Today, I’m going to be sharing with you the behind the scenes portrait time of a wedding day! This was immediately after their ceremony took place. There was not a first look, they saw each other for the first time at the time of the ceremony. Right after their ceremony, we walked over to the water and began shooting!
Come Shoot With Me: Bride & Groom Portraits
First, posing began with my couple in front of the water. I snapped a few candid shots of them by the water and posed ones. Then I pulled out my 70-200mm and got some photos of them without the water. I simply wanted some garden foliage behind them and to focus on capturing some real emotion.
After those, I chose to switch things around and shoot towards the groom’s back because the lighting kept switching as clouds moved. It was a mixed cloudy day so there were times when it was a lot brighter and then it would get a lot darker. There was a constant change in lighting, and adapting my angles was necessary.
Before heading to the reception, I was focused on getting some less posed images that showed the day progress. For example, the bride and groom getting on their trolley created a unique, timeless photograph. These are great times where they are not “traditional” portraits but you can capture some great opportunities where things are happening as they are moving from location to location.
The final location was actually at the reception location before we headed into the reception tent itself. I was still shooting on the 70-200mm lens and it was great to be able to get this kind of compression and telephoto angle from where I was standing at the top of the hill. I took some portraits of the couple from far away and then decided to meet them on the docks. I was alternating between two lenses – my 35mm and my 70-200mm throughout the time. This is why I love wearing 2 camera bodies on a wedding day.
After I took a few bride and groom portraits at the docks, I wanted to get some walking shots of them. First, I instructed them to go ahead and start walking away from me and then of course, I’ll have them turn around and start walking back towards me. The lighting throughout this day was shifting a lot with some brighter moments and some darker ones and even a rain storm that came through. Thankfully though, everything did clear up!
I made sure to also capture some of their details as well under the tent. Taking a photo of their sweetheart table, the florals, the place setting, and more! At this point in the day the couple needed to get freshened up, grab some food, and take a break from being outside.
For all of the detail images in the reception, I didn’t have to use flash but I did end up using my flash later on in the reception as the sun went down. I often keep a flash on one of my cameras even though it’s not on because I never know when I’m going to walk inside, or if I’m going to need to pop a flash when I’m taking pictures of people and guests, or if the lighting situation will call for me to use a flash. That’s why you see that often times it looks like I’m using a flash even when I’m not.
During cocktail hour, I decided to try and talk to my bride to see if she was willing to go back outside for pictures but while she was saying hello to guests I made sure to capture some shots too. She thankfully was willing to go back outside since the rain had cleared. I decided to come over to a garden area so we could get a little more variety.
When choosing a location for portraits, I’m mostly looking for even, flattering lighting and that’s exactly what I found here when I was taking pictures of my bride and her bouquet.
Finally, I wanted to get a veil portrait with them in the garden. But since the groom was so much taller, I had to have him crouch down and you can see this looks ridiculous from behind the scenes, but the final image is so beautiful! So, as you can see behind the scenes, it can look a little wild and crazy but being intentional with how you shoot and where you shoot will allow you to create some gorgeous portraits!
Thanks for coming behind the scenes with me!
