How To Get The Best Wedding Photos
You want great wedding photos; listen, I’ve 100% got you. If you’re reading this, chances are you might be a little bit nervous about being photographed on your wedding day, or you want to enjoy this part of it all and end up with the best images. So I’ve come up with my best wedding photography tips for couples.
A lot of couples book me because they love the relaxed style of portraits I produce, but then quietly worry they won’t be so good on camera themselves.
These wedding photography tips are built up over 25 years of doing this. But if you want the TL;DR version: stop thinking about being photographed, relax, and enjoy the time together away from the party. I’ll find some nice light. All you have to do is stand in it and be in love. Easy.
Keep reading for the longer version…
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FOR COUPLES
JASMINE | ROSS
Brighton Wedding
You’ve probably spent time and thought on your outfit, so let’s not undo all that with a phone-shaped square poking through your pocket. Phones, wallets, anything bulky – hand it to someone else for the day. Your outfit will hang properly, you’ll move more freely, and you won’t spend the whole day patting yourself down to check where you put things.
When we’re conscious of being photographed, the instinct is often to freeze, and that’s when you end up with forty frames that all look the same. Movement is your friend here. Walk, sway, turn to look at each other, whisper to each other. It gives me far more to work with, and it almost always photographs better than standing still and waiting for the shutter.
The best photos I’ve ever taken happen the second someone stops thinking about being photographed. My job is to find the good light and give you gentle direction when you need it, but the connection between you and your person is entirely yours. I can’t manufacture that, and I’d never want to try. Just be with each other and let me do the rest.
Moodboards and Pinterest boards are brilliant for finding the style you love, but trying to recreate something never works. We want to be present, make your own moments, not recreate someone else’s. Show me your inspiration, tell me what you’re drawn to, and I’ll take that and make something that’s actually about the two of you.
Whatever time you think you need to get ready, add half an hour. Being fully dressed with time spare, rather than throwing the last layer on as the car pulls up, changes everything. You get a proper pause before things start moving, and that calm carries through into the photos from this part of the day. Portraits just before you marry are always something worth making a little time for.
I’ll never assume I know which photo means the most to you. Maybe it’s a particular relative, an old friend, a certain corner of the venue, a family tradition. Tell me in advance and it goes on the list. Some photos are easy to arrange in the moment but impossible to recreate once the day has moved on.
“THANK YOU FOR PUTTING US SO AT EASE ON THE WEDDING DAY, LISA. WE LOOK BACK ON THIS AS ONE OF THE BEST PARTS OF IT ALL FOR US. WE CANNOT STOP LOOKING AT THE GALLERY!”
JAS + ROS
Couple portraits work better with breathing room. Rushed photos tend to look rushed, so when planning your timeline together, build in a little more space than feels strictly necessary. If the idea of disappearing from your own party for too long doesn’t sit right with you, a couple of shorter sessions across the day usually works better than one long one anyway. You often get lovely, softer light later on, and a second little break gives you both a breather from being the centre of attention.
Sounds obvious, but it’s easy to hold your breath without realising when you’re feeling a bit stressed, and that’s when you clench up your jaw. That tension shows in front of the camera. If I notice it happening, I’ll probably just give you a quiet little reminder to not hold your breath. It makes more difference than you’d think.
One of the simplest shifts you can make is choosing to look at your person rather than searching for the camera. I promise you I’m capturing plenty even when you can’t see me. The photos where people are genuinely focused on each other, rather than checking in with the photographer, are almost always the ones people love most. It’s not my job to tell you to be affectionate with the one you love; that should just flow, but if you need a little reminder, I’ve got you.
There’s a weird thing in photographs because they are two-dimensional- space becomes exaggerated. You can feel really close but it reads as a little distant. One thing I find myself saying a lot in portraits is ‘get closer, a little closer’.
Yes, I could pose you into something that looks like you are in love, but I’d rather you did the things that you normally do when the feeling takes you. Like when your partner does something sweet and you think ‘I really love you’. What does that look like normally? A hug, a little kiss, stroking their arm, touching their face.
These can make so much difference to wedding portraits. If we’ve had an engagement shoot, then that allows me to see you together away from the pressures of a wedding day, and we have a shorthand that we can easily jump into. Otherwise we are starting from cold. Anyone can book one of these in with me. Just ask.
HOW TO GET THE BEST WEDDING PHOTOS
Wedding photography is a big investment, and I understand that you want to get the most from it. Weddings can be intense, and going off for some portraits can feel like a nice little break. I want you to feel like yourselves, feel present, and not be stressing about other parts of the wedding.
The images that you’ll like the most are the ones where you felt something, and a lot of that is just letting go of thinking about it. Movement is also great; I feel like that gives you something else to think about, and it’s more fun than just standing still. The best shots are often just before or just after a more posed image. My approach is to work quickly, and with whatever you give me. If that’s just a few minutes here and there, or if you devote some real time to portraits.
Some of my favourite sessions have been where we go somewhere that feels significant to you. Like this couple told me that their favourite thing to do in Brighton is go to a flea market, so we rocked up there in their wedding car with a bottle of champagne. For this one, we went back to their Airbnb in between the ceremony and the reception so they could have a little breather and we could take portraits away from the city crowds.
If you found this post helpful, then you might also like my tips for the group photos at weddings.
If you still haven’t booked your wedding photographer, then feel free to drop me a line and we can get the chat going about your plans…
