Photographing Women on their wedding day. #bridalportraits
I want to share some examples of my work capturing women on their wedding day. From serious poses to real reactions. I love this part of my job. I view it as a challenge to get more creative and go beyond simple portraits. I love bright shots full of color, moody scenes, and candid moments while getting ready. I love a grand composition showing scale, full length shots, and a shallow-depth closeup. Of course I have to use mirrors if they are available. I love the drama of a dark room with a solo source of light. Or when I get to use some direct light that is casting shadows. A huge part of this job is interaction with your subjects. From directing them into a space, coaching them on body position, or cracking a joke and capturing the aftermath.
Bride + Bridesmaids
I recently worked a wedding with a group of very energetic bridesmaids, and I challenged myself to get unique photos of the bride with each of her girls. If you would like something like this for your day let me know. Below are just a few of what we got.
Worried about being Awkward?
Couples often tell me they are worried about looking awkward and want a photographer who will direct them without it looking forced. They want to look cool, dramatic, playful, and in love… like themselves. Do not worry, I got you. Here are some shots from a wedding with 3 different approaches:
Full on Art Director mode. This is the tiny part of the day when I get to slow things down and be really picky. I’m planning out the background, lighting, shadows, position of the subjects body, arms, faces, and expressions.
The half-way setup. I have a scene I want to use but I want to fill it with real life reactions. A simple prompt can work: “Walk toward me without taking your eyes off each other.” “Give her a twirl.”, “Grab your husband’s hand, Show me your new rings.”
Truly Candid. The mode that a wedding photographer has to be in most of the day. Doing my best to artfully capture whatever happens when I have no ideal what’s coming next.
Capturing diverse skin tones
I’ve had the luxury of photographing quite a variety of people and their wonderful diverse skin tones. While working with subjects I pay attention to my exposure by watching the histogram in-camera. I don’t want to underexpose and lose detail in the shadows or overexpose and clip the highlights. The other part is watching my subjects outside of the camera, while I’m working with them, so I remember what they really looked like in different lighting. This is critical because modern RAW files have too much leeway it’s possible to produce an edit that doesn’t look like the subjects at all. The goal is always for my subjects to love how they are represented. When I’m capturing two very different tones together getting that contrast to pop while keeping it faithful can be tricky. Once I have a solid foundational edit I like to also deliver some wild alternate color treatments and black & whites.
You can’t always get what you want (wind blown veil shots).
Working with bridal veils is one of the least predictable parts of photographing weddings. There are times a veil will do exactly what you dreamed it would, like you are controlling it with your mind. These times are extremely rare. It’s almost as if the more you want the wind to do something specific the more likely you are to get nothing. You can try involving the wedding party, holding the veil, and it might work. Or you can be patient and get lucky. A windy veil shot is oft requested by my clients and I love it when I get to deliver something like this to them. It’s also ok to just keep moving and not care, even if the wind has wrapped you all up in the veil. Try not to get frustrated. Instead try to be ready for anything.
Getting Creative with Window Light.
One of my favorite photo opportunities, especially for portraits, is a dark room with one window providing light.
Getting stylized guest pics.
When there is a chance to, and my clients are into it, I try to get creative with guest photos during cocktail hour. If you would like me to do this at your event let’s plan for it.
Working the angle.
I’m always looking for interesting angles out in the world that I can have my subjects interact with.
Planning a pair of shots ahead of time.
I had a year to think up some creative shots for this wedding at the DIA.
