Evie Photography – Our Blog | previously known as Life Exposed Photography

With over 13 years of experience as a wedding photographer, I love to share my experience and knowledge to help brides and grooms get the best wedding day images that they can. So here are some helpful tips that you can use all throughout your wedding day.

1. First and very importantly, choose a wedding photographer that you “click” with and trust. The more comfortable you are with your photographer the more natural your photos will be.

2. Schedule an engagement portrait session. It’s like a dress rehearsal and you’ll feel much more comfortable having a camera pointed at you on your wedding day. And, you’ll get a lot of great images to commemorate your engagement. You can also use your engagement photos for invitations, save the date cards and for your guest book.

3. Incorporate personal items into your wedding images. The classic truck that the groom rebuilt or including your dog tells a story about you. Some of our clients have included their soccer ball, softball gear, fishing trophy, quilt and even a wheelbarrow.

4. Don’t worry about the blemish that showed up the morning of your wedding. A good photographer will be able to touch up your most important photos.

5. Request that your photographer take “Getting Ready” images. These are taken as you and groom are getting ready, getting dressed, primping and preparing for your ceremony. This may be the only time your photographer can get beautiful detail shots of things like your veil, garter, flowers, jewelry, and attire. This is also a time that is filled with a lot of emotion and interaction with family members and friends.

6. Bring a fancy hanger for your wedding dress. Your photographer will want to take a creative image of your beautiful gown. A complimentary hanger, rather than the plastic hanger your gown came home in, will lend to a fantastic image.

7. Bring another pair of shoes for walking around your wedding venue for your portraits. If you plan to go up the steep slope for that mountain view photography, you’ll appreciate a good pair of tennis shoes or skid proof flats. If the ground is especially soft, you avoid constantly sinking into the ground in your brand new pumps. Your photographer can make sure you are wearing your wedding shoes in the images that they can be seen in.

8. Consider doing your family, bride and groom and wedding party portraits before the ceremony so you can spend more time with your guests. This will also give your photographer the opportunity to take photos of your cocktail hour and ballroom details before your guests fill the room.

9. If you do your family, wedding party and bride and groom portraits before the ceremony, arrange for the “Big Reveal”. Your photographer can organize this special moment when you and your groom see each other for the first time in private. Many brides and groom prefer this because they get to meet privately, spend a little time together before the ceremony and it takes the stress off of the ceremony. It’s a great photo-op too!

10. Assign a family or wedding party member to help your photographer identify family members for group photos or other photos you’ve requested.

11. A good photographer will help you pose for your bride and groom portraits – even if you want the most relaxed, artistic images. Lifting your chin reduces a double chin, shifting your weight to your back foot, gives you a nice curve. Reminders to drop your shoulders creates a more relaxed look. If you tend to blink a lot, we will count down for you so your eyes are open at the right moment.

12. Plan ahead of time which family and wedding party portraits you want. Your photographer should ask you to help them plan this and offer a check list, to make sure you get the images you want and to determine how long it will take.

13. Keep it simple. Select the most important family photos for your portrait session such as you and your groom with your immediate family, then with his and then all of you together. A few more variations are appropriate but avoid choosing every variation you can think of as this can take a lot of time.

14. Make sure everyone that will be in your family and wedding party portraits knows where to meet and when to be there. If any of them tend to run late, tell them to be there 15 minutes before you really need them to be. Let them know about your post ceremony photos and ask them to stay nearby so that they can be included in your portraits.

15. Don’t sweat the small stuff and be flexible. For example, if it rains and you can’t get that sunny, blue sky portrait, you can grab umbrellas and rain boots for some fun outdoor shots. Choose a photographer that is flexible and can shift gears quickly in order to get creative images in any situation.

16. Schedule a Day-After Shoot. If you have limited time for your bride and groom portraits or you don’t get the weather you dreamed about, schedule another bride and groom portrait session the day after or even a week after your wedding. It can be a lot of fun to get back into your wedding attire and do a photo session when you have lots of time and nothing else on your agenda. And, you can choose a totally different location to do more of your portraits.

17. Request that your photographer bring a second shooter so you can get better coverage. The second shooter can also photograph your groom getting ready while your photographer is documenting you getting ready.

18. Tell your photographer about special details like your grandmothers handkerchief on your bouquet or the candle that represents a family member that has passed on. They will surely want to take a photograph of these important details.

19. Tell your photographer the 5 most important poses or moments of your wedding day. I hope every photographer knows that your wedding kiss is on the top of that list, but it never hurts to talk about it. You may also really want a photo of the two of you after you’ve walked down the aisle and sneak away for a private moment. (when you are alone and married for the firsts time). Your photographer will need to know this is important to you.

20. If you and/or your family are avid gum chewers, leave the gum at home just for this one day. I’ve experienced it several times in which a groom is chewing gum during the ceremony, dad is chewing gum during the family portraits and wouldn’t stop. We even had an instance in which the bride and groom both popped gum in their mouths right before their first dance. This is such a great opportunity for romantic photos but gum in your mouth while ooh-ing and awing at each other during your first dance can ruin an otherwise great image. And, we can’t stop your first dance to tell you to spit out your gum.

21. Makeup should be a shade darker than normal but not overdone. You want to accentuate, bust still look like yourself.

22. Keep a makeup bag with your maid of honor so it is nearby when you need a touch up. You don’t want to run off to find your makeup bag for your portraits right after your ceremony since the time for this session is very limited. Keep eye drops and q-tips in your bag too in case you need to clear up red eyes or smudged mascara from a few shed tears.

23. Use lipstick and gloss to accentuate your lips and face powder to reduce shine. A little face powder is great for grooms too, especially if their hair is a little thin on top! We also keep facial tissues on hand for the groom – in case he resists the powder.

24. Do a trial run with your makeup and hair before your wedding day so you know how it will look and to ensure your veil, if you wear one, fits properly. You will also know how long it will take to do your hair and makeup preventing any time delays

25. Don’t use tanning lotions. They don’t cover evenly and leave streaks. They also tend to be tinted orange and don’t look natural.

26. Do a final portrait at the end of the reception for a closing shot to use at the end or your wedding album.

And, rest, eat, hydrate, relax, and enjoy the most important day of your lives!

I absolutely love when a couple includes their pet in the wedding day events or engagement session. Pets are part of the family so they should be there right? Actually, we know that is not always feasible. Keeping track of your dog on the wedding day can be a chore and stressful on the pet. If you are considering having your pet at your wedding, we highly recommend Lisa of Stella Earth (www.stellaearth.com). For Amanda and William’s wedding, Lisa picked up their dog Megatron from their house, brought him to the wedding, walked him to get out some of his energy, dressed him for the ceremony, looked after him while the family portraits were being done and then took him back home. The bride and groom did not have to worry about their sweetie at all and Megatron had a great time filling in as ring bearer! This wedding took place at Lionscrest Manor in Lyons.