Whether you’ve hired a professional photographer to handle your wedding photos, or if you’re just a guest looking to preserve the moment for yourself or as a gift to the happy couple, taking photos at a wedding can be challenging. So much is happening, and usually on a strict schedule, and you find yourself moving through three distinct scenarios: The interior of the church or other location of the ceremony, the outdoors and the weather you’re experiencing, and the location of the reception. And of course, the ceremony or reception might also be outdoors, and the weather is always shifting.
But you don’t need to be a pro photographer to take great wedding photos. In fact, as professional canvas printers we can give you three simple tips that will instantly move your wedding photos up a notch in quality and impact.
Canvas Printers Tip No. 1: Put the Bride in Shade
On a sunny day, you can get caught up in the glamour of a wedding, especially the bride in her shining white dress. The bright sun makes her look amazing – but you’ll find that photos of her in the dress and in the sun will turn out to be disappointing. The sharp shadows and her squinting grimace will conspire to make the photo look harsh and the bride terribly unhappy.
Solve this by having the bride pose for a moment in the shade. Any handy shady spot will do – it will allow her to relax her face, and will eliminate sharp, black shadows that can mess up the light and colour balance of the photos.
Tip No. 2: Frame with People and Architecture
At the ceremony and the reception, candids and other ‘in the moment’ pictures are powerful ways of conveying the beauty and emotional resonance of the day. But these can easily look sloppy and far too casual, or the opposite – too posed and stiff.
Capturing candids is more than just spotting a ‘moment’ and snapping away. The photo needs composition, and to keep the casual feel of the picture that composition has to be natural, not added later. Use people in the foreground and the architecture of the building to frame your moment, adding emphasis and structure.
Tip No. 3: Ask People to Turn Inwards
At the reception, you’ll often take photos of groups of people. Groups can be hard, as no one wants to spend a lot of time posing but more than two people can be a challenge. One of the simplest ways canvas printers know to guarantee that your group photos turn out great is to simply ask the two people on either end of a group shot to turn their bodies inward. It gives you a little extra room to zoom in with, and ensures a warmer, more intimate feel to the photograph. It’s subtle, but it works beautifully.
Now you’ve got the three simple tips, and your wedding photos will be better for them. And when you have some awesome shots of your next wedding event, click here and we’d be honoured to turn those newly awesome photos into awesome art for your walls or to be used as gifts.
