Our New Wedding Day Series for Brides and Photographers

Today we are beginning a series on how we photograph different parts of the wedding day! We have hesitated for a while to do “educational” posts for other photographers but we are going to take the leap and if it helps at least one person then it was more than worth it! Hopefully this will be a  great way to kick things off since it is may be helpful for not only other photographers but for our couples to know as well! We are going to start today with our process for photographing details and then next week you can read more about how we photograph getting ready for the guys and the girls!

Preparing for Detail Photos

Before we arrive on the wedding day we take some very important steps to help our brides and grooms know what to gather for us. Early on in our wedding experience we mail our couples a magazine that walks them through different sections of the day. One of them is the wedding day details! It lists out what we typically photograph and how it helps tell the whole story of their wedding day! We then later send them an email a few weeks before the wedding day with a list of what details to gather and which location to have them at. You can read more about that on this post here. We highly recommend to our couples that they gather everything in one place before the wedding day so that they can easily point us in the right direction when we arrive.

Photographing the Details

Location First

1. We find the light! If we can find a beautiful window or even a spot outside somewhere at your location that is where we will go first! If that just isn’t an option then we have a quick off camera flash set up that we learned from Justin and Mary’s lighting course!
2. We set everything out next to us, being careful to check for any where that things could roll. Do not take ring photos near anything that they could fall in. Play it safe and scan the space then you can get started!
3. We lay everything out and decide whether to use a bridesmaid dress as a backdrop or some of the fabric from our styling kit. (more on that coming soon!).

The Big Picture

1. Next, we start with the bigger picture and then go in smaller. We will photograph the full invitation suite with the shoes, rings, jewelry, flowers, and any other detail both vertically and horizontally.
2. Focus on the smaller sections. Move in on the right side of the set up, left side, vertical and horizontal, from above and from a variety of angles.

Pulling in Closer

1. Pull individual items, like the earings and photograph them on two different clean surfaces. Maybe a close up on the invitation and another close up with a ribbon that matches the colors of the wedding day. Then repeat this process with the rings, bracelet, shoes, hair piece and all other details.
2. Perfume bottles, purses, flowers, and any other memorable extras can then be taken on their own and in various combinations as well!

This is how we approach the details of the wedding day! We love how it helps create the color story of the wedding day and fits beautifully side by side with other images from your wedding day! Each detail took thought and planning to perfectly fit what you wanted for your wedding day so we want to be sure they are beautifully captured!