Number one: Scout the place first....Always and I mean ALWAYS visit your location first where ever you may be before the big day. This way you can spend as much time needed looking around the venue to find any places that would be perfect to create those well needed couple shots and group shots.
Ideally you should have at least two separate places for your group and couple shots as the couple shots should be in a more private and pretty environment whereas your group shots need to be somewhere near to the venue for easy access for V.I.P's such as grandparents, children and any family members who have trouble travelling to far. Group shots also need to be in a wide area to ensure everyone is captured without any branches, buildings, tables and chairs obstructing any faces.
A nice couple shoot is best to be done away from family members and guests to avoid distraction of the two subjects e.g. family members laughing and making them feel awkward, children running into frame etc. You may try and find a location outside of the venue maybe a nearby park or field would be perfect on a dry day?
Number 2: Always pack umbrellas!... You never know when the weather forecast may decide to change halfway through your glorious or what you thought was glorious day for shooting. Having a nice white or black umbrella handy just gives you that solid chance of getting at least a few outdoorsy shots. Umbrellas are also PERFECT for giving a little shade on super sunny days! (See below!)
Number 3: Reflectors...Reflectors are a great way of bouncing light back into the subjects faces if you're struggling to find the right lighting in your chosen place of portraits... Be wary though of bouncing too much light into peoples faces and also those who are wearing glasses are likely to have a huge reflection in their glasses which is never a good moment!
Reflectors can also be used as DE-flectors, holding a reflector above the subjects head by an assistant or even a guest if you're a lone photographer can stop any harsh shadows being cast on your subjects face and also creates a nice even light across their face.
This beautiful blonde bombshell bride Hazel had thee most sunniest day in history or so it seemed for her wedding day but luckily enough a handy umbrella proved to be a very lucky thing to have on your wedding day as it stopped all those pesky shadows from being cast upon this lovely face!
Number 4 : Trees! Trees are a wedding photographers best friend... Find a nice tree with lovely lush green leaves or if in the fall find some gorgeous rustic coloured ones to add that little element of colour to your portraits. Using a nice low aperture you can create stunning soft D.O.F with the subjects strong focussed within the frame thus creating the perfect wedding couple portrait.
Remember not to stand the subject right underneath the trees to avoid any skin discolouration from the green leaves. Aim to have the trees just behind the subject which will then keep the more natural skin tones also keeping as much natural daylight on them as possible.
Tree's are also a great way to shade your subjects on a tremendously bright and sunny day. Too much sun on your wedding day can create unflattering shadows on your subjects faces like under their noses and under their eyes which can usually create the appearance of bags which aren't actually there... Yikes!
This image shows a beautiful bride sitting comfortably on a window ledge with beautiful green trees as her backdrop...This technique is very useful if you cannot go outside but still want to use the nice greenery to frame your subjects. This particular day had been raining previously and the bride did not want to go outdoors, risking her wedding dress getting wet and mucky! Therefore we found a perfect window spot with the background we had initially planned to shoot at right behind! The distance of trees to the bride meant we had beautiful soft green backgrounds, shot on a low aperture of F2.8 giving this gorgeous shallow depth of field whilst leaving no green tones on our lovely Bride, Jade's skin or dress.
Number 5: Find a light source...Find a window!
If you're struggling to find any immediately jaw dropping scenery you can always simply find a nice bare window with some natural daylight streaming in and BAM you have your own personal lighting kit! Sit a Bride, Groom or bridesmaids in front of a window and have them slightly look up and out and you will guaranteed have a perfect portrait shot under your belt for the day... Using the same place for all of the bridesmaids is a great idea as it looks professional, dreamy and effective when all of the photo's are then shown together.
As you can see from the image above, I simply found a plain window, and places the bridesmaids one by one in front and used the natural lighting to create this beautiful soft side lighting across their faces, I then used a simple white reflector to bounce just a little bit of light back into the right side of their faces to give it that extra romantic and whimsical look.
This wedding below was a simple and love filled wedding with no specifics on photographs so when we arrived we had limited time to shoot the couples pictures and very limited places to do so! However being the moth that I am, I can almost ALWAYS find some sort of light source and believe it or not it was the most dramatic light source I could have wished for, a gorgeous side lighting in the tiniest of exit passageways you have ever seen but it was perfect! Louise, Hugh and I squeezed into this little space and started shooting away! The results were just fantastic all due to that little stream of light peering in through a back door window!
This kind of lighting with a dark background works well for 'coupley' shoots and also close up detail shots of the grooms attire!
Number 6: Use the walls!
Walls are everywhere...literally....so USE them! Brick walls, stone walls, plain walls, decaying walls...Most walls will look good as textured backdrop for your couple obviously avoiding the dreaded exit signs, no smoking signs etc. Standing centre of your wall space allows a nice even backdrop avoiding any wall distortion or wonky brick lines...A head on approach will work much better as it looks a lot more symmetrical and works more as a backdrop rather than a snapshot. Here are a few of my favourite wall portraits from previous weddings I have shot...
Plain rugged walls like these work well with funny characteristic photographs along with sharp detailed contemporary images like this one here of the lovely Carol when she made a swift change of wedding attire ready for her evening of dancing, laughter and smiles all round!
This perfectly average brick wall makes such a difference with a little bit of colour enhancing afterwards to bring out those fantastic brick red tones complimenting the warm skin tones of this lovely pair, Jessica and Neil Eardly!
This has to be my favourite wedding wall ever! This gorgeous Crimson Red crispy wall created the most perfect contrasting backdrop for this wedding party ever! The yellow flowers and ribbons jump out of this frame because of this fantastic contrast of reds, whites and yellows!
So there you go, 6 Simple tricks of the trade on how to make sure that you get your shots even when times are tough in the scenic world!
Hope this helps and let me know what you guys think in the comments section below!
V x
