The first thing the bride and groom tell me on the morning after their big day is that “It went by so fast” and “I can’t believe it’s already over”!
Though they may be THERE, the happy couple are so overwhelmed with everything going on that they forget to enjoy the thing that really matters; taking IN their wedding day!

Having a professional photographer on your wedding day is an investment. I can not stress this enough.  After the flowers are dried, the cake is gone and your dress is cleaned, your photographs are the only thing you’ll have so you can look back and enjoy of your wedding day all over again… including what you may have missed the first time around! Photographers and their pictures document every detail and moment that you & yours may have missed; this is one of the best day of your life and by choosing a photographer that fits who you are, you will be able to relive those memories again and again.

I’ve met some brides and grooms that wanted to hurry through the photos because “they don’t see the big deal” or simply didn’t have the time to sit around and pose. That makes me hurt inside. Not only because I’m a wedding photographer, but because I know that, [many] years from now, when you are old and wrinkly, you won’t have much to look back on while sitting in the living room with the grandchildren. I apologize for the tiny, graphic thought.

The ceremony, the first dance, the love you demonstrate while becoming husband and wife and all moments that we are able to capture on film for you to enjoy for the rest of your life. Think about your photos while planning your wedding. I promise. You won’t regret it.

Here are some pointers on how to get the BEST photos of your wedding day.

Having cousin Joe take your photos.

Being a wedding photographer is actually considered one of the hardest jobs in photography. This is because we are placed in situations where we have to deal with things “on the fly”. Harsh Lighting, low/no church lighting, having the right lenses to capture your grandmother dancing with your new husband from across the room or the small closeup detail on your bouquet. Rain or shine, small bridal bedrooms and big reception halls or even colorful lights that make your skin look weird. Anything goes and not every camera can handle the same thing. We stay on our feet 14-16 hours documenting a wedding. Then, we go home and sort through 1000-3000 photos to pick the best ones and retouch them all for you for 10-20 hours because we know how important these photos are for you. We (as in all photographers) have the time and the interest to capture the important moments like the rings or the cake or the glimpse you gave while walking down the aisle and we won’t get distracted by guests!

Even if cousin Joe is going to give it to you as a gift or at a low cost and even if he has “taken photos before”, consider these things before giving him the job.

– Has he photographed weddings before and does he know the key moments that happen during a wedding?
– Can he handle dark rooms like churches and reception halls?
– Do you like his style of photography (and would you like it for your photos ) ?
– Does he have the knowledge to adjust photos on the computer if his flash was too bright (or not bright enough) when you had your first kiss?
– Is his camera’s quality good enough so you can blow up your favorite photo to fit that frame over the fireplace?
– Does he have a helper to take photos too if you have a big guest list ?

You can also give him a “test run” with an engagement shoot to see how the photographs will turn out first. Make sure to take photos inside and outside to judge properly. And even if he is your cousin joe, don’t be scared to ASK HIM FOR PHOTOS to show you what he’s got! Remember, this day happens ONCE in a lifetime (hopefully).

When fetching to get great photographs, having the right photographer is key. Make sure you hire a photographer who has a style you like, has the knowledge to deal with different situations and one that you get along with.

Get a theme.

Working around a theme for your wedding day ensures great photos. I recently had a wedding where EVERYTHING was black, white and pink. It was AMAZING to photograph. It makes your photos consistent all day long. By having 2 or 3 colors to work with, your album will also look amazing! Your pages will flow from start to finish. Your detail shots will coordinate and you really will have something to be proud of.
Not sure how to get around to or planning out a theme? Consider hiring a wedding planner to plan out your wedding day. Having someone to do the planning for you will take the stress of thinking about the little details from your decor to scheduling;  and getting it all right and ready for you on your big day! Don’t know where to start? Not sure you can afford it? All you have to do is ask. They can be more affordable than you think.

Flaunt the Color.

Once a theme has been chosen, be sure to use it on your person too. If your wedding is pink, black and white, use it everywhere… on your bridesmaid’s dresses, the boys ties, your centerpieces, your bouquet & even on the cake! They should all flaunt the color from your theme. An extra tip on how to use the color? Try using the pop color (pink) of your shoes and his socks. That would make a fantastic/funny/cute photos for the album. Having white bridal shoes is not mandatory anymore. Sport that color!

Hair and Makeup.

Seems like an easy one, but many brides decide at the last minute to get only their own hair & makeup done or just have a close friend do it for them. Is this wrong? No, of course not. But consider this: You might think that a make-up artist will make you feel like the make-up is “caked on” (likely because you aren’t use to it) but a professional will be able to take you and transform you into a ready-for-pictures-you. They know what type of make up looks the best for pictures. Yes… not everything looks great on photos. Your makeup artist will know how to make your eyes POP, have your lips look fantastic and get your cheekbones looking rosy and fabulous. Your hair is also important in this equation. You have to remember that you’ll go through a lot during the day so you have to be sure that your hairstyle will be able to withstand the obstacles. The wind, the veil, the dancing. A professional hairstylist will know how to get you all set and ready for [almost] anything. Here a few hair stylists and makeup artists to consider : Janet Persaud (makeup), Chelsea Dawn,  Moxee Coiffeur, Pierre (hair) , Ally Zwonok (makeup), Fard Chic (makeup and hair-home service), Jessica Bakos from Tease Salon, Annie Young Cosmetique at Avanti Spa (makeup and Avanti Spa for hair)

Light and Shadows.

I know what you are thinking. “Isn’t an awesome, sunny day the best for photos? We are having our ceremony at 1h to be sure that we get great sun for the photos.” Although I love sunny days and couldn’t do without it, it’s actually AWFUL for photos!  The sun is my nemesis… unless we are getting creative. The best time to get photos? Mornings, evenings and cloudy days. Cloudy Days? Yes. Why? Because there’s no direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will make very harsh shadows on your face which will make your photos look …well… not the best. I do understand that there’s nothing that we can do about that. I mean, how do you plan your wedding day on a cloudy day? You can’t. There is however other things you can do to get the best photos.

– If you want to go to a park for your formal portraits, head over there before your wedding day to check where the sun is on at that time of day. If the location you chose has no shaded areas, it’s probably not the best place to have your formal portraits taken. The photographer will always place you in the shade to take your photos so that you don’t get any harsh shadows on your faces. Nor will she/he place you facing the sun so that everyone squints (that’s awful in photos!). It’s important to find a location that has lots of shadowed areas.

-If you are having an outdoor wedding, make sure that the altar is shaded and your back is to the sun. It may mean that your guests will be sitting facing the sun, but the important part of the wedding is… you. Ask the organizer if it’s possible to have an altar for you to hide from the sun or, if it’s early in the morning or later in the afternoon, to have the guest facing the sun so that that you & your groom will have your back to the sun and facing your guests. If you are planning to have your ceremony at sunset and outdoors, take into account to have your formal portraits done BEFORE the ceremony. Remember, the sun will be set otherwise.

-Choose an appropriate time of day. Depending of the time of day, the color of the light may effect your photos. Did you know that? In the first hours of sunrise or the last hours before sunset, the color of your photos (without flash) will be more orange than usual. This seems obvious now that I said it because we will notice the sun changing color while its rising and while its setting. Well, that color shows in the photos. Even if we aren’t taking one of the sun, your skin will still be effected by it. These hours will make it seem like you have a nice, bronzed glow 🙂 We all LOVE that! These hours are perfect for photography. Actually, they are the BEST. Having the sun ascending and descending also gives us the possibility to turn our backs from it and avoid Shadows and Squinting. Photos at noon (which means having the sun right above our heads) won’t give us a chance to turn away from it. In that case, you’ll definitely need shaded areas.

If you have the time to read a LONG interesting articles on time of day and photography. Check out Hahn Photography.

With that said, does that mean that if you book your wedding at Noon, you won’t get nice pictures? No, no. But make sure your photographer is aware of what to do in Harsh Shadow situations.

The timeline.

Anything can happen on a wedding day (just like any other day). The flowers may be late, the makeup may take longer than intended or the groom might go missing (just kidding!). No matter what it is, it’s important to plan for more time than actually needed. If you think it will take 1 hour for hair and makeup, book two.  If you have planned 45 minutes for the ceremony, add another 20 minutes for chit-chat and group photos outside the church. Think about your wedding portraits too. Give your photographer the time to get creative with a little more time than planned.Talk to your photographer about this. How much time would he/she need to take your photos?  I like to plan for at least 1h30 minutes after the ceremony; without traveling time. There are family photos to be taken, Wedding Party photos and also your Bride+Groom portraits. Take into account finding your entire family, bringing them to the location, the extra photos you might like etc etc.. A great time saver is to give your family an itinerary or list of the photos you want to take so they know exactly where to be, at what time and for what. Make sure you give one to your photographer too. Having a complete list with names will speed up the process of getting all the family photos. Your photographer will be able to call everyone by name and be efficient. And you won’t forget that photo with Grandma.

If your ceremony and Reception are in the same area, great! That cuts a lot of time. If it’s not however, don’t forget to plan for traveling times between the locations you want to shoot and the reception/cocktail area. Always allow more time than you think for traveling as well because many things can happen; you might hit traffic, someone might get lost or a bridge might suddenly be closed (gotta love Montreal).

Another great time saver is considering taking your portrait (bride/groom) photos BEFORE the wedding. Times have changed and seeing each other before the wedding is no longer considered bad luck. By taking your photos before the ceremony, you will be able to take advantage of fresh hair and makeup, getting rid of walking down the aisle jitters, having more time for your guests after the ceremony or having your photographer arrange and capture the “reveal” and emotion when you both see each other for the first time rather than having it happen when you are 30 feet apart in the church. Also taking photos the moment you see each other for the first time also brings more wonderful romantic photos.

The touch.

This is your wedding day. For both of you. Make your photos extra special by giving the opportunity to your photographer to catching moments with your groom. To do this, you have to be with your groom. On  your wedding day, make sure you are together MOST of the time. There’s nothing worse than having a bride and groom being with their families (or friends) and being apart for most of the night. Your photographers will try to chase you around and you’ll end up with “party” photos rather than the “celebration of your union” photos. Make sure you are on the dance floor together, go see the guest together and spend time together. After all, you don’t want your photos to include photos on your own without your partner! Not very romantic!

When you are together, embrace the touch. If it’s holding hands, holding her lower back or even touching shoulders, this will allow your photographers to capture the little moments you don’t even realize you are having together just by touching. These are some of the great ones to look back on your wedding photos. Even if you aren’t the mushy types, just remember that this is the day to show off your love. Make it special. Just remember to stay together by a touch.

We are watching.

A photographer will always be subtle while taking your wedding photos. Other than when capturing the exchange of the rings (we often have to get pretty close) your photographer will almost be invisible. But that doesn’t mean that you should forget about them. I remember I was assisting at a wedding once and the bride was completely oblivious that we were taking photos of her. Actually, I don’t think she realized what she was doing it. At every emotion, she would make the weirdest facial expressions, rolling her eyes, making weird exaggerated laughs or funny faces at people. Although it was funny in some of the pictures, it would have been nice to see a normal smile or two.  I’m not saying that you should be smiling or crying during the entire day of your wedding but just don’t over-exaggerate your facial expressions. Simply smile a little more than usual and don’t make sudden movements that might lead to missing the shot (unless you gave your photographer an itinerary).

Here’s a few more:
-While dancing your first dance, don’t spin too much with your groom. Enjoy the moment and just dance with him. Make eye contact with him, give him kisses and even interact with the camera a little.
-When someone clings their glass to make you kiss, why not extend and get up to kiss your bride/groom or even make it into something more interesting. Could be a dip or making your married guests kiss instead.
-Think about seeing each other PRIOR to the ceremony so that your photographer can plan a picturesque reveal to capture the moment you first lay eyes on each other for the first time.

Go unplugged.

A couple of months ago, I read an awesome article by the offbeat bride. This article encouraged bride and grooms to say “no” to devices during their wedding day. Let’s face it. If you hire a wedding photographer, chances are you are paying a pretty penny. As I mentioned before, being a photographer is tough and requires long hours. Hours that we can’t dedicate to working somewhere else. This means that we have to charge over 1000$ per wedding in order to be able to make a living. That’s a pretty penny for you. It’s natural for you to want to get the best photos for your dollar. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Especially at the ceremony. I’ve encountered it many times before, and I’m sure a lot of wedding photographers would say the same. I’m talking about the cameras and the cellphones. While your wedding photographer is looking for the emotion between you and your guests while you are walking down the aisle, they are instead faced by faces … faces hidden behind their cameras and cell phones. Like the article states, this social era has become way over-documented and can really take away the beauty that is weddings. By going “unplugged”, you’ll allow your guest to witness your wedding, rather than enjoying it after its over while flipping through their photos. You will also be spared of playing detective once all those photos hit Facebook.  And, most of all, you won’t have to have to deal with Cousin Joe jumping in front your wedding photographer at every chance! Here’s a few “nice ways” to tell people to leave their cameras at home (at least for the ceremony) – By Emily Post which is about cellphones, but can also work with any other devices :

1. Print a tasteful little notice in your program ceremony, saying: “We wish to remind you to please turn off your cell phone ringer and refrain from using your cell phone during the wedding ceremony. Thank you!”
2. You can notify everyone as they sign a guest book when entering the ceremony site. Have an attendant direct guests to sign the book. Next to the book post an attractive sign (perhaps in a picture frame) next to the book. You could use the same wording as above, ‘reminding’ your guests to turn off their cell phones.
3. If you are not using a ceremony program or having guests sign a guest book, you could have someone make an announcement just before the wedding processional begins, “Please turn off your cell phones—the ceremony is about to begin!” While this last choice is acceptable, it is not as good as the first two, the less intrusive ones. A verbal announcement might deflate some of the upbeat anticipation of the ceremony and distract from the positive joy of the moment that is about to begin.

and finally … Meet with your wedding photographer.

You are searching for a wedding photographer online, you fall into a set of wedding photographs and fall in LOVE with them. Although images speak louder than words, sometimes personality can play a huge part on the outcome of photographs. You’ll be spending the entire day with your wedding photographer. Make sure you like their personality. Imagine having to spend YOUR WEDDING DAY with someone you can’t stand. Someone that needs to be next to you the whole day. That will take a toll on your mood for sure. And that, in turn, will take a toll on your photos. By having someone you TRUST and someone that you know you can  fun with, you’ll be cheery, upbeat and won’t have a care in the world because you know that if anything happens, you’ll have someone there that you can now call a friend. Don’t be afraid to ask your potential wedding photographer for a meet and greet to see if you’ll get along. Even if they happen to be charge a little bit for a consult, it’ll be totally worth it if you end up NOT liking their personality. If you like their personality but are afraid you might be a little shy, make sure to an engagement session before your wedding day. An engagement session is a great way to “practice” in front the camera and getting to know your wedding photographer. You’ll also get to have photos with your future hubby in casual attire.

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This list was complied by my past experiences at weddings. It’s subjective to me and what I like to photograph at weddings. Keep in mind, you don’t have to do ALL OF THESE to have fabulous photos, these are simply Tips and Tricks to make your photos be even more awesome. Your professional wedding photographer will be able to discuss more in depth with you on these (or more) tips.

So what about you? Anything else that you have tried and then made your photographs better? Let’s discuss in the comments below.

Enjoy your photographs![:]