Justin and Mary Marantz wrote up a list of tips for photographers documenting the bride getting ready, and it completely changed the way I approach the beginning of the wedding day.
I used to think that the reason awesome photographers had stunning photos of the bride getting ready were because they were shooting really expensive weddings in stunning locations, which is certainly true a lot of the time, but these tips helped me realize that I could step in and give suggestions that wouldn’t dramatically alter the wedding day, but would have an enormous impact on the quality of the photos the bride receives of those important moments.
This bride got ready at home, and agreed to get dressed in the living room after I walked through and determined it was the best light in the house. She didn’t mind shifting her plans a bit, and if I had kept quiet and let her dress in the dark bedroom, these photos would have been much grainier in a space that was much more cluttered (with all the things that get strewn about as you’re getting ready for the big day!).
To those who are married: Did your photographer speak up and direct the day a little bit? Did you appreciate this or did you even notice?
September 8th, 2011 on 8:09 am
no, i felt like i was telling my photographer what to do. there were tons of missed photo opportunity the evening of the wedding. It’s almost as they put more effort into the day after photos than the day of. Not 100% happy about them at all!
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September 8th, 2011 on 8:29 am
Our photographer gave us directions to linger during The Kiss, so he could get it from several angles. Apart from that, he did very little directing. I do wish he’d stepped in more, since a lot of my getting-ready shots show our cluttered apartment, and our first look, which we did in the backyard, has a bunch of gardening equipment in the background!
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September 8th, 2011 on 8:36 am
Oh how I wish my photographer had had this list…
He was an EXCELLENT photographer, don’t get me wrong. But the photos of me getting ready left a lot to be desired.
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September 8th, 2011 on 8:43 am
We are SO proactive like this, and it makes a huge difference. It’s not my clients’ job to think about lighting and composition… it’s MY job. I don’t want their wedding day to feel like a photoshoot, but if I can direct minimally for better results, that’s worth everyone’s time. Your clients will DEFINITELY appreciate the shift in thinking… and your work is obviously showing the effects!
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Kristin Reply:
September 8th, 2011 at 9:15 am
I totally agree! I wish my photographer(s) had struck a balance between too much direction and none at all. At times it felt like a photo shoot, and at times I was the one asking “do you think we can get a shot of ….?” This should be a must read!
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September 8th, 2011 on 10:12 am
I was so lucky that my photographer was getting married at the same site I was (she found it through me) - so she had scoped all the best spots for photos. Our pictures were amazing and though we got very little instruction - she did change up location for a lot of what I thought I wanted. It was definitely for the best!
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September 8th, 2011 on 10:49 am
oh I so wish my wedding photographers had been proactive about this. I didn’t plan for them taking any ‘getting dressed’ photos and so I was getting ready in my old room at my parents house ~ which was a cluttered mess, thanks to being the space where wedding gifts were being stored and the aftermath of honeymoon packing. But the photographers came in and started shooting before I’d realized it, and the resulting photos are not great because of all the clutter.
If I’d had any inkling of how much better it would look getting ready in another room in the house, I would have been very open to it - I just didn’t even think about it!
They also seemed oblivious to background people/objects in our portrait shots at a nearby lake/park - there was a man in a bright neon green shirt fishing in the background of most of the photos. I asked them to photoshop him out but they never did… I ended up learning how to do it myself. Still haven’t finished that yet though so 4 years later and we still have no album!! What a huge difference it would have made if they’d put more thought into aesthetics of the background!
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September 9th, 2011 on 11:13 am
I too wish I had a little more direction, it was more me and my brother who are very creative coming up with ideas. Those are my favorites… maybe he thought we were doing good… I would have rather not had to think about it though!
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September 9th, 2011 on 4:31 pm
My photographer was very proactive! She spoke up, but wasn’t bossy. AND she was about 5–6 months pregnant at the time (in Texas, during June, yikes!). We loved her! She was also quick and efficient at the group/family shots, so she could get to taking photos of the most important people — me and Brian! ^_^ My parents were very impressed with her professionalism, knowledge, and ability to get people quickly into a shot so that others could be moved in and out.
I didn’t get dressed at home, but I did change back out of my dress into street clothes at the temple, because it was so hot! And I didn’t want to wrinkle the dress in the car on the way to the reception area. But, she snuck into (with my permission) the dressing area at the reception site, and took a few shots of my bouquet with me in the background, etc.
She was also a ninja — I don’t recall seeing her much at the reception, but there were some great shots! One of my faves was me twirling in my dress, surrounded by family and friends, and my dress is making this great wide arc — great action shot! ^_^
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September 12th, 2011 on 12:19 am
Our photographers were GREAT and were very assertive doing our wedding. They helped direct us to get great pics without being pushy.
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September 16th, 2011 on 9:14 am
Absolutely! Our photographer took one look at my mom’s room and asked me to get ready there. The light was awesome! My only regret is that she asked that only my maid of honor “help” me get dressed so I don’t have any photos with all my girlfriends as I’m getting ready (except at the salon). Plus, I still feel bad that they were all hanging out downstairs waiting for me. It’s one of my only regrets from the day.
On a totally separate topic, let me know if you have any weddings you’re shooting in the DC area between now and the end of Nov. I’m due on 12/12 and reaaaaaly want some maternity photos
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