This is your big day you have been waiting for! As you have all of your ducks in a row and have things in order and ready to go, you may be concerned wondering if you will get all the pictures you have dreamed of and what you have in your head for this once in a lifetime event! If you have not yet, it is strongly suggested that you hire a professional wedding photographer to take your pictures for you. The biggest benefit to hiring a professional wedding photographer is they have one thing most do not and that is EXPERIENCE! Be sure to discuss with your photographer any and all concerns you may have and start to develop a bond with them because on the day of the wedding you will be spending lots of time with them. In this article we will discuss how you can your trusted photographer get the best moments of your day, let’s get started!
Beginning of the day
Depending on where you have decided as a venue for your wedding day will contribute to how pictures can and will happen. You want to be sure where you and your partner as well as the whole wedding party are getting ready has adequate lighting. Natural lighting is always a huge bonus. If your venue doesn’t have a decent space for getting ready photos, consider going to a salon or renting a hotel room. Most professional wedding photographers will start the day by capturing images of your shoes, jewelry, bouquet, as well as your dress before you have it on. Having all of these items with you and ready to go will be a huge help to your photographer to ensure they are not having to interrupt you to get the shot they are needing. The reason for taking pictures of these items is to help it all come together in your video or your album. Organize your bridal suite and keep in mind the number of people who will be in the room. If it’s a smaller area, ask people to keep their bags in a separate space, or at least in one corner of the room. You do not want the background in the pictures to be a mess, so be sure to keep these areas as clean as possible.
One more helpful tip that will make your photographers life easier is to have the day planned out and all of your bridal party in the loop of what times to be ready to go for pictures. This helps to avoid any hiccups and we all have that one friend who is notoriously late, so this is a subtle way to keep everyone on track throughout the day! It is your wedding day, but hiring your photographer for enough hours & making sure you plan for padding room in the schedule will help prevent stress the day of the event. It’s typically a good idea to have a trial of your hair and makeup done prior to your wedding day just so you know you’ll be 100% satisfied. Regardless, provide at least half an hour buffer room in your schedule for things to go wrong!
The Ceremony
The moment you have been waiting for! The actual ceremony. By this point pictures should have already been taken of the process leading up to this moment. Plan your ceremony and portrait time according to the best light, if possible. In most cases it is suggested to have your ceremony take place around an hour and a half prior to sunset, give or take half an hour. That way you get to take your portraits during sunset, which is the best light of the day. Again, lighting is everything to how your portraits come out. It may not be an option for you or something that you are wanting to have the ceremony set for this time of day and that is okay, this is why you have hired a professional to handle taking the pictures and delivering you priceless shots.
It is your day
Planning a wedding is a lot of work and takes so much time and effort to remove any possible mishaps from occurring. At the end of the day just take a step back and remind yourself that you have hired professionals to help you get through this day. All you really need to worry about is being the beautiful bride you have envisioned all of your life and just trust that all of the rest will fall into place accordingly. Remind those that are in your wedding party to try to keep their energy up while taking the pictures. Sometimes our bridal party can get burnt out on having to be in pictures, especially if they really do not like having their pictures taken (we all know that person). It is recommended to offer them juice and snacks to keep them energized so after the ceremony you can get all the groom and bride photos after. This will be a long day but it will be worth it! Once you see the final pictures you will see it was all worth while and your wedding was a spectacular one!
Emily Shafer Photography; Delivering the best portraits for your wedding day
Emily Shafer Photography in Charleston West Virginia has been in the business for quite some time, following her dreams since she was a little girl. Her eye for capturing a moment shows in her work. Wedding photography is one of her many special skills. Her work speaks for itself. In every portrait it makes you feel as if you are there living in that moment. Emily believes in providing you the client with the best wedding photographs and never leaving you disappointed. If you are interested in Emily Shafer Photography visit her site and check out her work!