How To Take Great Wedding Pictures For Older Couples
It may be a 2nd wedding, or a renewal of marriage vows. Here are great tips on taking awesome wedding photos for mature couples.
Maybe youve waited until later in life to take the plunge, or renewing your marriage vows now that the kids have left for college. No matter what your age, you deserve to have great wedding photos of the two of you to remember this special life together. Whether youre doing a DIY wedding or are enlisting the help of a wedding photographer, unique wedding ideas can bring your celebration portrait photos to new heights of creativity and elegance.
Even seasoned professional wedding photographers will find new ideas and inspiration from the following tips and tricks to craft distinguished and unique wedding portrait pictures at the wedding of an senior couple.
Knock Down Powerlines And Other Distractions Impending The Beauty Of The Outdoor Wedding
I wish all power transmission lines could be installed underground and we could completely eliminate overhead power lines. They are often obtrusive and turn what would be a beautiful clean backdrop and turn it into a cluttered distracting maze of little black lines.
Ideally, you can position yourself to eliminate them altogether, but in come locations that is just not possible. By getting low to the ground, power lines can be minimized.
In addition, they become much less visible if you can shoot at a lower aperture. That may go contrary to the above section but hopefully if the backdrop is a scenic view, nothing distracting has been installed that would be obtrusive.
Generally, if you work hard to find clean backdrops for your photos, you can eliminate or minimize distractions.
For Brides: You might not even notice things like powerlines when you look out at the view but your photographer is trained to notice things like that. Dont hesitate to lean on them/us.
Beautiful Engagement Photo Poses To Try
Before the wedding ceremony, many couples ask for an engagement photo session. While wedding photography belongs to the niche of events, engagement photos are portraits.
Therefore, they require different preparations. Just like portrait photoshoots, here are several poses and ideas you can try. The main goal is to capture the intimacy and love of the partners in a heartwarming way.
You can also put emphasis on a specific location that the couple loves or the engagement ring. Read our article for more tips!
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Inside Outside & Green Ceilings
Even beautiful venues can pose unexpected challenges especially after the sun sets, or if there are no windows!
Photo by EM + STEVE POGOZELSKI of POGO PHOTO
How will you handle that ballroom with the green-painted ceiling? How will you photograph that dance floor on the beach once night falls? Do you know where the sun will be during that lakeside ceremony? What is the couples rain plan and are you prepared for it?
Anticipate location challenges before they arise, and you wont be panicking on the wedding day.
Edit Your Wedding Pictures
Usually, wedding photographers take a thousand images that need retouching and editing. Making all these tweaks on your own can become a nightmare, so its no wonder that professional photographers use outsourced photo editing services.
Explain to retouchers what results you expect to achieve, send them samples of images, and devote more time to other aspects of your job while they improve your photos.
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Control The Direction Of The Sun
Obviously we cant tell the sun where to go but we can move ourselves! For our more adventurous elopement couples, this usually means we can help them decide where the ceremony should be and what direction they should face.
For our couples getting married at a venue that has an established ceremony site, this often means choosing which side of the ceremony to shoot from. Typically, I will opt to shoot from the side with more direct sunlight. This allows me to expose for peoples faces and get a good exposure of the backdrop as well.
If I were to shoot from the other side , I would have difficulty getting properly exposed skin tones in addition to a properly exposed backdrop. The result is getting blown out highlights which are never a good idea unless it is part of the photo that completely doesnt matter like a window.
Another helpful thing to do when scouting is use an app like or to see what the sun angle will be and prepare yourself to shoot accordingly. This might also tie in with the above section: if you can influence the timeline, you can control what the sunlight will look light during the ceremony.
For Brides: When possible, consider the direction of the light from your ceremony location. Again, its not only for the photos but it also impacts the comfort of your guests.
Taking Wedding Photos In Low Light: 7 Things You Need To Know
You can get beautiful DIY wedding photography even in low-light with these tips when taking wedding photos in low light!
When it comes to taking beautiful wedding pictures, one of the biggest challenges is poor light conditions. This can include a light that is too low and also harsh, overbearing light. This post deals with taking wedding photos in low light, whether it is portraits, group pictures or even close-up photos of floral arrangements or the rings.
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Learn To Bounce Flash
Bouncing is an essential lighting technique for wedding photography.
On-camera flash has got a bad reputation for having unflattering results, but thats only when you dont know how to use it.
As much as we all want to only use natural light for our wedding photography, there comes a time during the wedding reception where you have to bust out a flash!
The simplest on-camera flash technique that yields the best results is bounce flash, where you point the flash head at an angle to your subject and bounce it off a wall/ceiling/guest etc.
You can use TTL or manual power mode but always try and find something with a neutral colour to bounce off.
You can also bounce the flash from a distance when photographing wedding speeches or the wedding party from afar at full power, youll be surprised how far the light will travel.
What if theres no surface to bounce off, like at an outdoor reception? Dont be afraid to use direct flash just try feathering the light by lifting the flash head slightly, and experiment with the zoom/power settings.
Always Keep An Eye On Grandparents
Unfortunately, shooters often forget about grandparents at the wedding. Actually, it would be great to show their affection and communication with other guests.
Believe me that these photos are really of great value since all of us understand that our time with them is more limited than with other relatives.
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Bonus Tip : Outdoor Night Wedding Photography Tips
As often as possible, we like to end the day with some outdoor night wedding photography. There is a lot to be said on this subject so I will try to give you some of our best tips.
Planning ahead is key. Guess what?! When its dark outside it can be hard to see, so if you can plan your framing ahead of time your night photos will go a lot more smoothly.
We Need To Allow A Contingency
Okay, so weve established it doesnt take a solid eight weeks of working my skinny butt off to complete your wedding edits. Other things take up a significant portion of our time, on top of that backlog. So we have to allow longer than it might take.
We always want to exceed no, smash expectations. Under promise, over deliver and all that jazz.
We dont want to tell you that your images will take only four weeks, but at that time, I was expecting to be quietly editing your wedding and get booked for a bunch of last-minute weddings. Some of them involve a night away from home.
We dont want to be calling you up to say, hey, its going to take twice the time estimate I set for you. By this time, youre expecting to get your thank-you cards out and fielding questions from everyone asking, are the pics ready yet?!
My current turnaround time that we will sign & agree on is within two months for most weddings.
Have we ever taken that long to deliver a gallery? No. Sometimes we get it done within two weeks. But we do ask that my clients understand that two months is the expected and agreed timeframe. Weve never had a scenario like the one described above happen yet.
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Moments Are What Matter Most
A photo can fail technically, but still delight your clients.
Despite all those epic destination wedding shots you see on Instagram of the bride and groom in front of a waterfall in Iceland, or the bride posed dramatically on a cliff edge somewhere exotic, these are not always the clients favourite photos.
Remember to concentrate on getting as many candid images of people at the wedding as possible.
Focus on the couple and their close family learn to anticipate moments before they occur, and capture something truly unrepeatable.
While its great to throw a few epic shots into your portfolio, its the photo of the brides mother crying as the bride and groom walk down the aisle that your clients will treasure forever.
Magical, emotionally charged moments trump everything else. Dont be afraid to include photos that arent technically great as long as theres a special moment, your clients wont care.
How To Use A Flash For Wedding Photography
Whether you have to photograph in the middle of the day or at night, flash lighting is a great help to your wedding photography.
Using your flash during this time may help you to fill in light. You can also use a flash to add a more creative flair to your photos
They can be placed on your cameras hot-shoe, and on a camera bracket. Or even handheld for fast adjustments. You can even sync many flash units at the same time.
This is great for different lights hitting the same scene from different angles. Go through our article here for all the information you will ever need.
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Tips For Creatively Photographing A Wedding Ceremony
Guest post by Chris & Allie Bartelski of The Reason Photography:
Its funny how the one really important part of the wedding is often the last thing we think of when shooting weddings. Couples usually buy big prints of portrait shots, and even in albums, the ceremony isnt the main focus.
The good thing about this is that it takes the pressure off of you, the photographer, and it also allows you to experiment a little more than you would during other parts of the wedding.
Of course, there are certain shots that need to be taken, but lets face it, a ceremony can be kind of boring from a photography standpoint. Its basically two people standing in the same place for a really long time.
Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your wedding ceremony photos:
Test Your Camera In Advance
You should check all your gadgets to make sure theyre working properly before you leave to take great wedding photos.
Youll likely want to bring a tripod with you to use at the wedding ceremony, in addition to several camera lenses and external flashes. If the wedding youre photographing takes place indoors, you may also need other lighting equipment. For outdoor ceremonies, you can likely get by with a bounce rather than cumbersome lights.
Its a good idea to err on the side of caution and bring more equipment than you think youll need. Pack several spare batteries and memory cards so you dont miss anything from drinks at cocktail hour to fun-filled dancing on the dance floor.
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Working With A Reflector
As mentioned before, I like to work with natural light more than with artificial light sources. So a reflector or sun bounce can be an excellent tool to create nicely lit pictures without using a flash.
Shooting with backlight situations creates depth and makes the picture look more interesting for the viewer. It can be tricky sometimes, but if you master your light setups, your photographs will improve drastically.
To have the reflected light appear not too strong or harsh, you have to vary the distance between your motive and the reflector. In this case, the glass was placed around 5 meters away from the couple to be only slight brightening. Keep in mind that if the reflected light is too strong, move the sun bounce further away until you achieve the intensity you like.
Reflectors can also be used to make eyes look more vivid when you shoot close-ups. When you place the glass under the chin of the person you photograph, you can create nice reflections in the lower part of the eyes. This gives a beautiful, vivid glow to the eyes and also brings out eye colour much better. This works best with diffused light on a slightly overcast day or in combination with a softbox and a flashlight.
Ideas For Beautiful Bridal Boudoir Photography
Boudoir photography started as one of the incorporated styles inside wedding photography. Before the wedding, the bridge would gather her bridesmaids together to get ready for the big day.
This is a special time of female bonding. As the bride prepares, a photographer would capture her. These photographs are something intimate to be shared with the groom. They are also perfect for capturing sensuality and boosting the models self-esteem.
Boudoir photography is another part of the wedding photograph list. So, cover your bases and immerse yourself in this world.
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Clean Your Phone’s Lens
A smartphone camera might be more convenient to carry around than a full-fledged photojournalist’s camera, but it comes at the cost of protection.
Your phone is usually in your pocket or your bag when you’re out of the house. All the while, the device’s camera lens is collecting all kinds of dust and lint. Be sure to clean this lens with a soft handkerchief before taking a photo. You might not be able to tell just how dirty the lens was until you start editing your picture, and making sure the lens is crystal clear before taking a shot can keep you from starting from scratch.
Tell The Story Of The Day
If you have a chance to be with the bride or groom when theyre getting ready, use this to your advantage and capture some shots with your iPhone. Before the wedding theyll be excited and probably a bit nervous, so try to capture these emotions in your photos.
This is also a perfect time to get some close-up portrait shots of the bride. Take a few photos while shes having her hair and make-up done so that you have a record of the day from the very beginning.
Follow the bride and the groom throughout the day, and take a lot of shots of them together. Be especially aware of the main events, such as the wedding ceremony, signing the marriage register, cutting the cake, etc.
If its a big wedding it can be easy to lose the new couple in the crowded scene. To ensure you dont miss any of the important moments, be prepared and check the program of the day. That way youll know exactly where the bride and groom will be throughout the day.
Of course, you should also try to capture some shots of the guests to tell the full story, but dont worry too much about trying to photograph everyone. When photographing guests, concentrate more on the closest family and friends of the new couple.
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