you on the dance

floor

floor,

grand

and

sparklers.

ENTRANCE.

photographers,

helping Your

You’ve and

them

light

incredible,

their

God-like

starting

an

epic

evening

of

merrymaking.

photographers run ahead while you and your new spouse

take

a

moment to

yourselves. You walk through the arch to be greeted by 150 of your favorite people, all eager to celebrate your union.

How magical does that sound? SUPER MAGICAL.

Second Shooter

Do we really need a second shooter? We get this question allll the time. So here’s my two cents:

One shooter would be fine. When I do weddings by myself, I shoot with two cameras with two different lens lengths. I get a variety of compositions.

BUT imagine having two shooters with slightly different styles, four cameras, and four different lens lengths. Maybe I like shooting kinda close up while a second shooter takes the larger, more establishing shots. Or one of us captures guest reactions, while the other is focused on you two as the couple. So many great angles and compositions will give you a full view of your ceremony.

Then something we don’t like to talk about is the Just In Case. At one wedding, Brad was all set up for the first kiss shot. He stepped back to get a slightly wider angle, but the bride’s uncle was in the aisle with his phone camera. Brad tripped and missed the first kiss.

Luckily, I was prepared in a different location to capture the beautiful dip kiss. Had I not been there, we would have missed the first kiss entirely. This obviously is not an ideal situation. Having a second shooter at the ready will ensure you get the shot of each special moment.

Generally the second shooter will go home after the main events such as cake cutting and speeches and a few dancing shots. After that, I have it under control.

Tips from Our Couples Angeline and Rohun Roll with it. Your wedding will be beautiful regardless of the bumps in the roads and changes you have to make. At the end of the day the details are not what is important, the people who are there to share your joy are.

Stephanie and Warren Communicate and delegate! You can't do everything on your own so have a team that you can trust to help you.

Taylor and Sean Don't sweat the small stuff. Your guests are there to celebrate you, and at the end of the day, you're married.

Rene and Orion Do engagement shoots, book your vendors early, and most importantly do what you are comfortable with.

Tawsha and Justin Space out the planning. Don’t wait until the last minute. Have fun with it. Remember it’s just a party!

Sam and Andrew Write your own vows. Make sure someone saves you a piece of cake.

Deanna and Aaron Take moments to step back and take it all in.

It’s a wonderfully busy day, be as present as possible.

Anna and James Create a mission statement together and come back to that when you’re stuck on things in the planning stages.

We defined what we wanted our wedding to be before we ever started planning: personal, a celebration of love, a kickass party honoring our guests. And every time that helped us make decisions on what we wanted or how we wanted it to go.

Klint and Eunice Keep it simple.

Praise from Our Couples

Deanna and Aaron

We wanted to capture the natural love and fun of the day and the people there but not feel like we missed the whole party taking photos, which we didn't! We feel confident that the amount of time we spent taking photos will yield great pictures, and we still got to enjoy our cocktail hour!

In fact everyone was raving about how fun our photographers were and how "on it" they were!

Taylor and Sean

Our loved ones were looking for a lot of photographs with family. We appreciated how quickly you were able to bring folks together to take photos and move on to the next grouping so that we could try to get as many photos as possible within a short window. It was also really important to me (Taylor) to get photos with my grandmother. Not only were we able to get photographs shortly after the ceremony, but Brad was close by when I was saying goodbye to her for the night, and he was able to capture a few more photos, which I really really appreciated.

Yuban and Olivia

Our number one priority was to be able to relive our wedding day through our pictures. Brad and Rachel masterfully captured all the tearful moments and partying during the cocktail hour and reception. The pictures show our guests having as much fun as we did during our big day!

Anna and James

We both really wanted to capture the bliss of that day, our interactions with each other, and the people we love and their interactions with each other. We wanted those pictures to show the love and community we felt on our wedding day. You were able to do that by being incredibly awesome and so much fun to be around. You were able to capture the joy by bringing such amazing energy and kindness and fun to what you do.

Rene and Orion

Capturing everyone having a good time and our loved ones supporting us. I didn't want any photos that didn't feel like 'us', and I never felt like I was 'posing' or doing something weird. You guys were great! I got so many compliments on how awesome and cool our photographers were, so I sure am glad we found you guys for our wedding! I know the pictures will be amazing too!

Random Tidbits One of our brides-turned-friend had a few things to say. And I agree with it, so listen up

Assume people are going to want selfies with you, either with their phones/cameras or have the photographer do that. It is okay to say no to people wanting to take individual pictures throughout the day. The couple has a lot of stuff going on, and timing is often tight. Aunt betty may be upset for a day, but no one should feel obligated to take pictures with every single person.

It is good to have some ideas for pictures, but in the end a lot of pictures will come down to circumstances, like lighting, weather, who is not in the bathroom at that moment, etc.

You are not going to think you look good in every photo. But you actually look incredible even if you are fixated on how big your arm looks, or if you look like you have a bigger chin because your head was tilted down and that is just how faces work.

The photographers can't capture every single moment possible, and will not be taking pictures every second. They will get a looooot of moments, but do not worry if you notice they are not constantly taking pictures.