Getting The Best From Your Photos

& Having The Best Day Ever

I’ve collected a bunch of tips over my decade of shooting weddings and these are little things that you might not have thought of but that will make a difference to your photos.

Take it or leave it though.. as I’ll be there to help with all these things on the day.

HOW RELAXED DO YOU WANT TO BE?

I’m sure you’re planning to have a fun and relaxed wedding day but I’ve seen many a chill bride (and groom!) struggle with the pressures on the day itself! It’s been a long road to get here right, its all boiling down to one day and the emotions will be heightened, someone might be pushing your buttons, you may let nerves take over… you might start to care a lot about something going wrong cause you invested emotion into that vision… right?

Well, it’s the day itself now and nothing, NOTHING can be done about it so your only option is to breathe out and say F*CK YEH I’m getting MARRIED!

Having a perfect day isn’t the goal, having a really good time is. Blow out any negative thought, get into the moment right in front of you, concentrate on the joy!

How to have a calm face

Delegate as much as possible for the day itself.
Once you wake up on your wedding day you 100% have to let go.
Plan your timing ahead so you don’t have to think about it on the day.
Allow extra time for hiccups
No rushing
Stay in your body, wiggle your toes, slow your breath, really soak up what you see around you.
Trust the photographer has got your back ;-)

Preparation PHOTOS

TIMELINE

Have a clear timeline for getting ready. A bride should be getting into her dress an hour before departure, this allows for hiccups & photos & champagne!

TIDY

Clean up the spaces. If there’s mess around then that’s gonna be in your photos. If you can do a clean up the before I arrive please do and be conscious of where you throw down all the bags and hangers etc. Find a hidey room.

WINDOW LIGHT

Choose ONE room that is spacious with good natural light coming through windo (& furniture you like)! for getting ready in. Often it’s a lounge room or big bedorom. Please get your hair and makeup done with you facing a window too!

HANG UP DRESS

Hang the dress somewhere (out of bag please) on a nice hanger with twisting hook if you’d like it photographed.

YOUR DETAILS

Any items you want photographed please collect together on a table. Include your invitation & printed materials if you want them! But if you really don’t care about a photo of your perfume or other details then please forget this.

Ceremony

LIGHT

Light is super important for the ceremony as I can’t get you to move once it starts. Make sure you don’t have dappled light on your faces (the worst) & preferably not with one of you staring into sun and the other shade (I can survive this one) but best is the same light on both of you – full sun, shaded or backlit.

BE PRESENT

Hold your body in nice posture and don’t fidget with your dress/hair etc, you look amazing so relaaaaaaax.

Don’t disappear into your head! (Some people go blank faced, look down and zone out for some reason).

DO make eye contact with your partner and guests as you like.

DO let your full smiles and tears run free. IT’S ALL GOOD.

Don’t look at the camera. I’m invisible… ;-)

THE RING

Most times when putting on your rings it’s not visible to the photographer and guests. By rotating your hands towards the guests you’ll ensure clear view.

UNPLUGGED

If you are having an unplugged ceremony – AWESOME. If not it could even be worth having the celebrant ‘suggest’ people put down their cameras and enjoy the moment you walk down the aisle as this is a beautiful time for faces to be seen and people to absorb properly!

SUNGLASSES

I recommend telling your family to leave their sunnies off as it detracts from seeing their emotions. I really feel it makes a huge difference! Especially ask speakers.

HAIR

Think about the side you are standing on and if your hair is being done for this side view. Often a bride has a piece of fringe or a lot hanging in her face which means you can’t get a nice front on photo of the both of you. If you need to, swap sides - rules don’t matter.

CELEBRANT CHATS

Ask the celebrant to ensure you are positioned centrally if you have an arbour – they should check when you arrive.

Quite a few times I’ve seen guests forget to throw confetti, either it’s not handed out or they aren’t ready. Get the celebrant to say ‘get your confetti ready because they are about to walk down the aisle’ or something to that effect!

If you don’t want your celebrant in between you the whole time then gently request beforehand that they step aside for the vows (or just rings is great) and definitely they should move aside for the kiss.

Let them know I don’t need to stop for posed photos with rings or certificate. awkward…!
I’ll request it if I want it but usually I have captured it all naturally.

Family

I’ve never met a couple who loved this part of the day. But you need these photos so take a deep breath, maybe scull some champagne and let’s make it good.

People tend to wander off and sometimes leave without realising, especially oldies. Please make sure all family knows in advance they must stay nearby for group photos.

You will stand and chill in the space and let me and your helper manage the family. We ask everyone to put their sunglasses, drinks & handbags down. SMILE & LAUGH through the pain.

Bridal Party

MUSIC

If you guys reckon life is better with an epic soundtrack why not consider bringing some music to your photoshoot? I HIGHLY recommend getting a playlist sorted and bringing a small speaker. I’m happy to cart it around on me and be your roaming beatbox. I think it adds great atmosphere and helps your photos.

I also have some playlists if you want to leave it to me. Let me know.

FEED / DRINK

It really is helpful to have snacks and drinks on hand to keep everyone and yourselves happy. Especially for bridal party who will be kicking about for some of the time.

HOW MUCH OF THE CREW?

The bridal party adds vibe but also can be distracting if you wanna get more ‘cosy’ so we can send them off or include them as much as you like. Just let me know.

HELP?

I sometimes suggest you keep one person around to help fluff the dress or adjust the hair or hold things.. if you want to. It’s helpful if they are happy to do so.

PHONES AND WALLETS

Everyone please please please leave phones, keys, wallets & sunnies in the car. TOO much junk in the pants isn’t a look.

The shoot is more fun and faster if we aren’t hiding objects…

Trust Me, You’re gorgeous.

You can let go of how you look as I’m always trying to flatter you & choose beautiful lighting and angles when I work! If I see one too many chins I’m usually going to make that disappear in my edit rather than disrupt the natural moment. It’s more important that your face is relaxed and you have that look of love in your eyes!

The one thing you can’t photoshop in is emotion, so believe that you are entirely ‘taken care of’ & then you can just feel content (which ironically will make the photo better anyway).

Direction/Poses

“What should we do?” and “Where should I look?”

When you aren’t receiving exact directions, please just ‘be’ together. Get lost in each other, like you are just alone in nature. Cuddle the way you like to cuddle, give each other small touches of affection. Admire each other, chat about the good things in the day.

That’s your base line.. then I give as much direction as you want and need.

I will allow time for quiet casual interaction, laughs and chilling so don’t feel like you need to be constantly told what to do. Sometimes I just observe a bit.

On the day it will all just flow with my guidance so trust in the weird process and enjoy!

Shot Lists

I don’t accept ‘shot lists’. This means I can’t work off a list of photos you want. To be honest, it freaks me out and I get stressed just trying to tick boxes and do not feel in my element to create the magic I do.
That said, please ask for things on the day that you want eg: “Can you get a close up of my embroidery on my dress?” or “Can we do a piggy back photo?”. That’s fine!

Please do not send me pinterest pics and sample pics you want. You’ve seen my work & I deliver all sorts of amazing shots inspired by you, the locations & the love I feel. If I have to re-create a picture of someone elses then this is like re-painting an artists work. Then I don’t feel I’m able to see things for myself and do what I do.

Don’t forget YOU are my biggest inspiration so do whatever you feel with your friends & partner during the shoot. Your individual weirdness is most appreciated!! This is all about the relationship between you, the more you are representing yourselves the more the photos will be you!

You are going to have one heck of a beautiful day that will rush by in a blink, but I’ll have your memories captured forever!

Thank you for choosing me to be your photographer.
 xo love Nat

THE REAL LIFE MAGIC ........