Your wedding or elopement is coming up! You’re planning, and you maybe feel a bit unprepared. With everything going on, you know that there’s one thing that really matters: getting amazing wedding photos. And not just “good” photos. It’s your wedding, so your photos mean a lot more to you. You want to make sure that you look back on them 10 years from now still loving them and feeling how you felt on the day. Your photos and video are the only thing that last longer than the wedding day itself.
We’re Jake + Genessa, and being Spain wedding photographers for more than 5 years, we actually know all the tips and tricks to getting the best wedding photos. So that’s why we’ve written this blog with 6 ways to get the best wedding photos you can. Here they are!
Here’s Our 6 Ways to Get The Best Wedding Photos
- Plan your timeline around the perfect lighting.
- Find the right location.
- Be creative with matching accessories.
- Ditch impressing people— be you!
- Be down for anything + have fun!
- Have an after-wedding photoshoot.
1. Plan Around The Lighting!
Photographers are basically light-benders.
The lighting is the most important part of getting great photos. And because of this, it is something you need to consider planning around. Typically, the peak hours of the sun are not ideal for outdoor photos. It depends where you are, but it’s usually midday, from 1-3pm.
The best time for taking photos is later in the day, before the sunset. For your portraits, give yourself an hour or so before the sun sets, and you’ll get soft, creamy sunlight instead of bright, harsh rays that often leave shadows on your face. Here are some things to keep in mind regarding the light:
- What time are you having your ceremony?
- Is your ceremony outdoors?
- What time does the sun set at your wedding location?
- Did you make room in your wedding day timeline for portraits?
Note: definitely speak to us about the possibility of doing your portraits at sunset! It really will be worth it to sneak away from the reception for 20 minutes to get some amazing shots!
2. Find the Right Location
Location is 70% of the photo.
Along with using the right lighting, you need to also have the right location. We’ve all seen the super classic wedding photos, so believe me that finding a unique location will really make your wedding photos stand out.
As a part of our job, we as photographers love to location scout for photos. Ask your photographers what they think is best in light of what your vision is for your wedding photos. It doesn’t always mean that you have to relocate for your wedding photos— it just means that you need to look for what your options could be. For instance, some questions you can ask yourself are:
- Would it be better to take photos at the ceremony or reception?
- Is there sufficient time between the ceremony and reception to travel to another location?
3. Have Matching Details!
Match-maker match-maker…
It’s not only pleasing to the eye to have matching elements— it also serves to make amazing wedding photos. Your bouquet is one of the details you’ll have with you all day, so why not have something awesome! Regular sized wedding bouquets pretty much get lost in the background from a visual perspective. Your flowers complete your look and totally add another dimension to your wedding photographs. (Also, holding a bouquet gives you something to do with your hands in photos, haha).
Besides flowers, things like hairpieces + jewelry can go a long way in completing a look.
4. Enjoy Every Moment
Your wedding photos will show how you felt.
If you’ve been to a lots of weddings, you’ve no doubt seen a bride who struggles to move anywhere because of her 6 inch heels, clearly can’t breathe, and most definitely isn’t having a good time. All for the sake of impressing people. And let me tell you right now: it shows in the photos.
Above all, You’re going to want to remember your wedding day being truly yourself. The most important thing is that you are both comfortable, and both being true to yourselves (as cheesy as it sounds). There’s nothing that brings Jake and I more joy than seeing a couple do exactly what they want and do it their way. As a result, the photos are always authentic and epic!
5. Be Down for Adventure!
It’s your job to show up.
Couples who are brave + enthusiastic really do get the best images! Above all, showing up is your job as the “models”. Your photographer can’t be the only one who shows up— they will be showing you how to pose, guiding you, and coming up with ideas for photos. However, it’s almost always about your attitude toward having our photos taken that ultimately show in the photos.
Whatever the situation might be— a bit of rainy weather, a morning started on the wrong foot— photos full of smiles and laughs are always the best ones. An energetic, enthusiastic, and open couple is a dream for photographers, because they can use their full creative freedom when taking photos— and that’s why you hired them in the first place!
6. Have an After-wedding Photoshoot
If you’re travelling half way across the world to get married or elope somewhere awesome, it would make sense to make the most of your time there! An after wedding photoshoot gives you the opportunity to travel a little further, hit a location that you weren’t able to on the wedding day, or even if you’re in Europe, hit another country (If you’re coming to Spain, you’ve never been closer to Portugal, France, Italy, and even Morocco)! There really is no reason to limit yourselves and your adventure to one day and one location. Above all, it gives us all some space to get some really epic photographs of you guys without the pressure of the wedding day (and you don’t even have to ruin your dress).
For example, some awesome locations in Spain are in Bilbao for cliffs and the ocean (Gaztelugatxe – for GOT fans), in Zaragoza for the Bardenas Reales Desert, Alicante for the best beaches, and the Canary Islands that will blow you away.
