Wedding Day Portrait Tips

Fun, Quick And Stress-free Portraits

Remember

Your portraits provide an excellent chance to escape the chaos of your wedding day and enjoy some quality time together.

I am a camerawoman on a mission photographing weddings from South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and beyond. I know it’s a daunting thought to be in front of the camera, but I’m the same. I wince at the thought of it, so I feel your concerns. Over the past ten years, I’ve been photographing weddings; I’ve learned a lot and know how to help my couples relax and have fun in front of the camera. I’ve written this article to help couples understand the process and pick up some tips to ace their wedding day portraits.

Over the past decade, my approach to wedding photography has evolved. I’ve come to appreciate the beauty of natural and candid moments, which truly reflect a couple’s essence. As a documentary wedding photographer, I aim to minimize time spent on couple portraits during a wedding day. So a quick ten minutes is the perfect amount of time we need to get some fantastic photos of you both. I appreciate photographers who invest time in lighting and posing couples. However, a wedding day should focus on the celebration with some portrait images rather than becoming a photoshoot that overshadows the wedding. This does not mean you are compromising the quality or quantity of portraits.

Sarah & John’s wedding in early October was an incredible day. The timestamp of metadata on the images was – 2.39pm to 2.50pm, so 11 minutes and look what happens!! Pure gold.

Watch Me I’m Fun

I Capture Relaxed Wedding Portraits With Minimal Intrusion

When photographing people, particularly during a portrait session, it is essential to ensure that your positive energy is beautifully mirrored in your images. So, I say this a lot: the vibe and energy you bring to the day will truly reflect in the photographer’s images. Humans are unique, and after ten years of shooting weddings, I’ve learned to embrace all personalities. For fun photographs, create a lively atmosphere. For quiet, romantic portraits, establish a calm environment—the energy I bring, and you bring matters more than any posing.

As mentioned, I generally avoid posing couples; however, sometimes, taking control is essential if you seem nervous. I prefer to encourage movement, like walking or running, as it helps you relax and appear more natural in front of the camera. I shoot with prime lenses on 85ml and 35ml; the 85ml allows me to be further away from you, giving couples that space and the time they need on the wedding day. When a couple feels awkward, if you lean in together, you may connect at that moment. It can be as easy as that to capture a fabulous moment.
Most people find having their photo taken quite unnatural. So, prompts play an essential part in how I get my couples to relax. These usually invoke memories or get them thinking playfully and can get great natural reactions. I love banter, so I use this to draw out my couples’ fun sides; laughter is the best medicine, after all!

Distance and Up-Close Portraits

…whether I’m shooting with a long lens (from a distance) or up close with a wide angle, I’ll make sure you’re really at ease with me.

Candid Portraits

…some portraits just happen, even when we’re not doing portraits! I told you, magic does happen.

Sarah Bruce Photography Palazzo Belmonte Italy

Locations

…funky backdrops – I’m always looking for exciting places throughout the wedding day.

Golden Hour Light

Not all light is equal; however, I always look for stunning pockets of light. It’s wonderful to work with, and of course, I have to take advantage of it. I am always led by the light when we do our portraits. One 10 minutes can be spent after we have done the group images. (I always like to get one session in the bag). The primary time a wedding photographer should schedule portraits is during the golden hour. Despite living in Britain, I remain an optimist, hoping to find and use that beautiful golden light. If the sexy light comes out to play then watch me turn into a light junkie!!!!
Golden hour typically occurs after the speeches or before the first dance on a wedding day, allowing the couple to feel more relaxed, which is evident in the photos. I would always mention this to my couples leading up to the wedding: It is essential to think about your schedule and time in a 5/10 minute for the portraits at golden hour.

…see what I mean? How stunning is this light?

Using Window Light For Wedding Portraits

If you have rain on your wedding day, don’t panic. We can still get incredible images. A good wedding photographer will have plenty of tricks up their sleeve. I love to use window light, a soft light that falls away from the window. However, positioning a couple is essential here, as getting the light to bounce off their faces and bodies makes the best portrait. For a window portrait, there has to be some static element; however, I still make my couple relax and out comes to my banter!!
I’ve written an article with tips and tricks to plan for rain your wedding day – click here to read.

…you can’t beat a bit of dramatic window light.

Natural Light ‘V’ Flash

I prefer using natural light for photos because it helps capture genuine emotions from couples. I feel that off-camera flash changes the moment’s energy and makes it difficult to maintain that connection, resulting in images that can look overly posed. However, if there is bad weather, I am open to popping in some flash and creating something unique for my couples. I also at the end of an evening want to end on something cool. If I’ve seen a fabulous quirky spot on the wedding day, I can use it for a tremendous end-of-night portrait. I would also test the lighting and prepare it for the couple first so it would only take a few minutes of the couple’s time.

Quick Top Tips

Embrace the awkwardness, lean into each other, and laugh about it. Supporting one another can stop you from feeling awkward.
Disclaimer: It may feel awkward for the first two minutes, but expect it and roll with it! I promise you this feeling will dissolve in just a few moments!
Have an engagement shoot—this is the best way to understand the process and feel more at ease about the big day.
Creating movement – Walking and looking at each other can make you feel relaxed and create stunning images.
Keep things moving — for example, if you are holding hands, gently moving them up and down while playfully leaning into your partner is great.
It’s the photographer’s job to make you feel relaxed. It’s not on you to perform or be anything but yourselves for the camera—and more importantly, for your wedding day. Go with the flow, and magic will happen.
Ignore the camera. I like to get one image of my couple looking at the camera for the nan’s. After this, as you have probably noticed, looking over my website and past blogs, I don’t want there to be eye contact between us, so asking my couples to look into the camera is not how I do things. This is instantly one way of feeling uncomfortable. Having to look straight into a lens can be scary!
Leading the way – one person to lead and look back always gets a few giggles.
Dance – this might only be for some; however, it can stop the awkdmess and create motion.
Remember, also, it can feel awkward. However, the moments in between when you giggle, hold hands, or kiss can be the gold I’m looking for.
Allowing around two hours for your reception will give you plenty of time to mingle, have some group images, and then spend a little alone time for the portraits without it feeling rushed.

And Finally

It really is as simple as it sounds, I promise. I want to maintain authenticity for the couple and their relationship. I don’t want you to look back at your pictures and think, “That’s not us.”

If my style of photography is up your street and you’re hunting for a photographer, please come and say hello; get in touch now.

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