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The handcrafted decorations were perfect! The bride looked stunning in her designer gown and the groom looked dashing. The excitement among the guests was brimming. The rocks on their fingers dazzled as they exchanged the rings for eternity! But where was the photographer who was supposed to capture this precious moment? Ah! He was away eating his fill at the wedding buffet that was still being laid out! If you don’t want such glitches to happen on your wedding day, get smart and follow these tips for a wedding album to capture your memories for a lifetime. As your wedding album is the biggest keepsake after the wedding you must ensure that you get the most stunning wedding photos possible while continuing to relax and enjoy your special day.
Before Finding the Photographer
Decide on your preferred wedding photography style
Depending on the theme of your wedding and its setting you must decide on the style you would want. Each photographer has a different style. Choose the tone, whether you want it cool, warm, soft or vibrant colors and whether you want the look to be vintage or sleek modern? For instance, if your wedding is to be solemnized at a quaint old church you may want the photographs to be artsy or classic. Or if it is being held at a seaside resort or a romantic destination you may want the photos to look romantic and intimate. Or if you want them to be glamorous like a fashion editorial if your wedding is being held in Milan or Paris. This will help you whittle down your search for photographers and focus on the ones who specialize in the visual effects you are after. Coming to the storytelling aspect, how do you wish your wedding to be documented? Should the approach be photojournalistic or fashion reportage? Last but not least is the editing style. Is your wedding photographer using Presets Lightroom which can create all these effects to your desire? It can speed up his editing workflow and save you both a lot of time. There are a number of free wedding Presets that can touch up your wedding photographs to the desired effect. For example, Basics/ Colour/ Natural can give your photographs a classic and natural look, tweaking your contrast, exposure and shadows to create a professional, elegant and bright look for your village church wedding. The Basics/Creative/ Flat & Green would be the ideal Preset for your seaside or forest resort wedding, softening the shadows and giving the images a cool pastel blue and matte green effect. A classic, timeless look can be created with Black-and-White Presets for your historical old church wedding in sepia tones. It helps maintain the details and tonal value with the Black and White Soft Effect while upping the contrast and deepening the shadows. Or if you are having a retro Hollywood-themed wedding the Basics/ Creative/ Aged Photo Presets can give your wedding pictures a vintage and retro vibe with warm and bright hues, highlighting the nostalgic film grain. Or if you wish for a fashion editorial like a wedding album go full glamour with Premium/cinematic presets. Here you can use color grading to adjust the shadows, mid tones, and highlights of your photo and give it a slick and streamlined or light and airy atmosphere.
Choose the right photographers
Once your wedding theme and photography style are decided, search for photographers who specialize in your preferred photography style and have a look at their portfolios. Watch out for photo quality in low light, the angle and composition of their photos and their alacrity to capture fleeting, candid moments that would make your memories unique and priceless apart from the prices, location, packages offered, and availability. Since photographers are mostly able to visualize things, it is always better to seek their opinion regarding lighting, venue décor, additional lighting, or even dress. This will ensure that things work smoothly on your big day.
Test Your Photographers
An engagement photo shoot is not only your best chance to get comfortable before the camera and your photographer, but it is also a trailer of your photographer’s caliber, and an opportunity to get some interesting photographs for save-the-date cards and wedding décor.
After Finding the Right Photographer
Discuss and Plan with Your Photographer
Send him the wedding invites along with the wedding day timeline to ensure that he is seated with the guests and eating with the guests. This will ensure that he does not miss the precious moments to be captured. Moreover, since people do not like to be photographed while eating, he can eat at leisure, and not miss any important shots. Plus he will have some nice shots of your specially designed wedding invite as well. The timeline will help them know the sequence of events so that they can have a better visualization and plan for the day accordingly. Make a shot- list of the things not to be missed, be they the details of decorations, bridesmaids in their finery, or a short list for group portraits. With Premium/ Portraits Presets you can ensure that all those present at your wedding are looking their very best with portraits for all skin tones. To find the best fit for your lighting conditions you may choose from 35 Presets for deep, medium, and light skin. Make exhaustive notes of the important moments you want your wedding photographers to capture such as the bride getting ready, or the groom’s expression when he sees the bride for the first time, or a great grand uncle at the wedding. Giving them notes about your expectations, the things you want to focus on, the likely difficulties, the shot- list, and notes will make life easier for both of you. It will also be an opportunity for the photographer to acquaint themselves with the bridal couple, their families, and the bridal party if he has not already done so. However, if you have a big family, even with notes, it is not possible for your photographers to know all your family members. Before the wedding, ask a friend or family member to help the photographers organize the groups. This will be a huge help for your photographers, and also save a lot of time. Also, let friends & family members help organize the group shot ideally immediately after the ceremony as it becomes easier to gather people.
Prepare for the Wedding Day Photography
Before the wedding, make sure that the vicar or registrar, or officiant allows photographers to capture the ceremony, and check the limitations to keep it sacred while still capturing it all beautifully. Your guests could refrain from taking photos during the ceremony, as it can distract and ruin professional photos. If you have an outdoor ceremony, plan the ceremony to be 2-3 hours before sunset, as this is the best time that the sunlight falls evenly on the skin tone without the harsh shadows. Lighting can be tricky if the wedding is outdoors, and the reception is at night-time. The use of café lights or globe lights can make it all very stunning and prettier and at a low cost too! With adequate lighting, the photographer may not need to use the flash which can be distracting. Having a gorgeous backdrop works wonders for your wedding photos, especially if the space is limited for the photographer to move around. The brides need to be very careful with their bridal make up as what looks good in real, may not be on camera. For instance, orange makeup can create a gorgeous bronzed, tanned skin look, but may look harsh on camera, as wedding lighting uses yellow bulbs to create a warm glow. Similarly avoid glitter and sparkles, as they reflect lights back toward the camera, resulting in white spots on your skin in the photos. To avoid the confusion and chaos on the hectic wedding day, arrange your dress along with the shoes, accessories, rings, garter, and bouquet in one place. There are a few angles and poses that can make you look great on camera. Try to practice these poses long before your wedding day, so that on the big day, you can strike a good pose naturally. Get used to standing up straight, shoulders back, and chin up, and also practice the classic bridal poses to help smoothen the photo session on the big day. Set aside time for creative portraits as they are opportunities for photographers to get amazing shots of the bride and groom without anybody else in the frame. It's also your opportunity to be away from the crowd and enjoy private moments as husband and wife after the ceremony. Depending on your venue, set aside 30-60 minutes to do this. Your photographers must have already scouted a few spots for the shoot, but you may inform them of your preference as well.