Making your wedding photography easy and enjoyable
Are you thinking about these too? Below are two main concerns my couples mention to me when we discuss their wedding photography. I hope this helps you understand a bit more about what’s involved.
Most of the time you won’t even know I’m there.
I don’t want to be taken away from my guests to take photos.
That’s completely understandable, and there’s no need for this to take long at all.
Family photos can be done in as little as 10-15 mins, as long as we are organised. I usually do these straight after the confetti shot when everyone is in the same place . We’ll make list of photos beforehand - the key here is to keep it to 10 groups max. If you are having a big wedding, I’ll also ask you to enlist a couple of helpers. That way we can whizz through them pretty quickly, so everyone can go back to enjoy themselves - and I can snap lots of lovely candid shots too.
For your couple photos - 30 minutes is usually enough time to get some really beautiful shots with a variety of backdrops. I always scout out the area beforehand, so we can make the most of the time. We can also often split this bit in two parts - for example taking a few photos after the ceremony and a few more while people are getting seated for dinner, or at a break in between food to capture some lovely evening light. People often appreciate stretching their legs a bit at that time and having a quiet 10-15 minutes away from the party.
We’ll be so awkward in front of the camera, and I don’t know how to pose.
If you are looking at wedding photos on my website and think “we could never look like this” - you absolutely can! Because about 90% of the people you see thought exactly the same thing. :) You won’t be posing as such, in fact I actively discourage you from doing so, because you want your photos to be natural. So the best advice I can give you is to enjoy yourself and forget about the camera as much as possible. Once I’ve been around for half an hour or so, I think people find this quite easy.
For much of the day, I’m in the background capturing candid shots of all the action, so you probable won’t even notice me. The photos I’ll take are quite different from the ones you are used to (and probably don’t like - where you are looking straight at the camera trying to figure out how to smile properly?) With most of the photos I take, you are chatting with your guests, smiling at your partner, enjoying your day.
Taking your couple photo is also super relaxed. I will give you some direction so you don’t have to worry about what to do. But you won’t be posing awkwardly and we usually just have a good laugh and I do my magic. Often people tell me afterwards that they barely noticed me taking all these gorgeous photos, and that they enjoyed it so much more than they thought they would - especially the camera shy guys! :)
I hope this has helped explain a bit how it works and put your mind at ease. Want to chat a bit more about this or any other details?
