Dearest Bride and Groom to be
Hi there, my name is Jacki Bruniquel and I am a wedding photographer who is going to let you in on a little secret! Sometimes wedding photographers fake things to look real!
My reason for writing this is that I have noticed that sometimes clients seem to think that just because a bride and groom aren’t looking into the camera and smiling in their wedding pics that these pics are somehow “natural, un-posed and unscripted”
Ha!!!
So often it isn’t so.
But before I begin here’s the truth.
There are 3 different types of wedding photography.
Posed: Where the photographer will tell you exactly where to stand, how to stand and what to do.
Naturally posed: Where the photographer will tell you where to stand and what to do and will often encourage you to interact with each other. There is often chatting and movement involved here.
Unscripted Photo journalism: This is where the photographer doesn’t get involved at all and will purely capture things as they unfold.
More often than not, individual portraits and couple portraits are Posed or Naturally Posed, but sometimes they are Posed to look natural!!! Yes, this sounds confusing but you might find that your photographer will tell you exactly how to stand and what to do but in a way that makes it look totally natural!
What do I mean by natural? I mean that the photo looks like the photographer just happened to be there, capturing a moment in time, without any interaction or direction.
Why do we do this? Well, for many reasons
No 1. Most people aren’t models and therefore need some directing on how to not look like a stiff tool. Myself included, I am terrible on the other side of the camera. A good photographer will be able to see what your good sides are and take photos of you where you will look better then you could have ever imagined.
No 2. Good light makes good photos, so we will direct you into the good light.
No 3. A good photograph also requires a good concept, a great composition and a good moment. When photographers can control these, the results can be beautiful creative pics that you will love so much that you will want to hang them on your wall.
In this photo it could look as if Camilla and Don just happened to be standing by the fire pitt having a moment … but in actual fact I told them how to stand so I could create a lovely silhouette with their profiles. Her brother-in-law was throwing a log into the fire to create sparks and my assistant was sitting behind them with a flash to create that light in the background. It took more than a few shots to get this right, in fact it took a good 15-20 minutes to get this pic perfect. It landed up winning an international award but more importantly Camilla and Don love it.
Unscripted photojournalism is my favorite and requires no posing, which means that you would get to enjoy your day without a slither of effort. I have many clients that opt out of portraits but here’s the thing, most people want a bit of everything on their wedding day. Individual portraits, photojournalism moments and couple portraits.
If you want creative pics of yourself in incredible light then chances are your photographer will require patience, time and good light! Yes we are sometimes magicians and ninjas but most of the time we can’t do much without those three ingredients.
I always ask my clients to send me 20-40 of their favorite pics from my own blog so that I can understand what they are drawn to and this then gives me an idea of how long I will need during their portraits session on the wedding day. If clients want pics that require a lot of external lighting (i.e flashes) then I will need more time during the session. If they only like warm sunset natural light then I have to make sure that we shoot during the golden hour, which happens near the end of the day. Unfortunately I can’t control the weather! But you get my drift.
Moral of the story ………..
Remember that just because a photograph looks natural doesn’t mean it didn’t require any time or effort on behalf of the bride and groom to create the image.
Be realistic about your expectations. Many of the photos you see in magazines involve teams of professionals and loads of planning and time to get right. I once had an enquiry where the couple expected photos similar to those produced by Annie Liebovitz – who is probably the most famous photographer in the world and has an army of minions working with her.
Remember that good portraits take time so you need to decide what’s important to you and prioritise your day accordingly.
Figure out what style of wedding photography you like and make sure your photographer works in that way.
Make sure you communicate with your photographer about your expectations and make sure that you give them enough time to fulfil those expectations. If you work with your photographer you will find they will be able to do better work for you!
Lastly, remember that a wedding is about more than pretty pictures.
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