5 Simple Tips to Make Sure You Get the Best Photos on Your Wedding Day

As a photographer who has been shooting weddings for years, I can immediately list a handful of tips that could make a client’s wedding photos turn out better. Obviously most of that responsibility is on the photographer but there are some things the couple can do to ensure receiving even better images. The title of this post says “simple” tips because these tips truly are simple and shouldn’t take much extra effort.

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Bring a Wooden Hanger for the Dress

If you have chosen to have your dress photographed, consider bringing a wooden hanger instead of a plastic one. When Tyler & I are packing our photography gear into the car for a wedding, we typically add a wooden hanger just in case. It’s honestly the most simple tip but it will make those dress photos look much better.

Keep the “Getting Ready” Area Tidy

This one is slightly more directed toward brides. (Although men getting ready in a clean room is important too!) It would be easy to clutter up the area where you’re getting ready very fast. Between the dress, shoes, makeup, bags, and all of those bridesmaids - it’s a mess waiting to happen. With that being said, if you’re mindful, you can designate an area to store everything (mostly) out of sight.

Get Ready in a Room with Natural Window Light

We’ve shot plenty of weddings where couples get ready in low lit, windowless rooms. We can always make that work but I assume most clients would prefer the look of naturally lit photos. They’re less grainy and more flattering.

Be Mindful of Your Timeline/Schedule

Wedding timelines do not always pan out perfectly. You can’t find your uncle for family formals. It started raining and now the ceremony location has been moved inside. Your hair took longer to get done than planned. Those unexpected things happen and that’s completely fine. In order to help the timeline run as smoothly as possible, just be mindful of it. You can’t prevent things that are not in your control. Fortunately, you can make sure you’re paying attention to the schedule so you don’t fall too far behind. Keeping track of time makes it more likely that you’ll receive all the different photos you want. Your photographer should try and help move the timeline along as well.

Schedule Some Couple Portraits an Hour or Two Before Sunset

I completely understand this isn’t always possible for every couple. If you can make it work though, I highly recommend doing it - even if it’s just an extra 10 minutes. Having photographed weddings mostly in the Midwest and in the South - the light is often perfect during that time and very flattering for portraits. We didn’t always encourage our clients to do this the first year we started shooting weddings. Looking back, I know it would have made their portraits even better.

Hopefully these tips gave you some new ideas on how to receive better wedding photos. If you’re still looking for a wedding photographer - let’s chat! 😃