This is kicking off our new resources section! This new feature will have articles that can help our brides and anyone else to prepare for their wedding day.
Everyone wants to have stellar wedding photos, and the first step to this is hiring awesome wedding photographers. But, you may not know that there are some things that you can do yourself to help make your wedding photos even better. Most of these changes are both affordable and easy to do, and they can really help with the aesthetic of your wedding photography.
#1 A few small, personal details
Just because you didn’t spend a ton of cash on Etsy doesn’t mean you can’t have gorgeous detail shots of your wedding day. The best details are ones that can’t be purchased anyway, like a charm from a grandmother’s necklace or even a note from your groom. If you are up to buying a few custom items, one of my favorite details that is also inexpensive is a personalized hanger for your wedding dress. I’ve started carrying a gold sequin hanger from Oh Deer Creative around with me to weddings just for this because the ugly plastic one that comes from the bridal shop honestly ruins your dress shot. It doesn’t even have to say “bride” or “Mrs. Smith” on it, but a pretty wood hanger looks much better showing off your gown. It’s a great detail that only costs 20 bucks and that dress shot will look great in your wedding album. In addition to having a few of these personal details, it helps to keep them organized all together in one place. It saves a ton of time for your photographer to be able to grab one bag with your shoes, jewelry, lingerie, garter, etc and get all those shots at once.
#2 Hotel room (that’s clutter free) for getting ready
This makes a HUGE difference and it’s not that big of an expense. Having a suite or just a nicer hotel room to both get ready in and have your details shots taken in really helps your photos. Your photographer now has lots of options for hanging your dress or shoes and styling all those smaller details for those highly coveted detail shots. Another perk is there is a ton of natural light available in most hotels for all the getting ready shots. Nothing is more disappointing than having great details and moments to photograph and having to do it inside of a dingy old cluttered church room that has funky orange light going on.
If a hotel room with big windows isn’t an option, than a small outdoor space close by where we can go for some getting ready shots works well too!
Keeping the room relatively tidy also helps your photos. It doesn’t have to be spotless, but give the facade of cleanliness by moving all the bags to one corner so that all that tons of stuff isn’t in the background of every shot. Having a hotel room also helps with space, it’s always great to have some space and the ability to get the whole bridal party hanging out together in one place. It also helps to have a space for the makeup artist to do their thing- which brings me to the next item…
#3 Professional Hair & Makeup Artist on site
Having a hair and makeup person who regularly does weddings is extremely important. Your cousin who “does hair” does not count. Anytime I have a bride have their hair start to come undone or their makeup run, 9 times out of 10 they had a regular salon do it. Wedding pros know how long doing 6 bridesmaids plus the bride plus moms takes, and they know that people often run behind and they budget time accordingly. I would guess 80% of weddings i shoot, the girls end up running behind solely because of hair and makeup. It’s not like people miss ceremonies or anything, but if your photographer wants or is expecting 20 or 30 minutes for group photos and gets 5, it cuts into your portrait time later. Having your hair and makeup artist on site too is important because getting ready all in one place saves a ton of time and is less stressful. Plus, getting those final touch up shots and bridal portraits are much easier if they’re all done in one place.
#4 An Engagement Session
{Amy & Justin at their University of Tampa engagement session, bet you can’t tell they were super nervous}
This is the only item that takes a bit more effort and a little planning ahead but it also has the biggest advantage. The best way to make sure you look happy and relaxed in your wedding photos is to do an engagement session with your wedding photographers. Some photographers, like Evan and I, include an engagement session in all of their packages. But many do not and you have to add it on- it’s worth it! Any nerves or anxiousness you might feel prior to your engagement session would otherwise be felt on the wedding day. Getting to know your photographers and feeling comfortable with them is so important. Having your friends “take engagement photos” is not the same as building rapport with the people who will actually be capturing your wedding day. Your photographers will get to know your best angles and learn the best way to get a natural smile out of you by working with you before the wedding day. And, if you are more shy, you get the chance to get any awkward moments over and done with prior to the wedding day.
So those are a few ways how you can help to create amazing wedding images. These small items can make a big impact on your wedding photos and I hope you got some ideas!
superb post! Keep up the awesome work!
Great tips! Am gonna tweet this post out to my readers
Thanks so much! If you ever want a guest blogger I have a few more of these I’ll be writing up this month!