Wedding photography advice for the bride and groom
– MK Wedding Photography, West Midlands wedding photographer
Are you worry about photography during your wedding day?
You have no idea how to prepare for photos?
Do you wish to spend the day with your wedding guests, rather with a photographer?
If the answer for one from the questions is “YES”, this blog is for you. The next a couple of sentences will give you clear advice on how to spend a great wedding day with a chance for nice wedding photos.
I am Marek Kuzlik, wedding photographer based in Coventry, West Midlands and for last years, I create natural wedding photo stories across West Midlands and Warwickshire. let’s start.1. Create a photo shot list.
In most of the weddings I photographed across West Midlands and Warwickshire the pattern for the wedding day was nearly the same. After the wedding ceremony, my couple had from 1 – 2 hrs for wedding photos. Family and group portraits and finally for creative wedding photography with the bride and groom only. Is that right? Usually, it looks similar. You have to remember that most of the guests who attend your wedding day will try to get a photo with you. Please remember that you have limited time for photos after the wedding ceremony and it is good to find an answer to the question. How to avoid a big mess during the family and group photo session? The answer is simple. Let’s make a decision about what kind of portraits are important for you. It is better to have a perfect photo with your parents or with a friend from work? That’s I always ask my wedding couples to create a photo shot list. You can trust me or not but a simple piece of paper with some names on it may change a lot during the photoshoot. The list of photos will reduce the time of photos (more time for you for celebration) and will help in better management of the crowd.What MK Wedding photography does?
MK Wedding Photography always asks for the list. Always consult the family and group photos with the wedding couple and make sure that the plan is achievable during the wedding day. So, if you are booking a wedding photographer and he/she won’t ask you for the list, please be aware that at your wedding day your photos may take a long time and generally be a complicated process. Especially when you will try to find missing people.
2. Wedding Photography Family Photo Coordinator.
In the last couple of years, I had a great pleasure to photographed a lot of weddings in Coventry, West Midlands and an even wider area of the UK. And my experience showed that nobody wants to listen to a photographer. That’s why it is a great idea to find “Wedding Photography Family Photo Coordinator” a family member who will help the photographer to manage your wedding guests at your wedding day. Very often the bride and groom nominate the best man or someone who belongs to the wedding party. A good photographer should mention about it during a meeting with you. In the end, let’s think what kind of benefits you will get if you find a photo coordinator? Everybody will save time. The time which you can spend on the celebration… not on photos.3. Scout the Location – that’s a good Wedding photography advice for the bride and groom.
I think many of you will agree that the background at photos makes the most of the photo. That’s why in my opinion it is important to have a chat with the bride and groom about possible places to go for a photo session. I know a lot of wedding venues across West Midlands where I base. I know where are the best places to create amazing photos of my wedding couples. In the case, if I go to the new wedding venue, I make research far before the wedding day. Sometimes, I go to visit the venue, sometimes other images which I can find on the internet are enough. And the final check is on the wedding day when I get to the wedding venue. A walk around won’t take much time and I can find some new nice places for example for family photos. I always share my observations with my wedding couples and I’m happy to get some ideas from them. If it is possible, I am happy to pop at the location with the bride and groom to scout the location and to have a chat what and where we can do. Some wedding couples trust me enough to find the location in the sounding location without any consultations. They are aware of what I can create for them and let me make decisions.
4. Set expectations with the Couple.
Set expectations with the Couple. This is the key point. In the previous blog, “I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THE IMAGES” I have mentioned about the couple who has received their wedding photos which were far away from their expectations. Did they set the expectations with their wedding photographer? Did the photographer has mentioned that important point of preparation? The answer is NO. And at the end of the story “photographer – wedding couple” instead of happiness and a great photo story, there was frustration and dissatisfaction. If you have a chat with your potential wedding photographer, tell the photographer about your expectations. Check if he or she can meet your requirements. I always try to reasonably consider if I can do what my couple is asking me. Sometimes, they have an idea but they don’t know if it will be possible. Knowledge of the photographer is important at this stage. An experienced photographer will be helpful on this occasion. I’m honest to my couples and I’m not scared to say what I think about their expectations and possibilities at their wedding day. Sometimes, I have to say to the bride or groom – it won’t work. We won’t be able to do this etc…
5. Wedding Group Shots
Think about your wedding group shots. If you have 100 guests on your wedding day. Do you require a photo with all of them especially if you have 45 min after the end of the wedding ceremony and starting your meal? Make a selection, with who you really need a photo after the wedding ceremony. At the time reserved for professional family and group photos. Do you need a photo with an “uncle Bob” who met you the first time after 10 years? Your wedding guest won’t take offence if you won’t invite them on the official family photos or just ask them to pop into a larger group of people.From MK Wedding Photography life.
In 2015 on a wedding day in Birmingham, West Midlands, I spent 2.5 hrs on group and family photos. It was the day in the middle of summertime. Temperature raised to nearly 30 C and we had over 100 guests. It was the day where my wedding couple didn’t prepare the group photos list and generally wanted photos with everybody… not only on 1 group wedding photo. With everybody on separate photos. Can you imagine the frustration of guests? Try to avoid that. Spend a couple of minutes more to create a reasonable list. If you will meet me in the future, I’ll remind you.
6. Expect the Unexpected at the wedding day.
The weather plays a big role and it can be an unexpected factor during the wedding day. That’s why I always look after a backup plan. Of course, I always talk about it with my clients. Together we try to find the best solution…
7. Have Fun
Easy to say when you are just before the wedding ceremony 🙂 Anway, photography is a fun and during the wedding, I do not treat my couples like professional models, so I won’t force them to pose in front of my cameras. I prefer to guide them and find that perfect moment to capture an outstanding image for my couple. So, the conclusion might be to find a photographer with a similar approach to the wedding like me.8. In Wedding Photography Preparation is Key.
This point is dedicated more to photographers rather than for wedding couples. Generally, the bride and groom have to prepare for the day but in e little bit different way. This point, we can treat like the conclusion of the whole post. Preparation in wedding photography is key. It is…Preparation for me – a wedding photographer from West Midlands starts before the wedding day or even earlier, during the initial meeting with my clients. That is the moment when I get a lot of helpful info from them. I discover their expectations, In the case, if the wedding venue will be new for me, I have to make a research etc. Closer to the wedding day, I have to contact my wedding couple for more details, like the group photo list from the point no:1 Just before the wedding day, I have to prepare my equipment, Check the schedule of the day, check the weather forecast and make a plan in my head for many unexpected things which may happen on the wedding day.Is Wedding photography advice for the bride and groom was helpful for you? Leave a comment below.