How to get wedding photos you’ll love
We often talk about what really goes into great photos — how we direct people, not pose them, how incredibly helpful great planning, a good connection, and a genuinely fun wedding day are, etc — but maybe the most important thing to keep in mind is that great photos are the end result of an active, collaborative process between you and your photographer(s).
Good photos can’t be given
The frank reality is that good photos can’t be purchased.
A photographer’s rate, their portfolio — that’s proof that they helped other people get there. If you don’t click with your photographer — if they can’t relate to you or vise versa, if you don’t trust them — you’re probably gonna have a hard time opening up in front of the camera.
The way to get genuine, heartfelt, authentic, un-staged, natural-looking photos of the two of you looking happy and showing the ways you really love each other is for these things to actually be present that day — yes for these things to be coaxed and encouraged and directed out of you, and for space to be created where you feel comfortable expressing the truth of your relationship together — but these feelings are near impossible to fake. They’ve gotta be there.
It’s not easy being authentic! It’s so much easier to be a fake version of ourselves. To give an inaccurate portrayal of ourselves when cameras are present. Without the proper mindset, and if we don’t feel comfortable, we tend to default to mimicking happiness and love instead of just living it. Being true is the goal. And being true is being vulnerable. But it’s worth it.
If you’re unable to go there, to get there?
Other people might fixate on the smiling people and beautiful outfits and stunning location, and these photos could get a bunch of likes on Instagram, but you will know that they aren’t true representations. Maybe you don’t actually kiss that way, or hold each other that way. And isn’t that the point? To see your actual love reflected?
How to collaborate with your photographer(s)
So you’ve got this part to play — you’re playing yourselves, as truthfully as you can, which as mentioned is not easy — and you know you can’t show up and expect great photos to happen. So what can you do to prepare?
Open-minded and connected
Keeping an open mind, staying present, staying connected with where you are and what you’re doing — these are key! And not always easy with the coordination and anxiety that can come with getting married. You’ve gotta find a way to center yourselves and keep your heads clear, so you can channel any nerves you feel in a positive way. Nerves are the norm — it’s what you do with them that matters.
Luckily you’re not doing this alone — you’ve booked experienced photographers that you vibe with, and that are there to help you — they’re there to give you guidance and suggestions, to pump you up, to try to help true moments come through, and then yes to record the results!
You’ve gotta help your partner relax so their true self can come through. The true self you know and love. Encourage them. Boost them up. And be sure they know they’ve gotta do the same for you. Remember this is an active process!
Clothes make a huge difference
The clothes you decide to wear on your wedding should make you feel incredible. Like something you’re actively excited to wear — because of the way it fits, feels, and makes you feel. And be sure they allow you to do the things you want to do on your wedding day — hiking, hugging, dancing, etc. They need to work practically as well.
Loving what you wear does wonders for confidence. The saying goes, “Clothes make the man.” Digging your outfit is a great way to reduce this common source of insecurity.
Plan a fun wedding day
We mean a day that sounds fun, like actually a good time, to you — not what you’ve been told would make a wedding day epic/worthwhile/trendy, not what you think you have to do, or something you’ve seen online in inspo images. A day so fun that you’ll be too focused on enjoying it to do much stressing over. Be real with yourselves about how this would really look.
Have a good time on your wedding day with the person you love, and that’ll absolutely show in the photos. Or have a lame day that you’re really not into with the person you love and try not to have that show in the photos.
We help our clients plan the former.
Go somewhere inspiring
In the same way that liking the way you dress helps remove a source of insecurity, and planning a fun day keeps you centered, going somewhere you truly feel called to is a great way to feel centered on the experience.
Colorado is chock-full of gorgeous overlook points with stunning backdrops that make nice backgrounds for a photo. But if all you’re after are these backdrops, these destinations, you miss out on connecting to the journey between them.
You’ll try to dip into connected wedding mode at the overlook, but lose it in the in-between. Much easier to go somewhere and do something that helps you feel connected throughout.
In closing
We want everyone to get wedding photos they love from a wedding day they loved. It’s heartbreaking how uncommon this is!
This is why we put so much time into planning, in preparation, in writing guides like these — we can’t give you great photos, but we can give you everything you need to help create them.