Tips for Better Wedding Photos #2

Hire a Wedding Planner:

Avoid the stress of planning a wedding and have a professional wedding planner help you! They can do just the basics or everything. The less stress you have in your life the more relaxed you will be the day of the wedding and this will make for better wedding photos.

Prepare your Groom:

Normally a groom isn’t involved in all the details of planning a wedding, so I have found that it’s helpful to show the groom the photographer’s wedding portfolio. This will help the groom to get an idea of what to expect as well as get excited about photos.

Engagement Photos:

Engagement photos will help the couple to become comfortable with being photographed. I hear couples reference their engagement photos all the time at a wedding for poses they did together that they really liked of themselves. 

Must Have Shot List:

Think about what is the most important part of your wedding day and what you would like to make sure you have photos of. Most brides tell me they must have a photo of the groom seeing the bride in her dress for the first time. There are many photos that I will naturally make sure to photograph but it’s nice to know what the bride has in mind.

Tips for Better Wedding Photos

Find the Right Photographer:

It's so important to do your research on finding the right photographer for YOUR wedding, not all photographers are the same. Personally, I think it's important to feel a connection to their portfolio and have good communication. It's so important to trust them, so you're able to relax for the best photos. For additional tips click HERE.

Make Time for Photos:

It’s so important to schedule enough time for photos. For the bride and groom photos, it will take a few minutes to warm up in front of the camera. I find it also helps to take a moment to step away from your guests (or send them to the cocktail hour) so that the couple can relax, be a little more natural and create more intimate photos without everyone watching. It’s also important to have a timeline that you go over with your photographer to see if it’s realistic to get everything covered. Share your timeline with the wedding party and close family members so that everyone knows where to be for your photos that includes them.

Professional Hair and Makeup:

Have your hair and makeup done by a professional so you look like the very best version of yourself. I find that when a bride feels beautiful they act confident and this makes for the best photos. It will make you feel amazing and be one less thing to think about during your wedding day.

Relax and be Yourself:

Brides are not models and it's natural to feel a little uncomfortable in front of the camera, but it's so important to just be yourself. Ask your photographer for tips on how to stand and what to do with your hands to make you feel more relaxed and composed. Try to think of poses as a way to get everyone in a general direction and remember that the best photos happen naturally and are not pre planned.

Would you do a first look?

A “first look” is very popular these days for a destination wedding in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since a destination wedding is a little less traditional it seems to fit just perfectly within a U.S.V.I. wedding day. The first look is where the groom sees his bride in her wedding dress for the first time. This happens prior to the ceremony.

Brides love the first look for a few reasons, it helps to dissolve some of the anxiety that can build up as they get ready, it is a private moment of just the bride and groom where they get to talk with each other before the wedding begins, it’s also a lovely moment while the bride’s makeup is looking it’s freshest for a few photos of the bride and groom together. 

A first look can also be timed so that most of the formal portraits are done prior to the ceremony, so that the bride and groom will have more time with their guests at the cocktail hour/reception.