there is SO much to think about when you’re planning a wedding. Cake, colors, favors, vendors, invites… the list is HUGE! I retweeted someone yesterday who mentioned that there is an average of 43 businesses used to make one wedding happen. WOW. That’s incredible! So much goes into planning a celebration like this and while little details can be overwhelming, it’s worth it to talk over locations, timelines and portrait details with your photographer before hand. Most of my clients this year are opting for a First Look and I am THRILLED. First Looks reduce stress, allow time for TONS of portraits and relax nerves like you wouldn’t believe!
However, when you do a first look, normally this means you’re shooting mid-afternoon and that can be a photo challenge! It’s worth it though! I would rather deal with some bright light than not have enough time after the ceremony/family formals/bridal party portraits to capture the bride and groom’s romantic images! (aka, the images that you actually PRINT after the wedding day!). These are some things to think about when planning portraits and so this post is for brides AND photographers!
.
When you’re doing a First Look before the ceremony and shooting at 12-2ish….the light is going to be BAD. Unless you have a nice, overcast day….you will be in desperate need of some shadows! Tall trees, large buildings, barns and porches will become your best friends! I’m using our wedding as an example because we shot our portraits at about 2:00pm. I had been scouting out locations for MONTHS. This old, french plantation home had tons of trees (that still had leaves, it was October!) and so it was perfect! You can see that the light on the ground (in front of the bridal party) is super bright, but we found a large shadow to fit our 18 person bridal party in for portraits! Perfect!!! Because the tree was changing colors, the light looked glowy and soft and I was so pleased with these portraits! So today’s WEDDING WEDNESDAY lesson is to find a lot of SHADE if you’re shooting mid-day and have a huge bridal party! Your photographer will love you for it! Below our wedding images, I’ll show another example so you’ll really see what I’m talking about!
Obviously Jstar doesn’t normally post crazy-pics on her blog… it doesn’t match her classy, editorial style but she took a few of these for us and we love her for it. Photographers…. if a bride asks you to shoot something that you know isn’t “blog worthy”… do it anyway. She will love you for it.
Sisters!
The girls!
Reason #1 why a second shooter is a GOOD idea!
And reason #2… love this one. For those of you who don’t know, that’s my brother and sister… this image is perfect and it’s hanging in our living room:)
The guys! Loved their group shot!
My boys! So handsome!
Brides…. please don’t “skimp” on your photographer. Be picky. Choose the one that you connect with and LOVE their style. These images are SO incredibly precious to us!!! Jasmine or Jd….whoever took this one.. we love it. It’s in our album:)
Here is another example from Holly and Erik’s wedding last August! This first shot was ok, but I knew it wasn’t going to cut it. The light was harsh and the background was so blow out. These were actually taken LATER in the evening! These weren’t taken mid-day but the light was still SO bright and hard to work with!
So we walked and found a patch of shade just barely big enough to fit the whole bridal party in there and it was MUCH better!!!
Be sure to notice where the shadow is on the ground. I fit them in that shadow on purpose so that the light would be even and my editing process would be simple!:)
Thanks for reading!
— Katelyn
MORE RECENT POSTS
A year ago, we promised to find a solution for those who were complaining about their R6 raw files looking dull and lifeless in Lightroom. However, due to various circumstances, we couldn’t deliver on that promise until now.
Kelly is an incredible wedding photographer who has been shooting 90 weddings a year. I know, it sounds unbelievable, but it’s true! Kelly’s success and the volume of work she handles is truly impressive.
Your sessions should be working FOR you not against you!
Top Personal Posts
Have a little time to read?
"Best money I have EVER spent on education! ... and I've spent a lot!”
"I love all the lessons I'm learning from KJ All Access! Thanks Katelyn!”
"I find very few educational resources worth it ... this one is!”
"Being able to see behind-the-scenes of Katelyn interacting with her clients has been SO impactful!”
"SO worth it! It's amazing the amount of knowledge you get out of them!”
"I learned just as much in one All Access as I did in a whole course! SO GOOD!"
The KJ blog
must-reads
YOUTUBE
