Whenever a couple plans their wedding photography with me, I send them over my ultimate wedding guide. This 72-page guide is packed full of tips for planning your wedding day photos. From how much time to schedule out for pictures, to how to make everyone feel more comfortable while having their photo taken. It truly covers it all! And today, I am giving you a sneak peek into some of my favorite tips from my guide.

My goal is to make everything as simple, comfortable, and timely as possible. And by planning ahead, even the seemingly “hectic” parts of your wedding day can be smooth! Keep reading for ways to improve 3 of the trickiest parts of wedding day photos. Plus, see inspiration from three different styles of weddings from my past work.

Getting Ready

Your wedding day photography starts with capturing the intimate and emotive moments that naturally happen while you get ready. This is also the most casual opportunity for me to meet your wedding party and let everyone start to get comfortable with my presence. 

Of course your priority during this time is getting ready for your ceremony, and I don’t want to take away from that. By planning enough time, and making everyone’s role is clear beforehand, you will have plenty of room to focus on your hair, makeup, and donning your gown. All while I capture some photos of these exciting morning moments that begin your wedding day.

A Tip For Your Getting Ready Photos

If your venue does not have a pretty bridal room with natural lighting, consider booking a hotel room for your getting ready photos. Having abundant natural light and an aesthetic backdrop will pay itself back in the form of stunning morning-of wedding photos.

To see more from this Huntington Beach Wedding, click here.

Family Portraits

Family portraits can take the most direction, planning, and possibly time. I do my part to ensure that this part of your wedding day is seamless and pain-free, starting with preparing a complete list of photos to be taken. About 90 days before your wedding, I will send a very detailed questionnaire to gather all of your portrait requests so that I know who exactly you want photographed. 

Intimate weddings like this one mean I am able to capture many photos of you and you partner with small groupings and even individual guests. But even with larger groups, I love capturing a big photo with everyone whenever possible, like the one from this Oahu destination wedding.

A Tip For Your Family Portrait Photos

Make sure to notify your photographer of any family dynamics they should be aware of.  For example, if the bride’s parents are divorced, I want to make sure I don’t ask them to hold hands, stand beside each other in family portraits, or do anything that could upset them. I am aware every family is different and am looking forward to photographing them all comfortably!

To see more of this wedding gallery, click here.

Your Grand Exit

Your wedding day will wrap with some of the most anticipated and instagram-worthy photos – your exit! Beyond planning what you want your guests to toss, and what your getaway car will be, here is something you may not have considered:

A Tip For Your Grand Exit Photos

If your party is going quite late, your older guests may leave the wedding earlier than the younger ones. As a result, the grand exit crowd may appear quite small in photos. If you foresee this happening, or if your photography coverage is ending before your night is, you might consider having a mock grand exit.

A mock grand exit also takes outs the hastiness of trying to gather everything you need to actually leave. You want to avoid confetti thrown too soon or sparklers died out before you’re actually ready! Avoid all of that by taking the photos earlier. Then you will be free to dance as long as you want to before your real exit.

To see more of this Park City wedding, click here.

Plan Your Wedding Photography Timeline

To access to my full guide of tips for planning your wedding photography timeline, I would love to work together! Click here to begin the process. After your wedding photography is scheduled, I will send over my full planning guide for you to dive into. That will help us both be fully prepared so your wedding day photography is everything you dream of.