Must-have photos To Capture At every wedding
There are all the obvious shots on your photo list that you want to make sure you capture at every wedding. The first look. The family photos. The speeches…
And then there’s the heart of your work. The genuine, unscripted moments waiting to be captured at every wedding – the emotion, the laughter, and the candid moments that bring a wedding gallery to life.
So the question is, how can you make sure you’re able to capture all of that at every wedding, no matter what…
You can really elevate your brand with these types of photographs that add life and emotion to your gallery.
In this episode of the podcast (or keep reading below), we share tips on creating moments for your clients, and creating a wedding gallery that helps your wedding photography business stand out from the rest.
Capturing emotional moments during family photos
We all know that family photos are the most dreaded part of the day. There’s 100 things happening and you’re probably just trying to get through those shots as quickly as possible.
An easy way to sprinkle some feeling in to your photos during this time is after each shot to let the family member know that if they want to take a second to tell them congrats, how beautiful they look or that they love them, that now is the perfect time.
It doesn’t have to be a minute long situation. Typically they will look at each other, hug, (often times parents will even get teary eyed) and move on to the next shot.
adding this simple promt is such an easy way to add emotion to your gallery. If people are on the family shot list, they’re important to your couple. give them more than a standard smiling at the camera shot. it will help you build a more candid, natural feeling photography style that is so popular.
So often, these are the pictures that end up getting printed and framed rather than the standard family shots - because you’re capturing those natural moments.
Capture B-roll photos at your weddings to help tell a story in your gallery
When you first arrive to shoot a wedding, train your eye to start looking at things creatively and start capturing the little details early on. What does the day feel like.
B-roll helps create a sense of time and place. It’s those detail shots that aren’t of the couple or specific decor, but photos that cut away from the main action, like the environment, trees, the buildings, the hotel room number.
These photos take your couples back to what that day or moment truly felt like, and help them to feel like they’re truly re-living it.
If you’re shooting a wedding on a blue sky, warm, sunny day and the birds are chirping…
Look for a window where the light is pouring in and capture that.
Look for a plant that’s swaying in the warm breeze and capture that.
Capture a shot of some bright flowers that will help your couples remember what they day felt like.
Likewise, if it’s a gloomy day…
Capture the little dew drops on the leaves on the bushes
Get pictures of the dramatic clouds against the building.
Honing in on those tiny details will help you capture the authentic story of their wedding day.
Capturing B-roll also helps to add more of an editorial vibe to your galleries and a sense of flow between shots, rather than creating a sense that there was a checklist of getting ready, ceremony, family, speech photos etc.
In The Posing Course we talk a lot about including B-roll pictures in your galleries because it really can be what sets you miles apart from other wedding photographers.
Hype up your wedding party
This is where your pre-wedding day prep is everything.
When we send our questionnaires to couples, we always include the question ‘what are three songs you and your bridesmaids would sing along to?’ And they go straight on our playlist for the day.
When you arrive to a wedding, pull your speaker out and get the the party started. Let the people know it’s time to have some fun. Instead of just having them all sit on a bed in their robes and smile, create an environment for them to liven up and bring energy to the photographs.
Not only does this make for fun photos, it makes memories for them and sets the tone that you’re here to party with them, and you want them to have fun in front of your camera throughout the day.
Head table moments
When everyone sits down to eat, things get boring. So you want to be intentional about taking photos that are going to add a storytelling element to your gallery.
A few ways you can capture storytelling photos during dinner and speeches…
Go to the head table and ask everyone to cheers. Capture those detail shots of glasses in the air and capture the mood. This is a really easy way to add the atmosphere of the night into your gallery.
Educate your couples that if they want emphasis on candid photos, the need to spend time with each other and the people that they want in their pictures. Remind them that you’re documenting authentic memories, and in order for you to create those they have to let go, be in the moment, and surround themselves with their people.
Take a photo from your couple’s perspective when everyone is seated for dinner. You can capture your couple in the foreground but the focus is on the whole scene. You’re giving them a photograph of exactly what they saw from their point of view at their wedding.
They spent so much time and energy planning this day. When they sit down and see it for the first time, it’s going to be a trip. Help them remember that feeling.
Capturing Family reactions
Capturing those authentic moments among family members and close friends on the wedding day is so important, but also so easy to forget.
This is where you want to tune into what's going on with family and friends throughout the wedding day, rather than just focussing on the bride and groom.
Keep an eye out for those different perspectives and angles of the wedding party that will add energy and emotion to your gallery.
And, yes, that’s a lot for you to remember throughout the day as things move so quickly. So, this is where you can really lean on your second shooter. Let them know you want them to focus on capturing reactions of close family and friends. Point out the family members you’d like them to focus on so you don’t miss those real reactions and moments form the day.
To prime yourself for taking candid reaction photos, you can even ask your couple who they’re most looking forward to seeing photos of.
When you have this detail, you can keep your camera trained on the tables and people that mean a lot to your couple.
If the sister is doing a speech, be ready for dad to cry, or for mom to look at dad or for the parents to hold each other’s hand.
And if those moments you want to capture don’t end up happening organically, you can help create them in a natural way.
It can be as simple as asking the bride’s dad to go over and tell his daughter she looks beautiful, or asking the groomsmen to go dance with the bride and pick her up on the dance floor.
End of the night flash photos
Flash photos are what everybody wants in their gallery right now.
Before you leave a wedding at the end of the night go up to your couple, tell them they have 5 more minutes with you. Tell them to get out on the dance floor one more time and hype them up!
Usually at this point in the night they’re buzzed and fully in party mode, these are great shots to capture with flash and it gives you a great way to end your day with the couple on a high note that will stick in their memory, and leave your with a rave review text at the end of the night.
add these to your mental wedding day shot list!
And if you want to dive WAY deeper into creating candid moments and capturing raw emotion in your photos, we cover this topic heavily in The Posing Course. That’s where you’ll find everything you need to create natural feeling photos you’re proud of and get your dream clients flocking into your inbox.