I love serving my brides and grooms well on their wedding day. Part of serving you is giving you the knowledge to create the best opportunities for gorgeous photos. After all, the wedding day comes and goes and it’s the photos that reignite our memories of the day. So, here are seven ways to elevate your wedding photos.

1. Make time for the details.

Details may not be as important as the ceremony images or the bride and groom portraits, but they do serve a few very important roles. First, detail images give you a fuller picture of the wedding day. If you see a wedding album or blog post, you’ll notice it’s the details that give context, establish a color story, and transition seamlessly to other parts of the wedding day. They also invite you to see the same scene from a new perspective. They call you to come closer and savor the day.

2. Opt for a second photographer.

A second photographer is a priceless investment. Second photographers allow more complete coverage of the wedding day. They give different perspective, they increase the amount of photos you receive, and they act as insurance. There have been a couple occasions when my equipment failed me at the perfect moment and I needed photos from my second shooter to fill in the gaps. Second shooters also have more creative freedom to try new things while the primary shooter is getting the images that are needed.

3. Get personal.

Every couple is different and I fully believe their celebration should reflect who they are. That’s means you have freedom to be yourself. Don’t like traditional weddings? Celebrate outside, take your shoes off, and get comfortable. Love coffee? Create a coffee bar! Want a food truck? Why not! The day is yours and the celebration should be YOURS, too.

4. Look for the light.

This is more technical, but as a rule of thumb, venues that contain a lot of natural light are going to photograph better. More natural light means your images will be lighter, airier, and have more dimension. A good photographer can create beautiful images anywhere, but a venue that has great natural light or not a lot of mixed lighting (several different kinds of light) will save the photographer a tremendous amount of time. Saved time means you get more photos!

5. Prioritize what matters most to you.

There is only so much time in a wedding day, and sometimes that means give and take. Are great bride and groom portraits important to you? Having enough time for those portraits might mean choosing not to do a receiving line. Talk to your photographer about what you prioritize and let their expertise help you make decisions to achieve it.

6. Carve out 15 minutes for sunset portraits.

This is the best advice I can give. Take time to get photographs when the light is softest. It’s called Magic Hour for a reason. That soft glowy light from the sun right before it sinks below the horizon is magic. The photographer doesn’t have to work as hard to control that light, and you benefit from it! By far, these are the photographs my past clients have love most. They are the photos you will want to print and hang up.

7. Have fun

This is your wedding day. It’s a celebration. Know you have the freedom to hug and snuggle and play! Those authentic photos are the most beautiful anyway.

Have questions? Feel free to email me or fill out the contact form on the homepage! I love helping in any way I can.

– Kate