When booking a wedding photographer, you may have some ideas as to what exactly you want photos taken of, here’s 10 ideas you may not have thought of from professional Wedding Photographer Eleanor Joy
Wedding Photographer Eleanor Joy Shares Advice…
Every wedding is unique from the time of year, the venue, the wedding decorations theme and of course the dress. From experience I understand that at times it’s not easy to remember everything. Or you could discover something at the last minute which you should have thought of sooner.
So, here’s my 10 Top Tips for the Perfect Wedding. Let’s start at the beginning with the preparations…
Wedding Photography Shots – Getting Ready
We’re all completely different (yay!) so whether you want just one person with you getting ready or a whole squad is entirely up to you. There is definitely a different energy with every environment so this is something to think about before the big day. If you would like getting ready shots I advise I arrive two hours before your ceremony.
It’s super helpful if the room is tidy (please!). Tidying an area to achieve a good photo of the rings, dresses etc can be time consuming and expensive for you to be paying photographers rates while I move things around.
Unplug Your Wedding
Asking your guests to put their phones away during the ceremony is a great idea if you don’t want your professional images to be of everyone holding a phone. Your registar or vicar will be able to give an announcement about this.
Church Memories
Please be sure to ask your priests and vicars to be kind to me! Being told to stand in one place is a nightmare and I don’t like to disobey. I understand that registrars can find it distracting to have a wedding photographer around but I am as quiet as possible and don’t use flash in churches.
Embrace The Unexpected
Whatever the weather, let your wedding day play out as it is going to. With so much excitement and energy around it is easy to lose sight of what’s important. Ultimately you are there to promise your best friend that you’ll remain their best friend for all of time. Your guests are thereto witness your love for one another. All the stress and hard work should be left to the wonderful team you have employed to make your wedding day wonderful!
Group Photos
Group photos can get a little chaotic. As I don’t know all your wedding guests, the most efficient way of organising them is to have someone finding the people that are in the next group photo. It is extremely helpful to have someone that knows your friends/family (ie. Best man, bridesmaid etc) and can help fetch wedding guests.
Informing me of the formal group photos you would like (which will be on the questionnaire I send out) helps me a lot. I dread to think of myself as one of those “shouty wedding photographers” so please heed this advice.
Couple Portraits
During the summer it’s best to do couple shots at sunset. Golden hour make everything look beautiful! It’s often a good idea to get a few in after the group photos as well. Sometimes it’s impossible to fit in couple shots later on so I’d recommend getting a few done earlier on in the day.
Wedding Speeches
Why not do the speeches before the meal? I see this at a lot of weddings these day and it saves the nerves of the best man! The other benefits are the tables look fresh, clean and everyone is a little more awake.
Cutting of the cake
Please don’t forget to look and smile at me!
Trust Your Wedding Photographer
Chances are you’ve done a lot of research before investing in the right photographer. It is always an honour to be chosen as a wedding photographer and I will always do my utmost to achieve the images you wish. However please bear in mind that we are in Surrey and not a California beach. If you send me a list of images from pinterest of a completely different setting to your own wedding it will be hard to achieve. By all means give me a list of ideas but please be open minded and trust that I will create creative, bespoke images that reflect your story.
Have a wedding date in mind? Or a range of dates? Visit the website for more information
