Wedding Photography Tips: Looking Poised and Perfect

 

Great wedding photography depends on effort on both sides of the equation. Both the photographer and  subjects must be aware of what it takes to make those shots the best they can be and work hard at making it happen. If you’ve taken the time to book a solid, talented photographer, you can rest assured that she will handle her end of the bargain. However, there are a few things you can do to help the process along, ensuring that the images taken at your wedding are ones you will be proud to show off in the years to come.

Posture is important when there are photographers lurking about. Just like your mother always told you, slouching looks sloppy, and it can be the ruin of an otherwise perfect moment caught on camera. Pull those shoulders back and stand up straight and tall. Be aware of posture when you’re sitting as well to avoid being caught on camera slouching in your chair. Avoid the slumped over, elbows on the table look too, it won’t look very good in your wedding album.

Comfort is key to a poised and pretty appearance in your wedding pictures. Make sure you break in those wedding shoes before the big day. It’s hard to look great when your feet are blistered and sore. And, if the soles are smooth and slippery, scuff them up a bit, You’ll need sure footing for that confident, relaxed attitude you’d like to have reflected in your wedding shots.

Schedule the events of the day in an organized and realistic fashion, then make sure you stick to that schedule. Rushing about because you’re running late is bound to cause stress and frustration, and flustered is not the best look for those wedding pictures. Delegate some of those tasks necessary to keep your wedding running smoothly and on schedule to trusted friends and family members so that you can remain calm, cool and collected.

If there is to be alcohol at your wedding celebration, be very careful not to overindulge. Celebrating too enthusiastically can ruin your wedding pictures. No matter how talented your photographer, a tipsy bride or groom just isn’t going to look good in those wedding pictures, so those shots will end up on the proverbial cutting room floor.

Making sure your do your part to help your San Francisco City Hall Wedding Photographer get the best shots possible means being constantly aware of the camera. You don’t have to pose for 8 hours, but looking fresh, poised and confident can make a big difference in the images produced when you are caught in a candid shot. With your help and cooperation, your photographer can create a wedding album that will be a treasured family keepsake for a lifetime.

Wedding Photography Flow: Make it a Priority

Weddings are complicated, with so many people, factors and events to organize to make things come off just the way you planned. Some details can go a bit sideways without ruining your day, but others will need to be carefully managed if your wedding day is to be the one of your dreams. Your wedding photography sessions, for instance. Working well with your photographer is the key to ensuring that your wedding pictures will be spectacular.

One of the issues that can seriously impact the quality of your wedding pictures is rushed sessions. Even the most talented photographer will have a hard time producing stunning portraits if 30 minutes worth of shooting must be squeezed into 15 minutes. You’ll want your photographer to be able to take his time and compose great shots, so be sure to discuss scheduling with your photographer well before the big day.

Once you’ve worked out that great schedule with your photographer, make sure you stick to it. If you are late, not only does that limit your session time, but you’re quite likely to end up looking stressed and nervous in your wedding photos. Keeping to a schedule during a wedding is no easy task, but there are a few tricks of the trade that can be used to make it a bit less challenging.

A bit of creative scheduling can help. Creative scheduling means fudging the numbers a little, rather similar to creative accounting. For instance, one common culprit that causes schedules to go by the wayside is the bride’s makeup artist. Often they run over their allotted time, cutting into pre-ceremony photography sessions. So, tell your makeup artist that you’ll need to be finished 30 minutes before you actually need to be ready. That way, if she runs overtime, everything will still be smooth.

Creative scheduling might be handy when scheduling those family portrait sessions as well, especially for those family members—there is at least one in every clan—who are chronically late. Telling the family to gather 30 minutes before the photo shoot is scheduled may spare you the hassle of rounding them all up 10 minutes after it was due to begin. And, it might be a good idea to enlist a guest or two to help make sure nobody wanders off before the session has been completed.

Experienced wedding photographers know all the potential pitfalls and the tricks of the trade that can help avoid them. Be sure to ask for advice on how to best work with him to make the very best of your wedding photography. After all, those photos will be around years after the wedding is over, and when you look at them in 20 years, you’ll want them to trigger happy memories, not images of a nervous and heckled bride.