Its often said that a picture is worth a thousand words and wedding pictures are worth so much more. What makes them eternal and priceless is the love, joy and promise of a lifetime. Fairytale wedding albums don’t create themselves! On the contrary, there is a lot of meticulous planning that goes into every single detail starting from the venue, the weather, couple dynamics, the guests and surely the list goes on says Iain Gomes, top London Wedding Photographer. Whist selecting the best wedding photographer is key to telling an entire story in one frame, here are some top tips to bear in mind to create timeless wedding photos that will truly last a lifetime.
Location
The start point for a fairy tale wedding begins with location. Pick a location that offers an abundance of light and captures the photography theme you have in mind. The getting ready area should be cosy and relaxed giving the photographer and assistant enough space to capture the magical pre-wedding moments. The location should provide opportunity to build a story around the special day. For destination weddings in Europe and across the world such as Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Croatia, Las Vegas, pay special attention to the local culture, law of the land, language and weather conditions to ensure things move smoothly.
Leave Enough Time
The sooner you get your photographer involved in your wedding day celebration, you can be assured of capturing the plethora of raw emotions unveiled throughout the day. Make sure to cover various aspects of the wedding: bridal prep, first look couple portraits, ceremony detail and venue, immediate family photos, extended family photos and couples’ sneaking out. Remember, creating intimate memories to last for a lifetime requires some time away from your guests.
Don’t have fixed ideas! Go with the flow
Authenticity shows, and a skilled photographer won’t come with a list of shots that worked at last week’s wedding. Be yourself! Be Unique. After all, every couple has their own connection, individuality and essence and this cannot be duplicated.
Take direction
When it comes to wedding pictures, even just a tiny bit of direction from your wedding photographer can help create the most beautiful images. Take direction from your photographer, feel the moment. Because let’s face it, without an emotional connection and a sense of intimacy, your photographs are just pretty pictures.
Work on Body Language – Strike a pose
The best photos are the natural shots so the key is not to overthink. Good body language means making your body parts speak the right way. Practice good posture, strike the right pose, arch your back as it makes you look more confident. Most importantly, smile – nothing can make you look more beautiful than a genuine smile.
Meet your wedding photographer
After meeting the parents, meeting your wedding photographer is the next most important thing. If you are not having a pre-wedding shoot, arrange a meeting with your photographer in person preferably at the venue. This way, the photographer gets an opportunity to gauge the couple dynamics and energy, understand their expectations so on the day of the wedding, it can be all about click click, hurrah!
Introduce your photographer to your family and friends on the day
On the day of the wedding, with all the wedding preparations on, it is important to introduce your photographer to select family and friends and other wedding suppliers. If not they will not know whether the hair and make-up artists are good friends of yours or professionals you have never met before. This saves you from receiving photos that you will not want in your wedding album.
Relax and Savour the moment
The endless grinning for wedding pictures can be exhausting especially if you are walking in those killer shoes. The key to great wedding pictures is push the reset button throughout the day – close your eyes, take a deep breath, relax your face and bring on the winning grin.
Nothing is perfect
Even the best planned weddings will have some last minute surprises. After all its Murphy’s Law. Over time, these surprises make your wedding more memorable so don’t sweat the small stuff.
