Wedding Day FAQ
Wedding Day FAQ Page
This is a compiled list of commonly asked questions regarding wedding day coverage.
- Lighting
Q - What should we know about lighting as it relates to how we schedule our day and plan our locations?
Shade is always preferable over bright sunlight … this goes for the ceremony and for the group formal shots as well. For best results and if possible, choose locations with shaded light, and not full-on, direct sunlight. Also, try to schedule your day so that the most important shots will happen as close as possible to sundown. The closer you get to sundown, the more ideal the lighting and the more dramatic the portrait.
Q - How can I look up sun-times for my wedding day?
You can check the wedding day sundown time at http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html. The ideal time for the best portraits (especially photos of you and your partner) is 45 minutes before and up to 15 minutes after sundown. Obviously, this may not be possible with your unique schedule, but even if you can step away from your reception meal for 15 minutes for a few dusky photos outside, they will be fantastic.
- Bridal Preparations
Q - Getting ready for my wedding is going to be hectic. How can I arrange things in order to get the most impact-full photos?
Make sure there are plenty of mirrors around. Mirrors make for cool candid portraits, and enable me to be a little more discrete and not so ‘in your face’ with the camera the whole time. Also, please warn the bridesmaids of when I will be arriving so that they will not be surprised when I show up and start taking pictures of them.
Q - How will you capture those amazingly real, emotional moments as I get ready for my wedding?
To a certain extent, with a little of your help. Try to save the best ‘moments’ for when I am in the room with you. Obviously, I want you to be comfortable with me taking your photo. If you feel it is necessary, can shoo me out of the room while you put your dress on (though donning the dress can be some of the best photos of the day)… but as soon as you are decent, please have someone bring me back in so I don’t miss any of the great expressions of people seeing you in your dress for the first time.
Q - Can we do some portraits of just me, fully dressed and ready, just before the ceremony?
Yes! Try and get your dress on as early as you can bare it, and set aside 15 to 30 minutes before leaving for the ceremony so we can do a few impromptu bridal portraits. This can also be a chance for you to get away from the hubbub for a few minutes and have a breather as the rest of the girls get ready. Just remember that MOST brides run late, so you’ll really have to stick to the schedule for this to happen.
Q - What if I wanted to do some portraits BEFORE the wedding day, to avoid the stress of having extra stuff to do just before the ceremony?
Some Brides choose to book me for a bridal portrait IN ADVANCE of the wedding. Say, 2 weeks before, when things are much less hectic. They use it as a ‘dress-rehearsal’ to try on the dress and test out their make-up and hair. This also lets us have more fun with locations and props, since time is not a factor. This is a more modern, less traditional approach to things, but it makes for some great portraits because the pressure is off, and also gives you a chance to tweak things before the big day. If you’re interested in this, please just let me know and we can work it into your package.
- Ceremony
Q - Will you be intrusive during our ceremony?
I always make it my goal to be discrete and to not bother guests or draw attention to myself. At the same time, I constantly move around the venue for lots of different angles and viewpoints. Many brides comment on how they ‘didn’t even see me’ during their ceremony. My goal is to stay ‘under the radar’ and catch people in as natural a state as possible.
Q - What if my ceremony venue has restrictions on photographers?
Please clarify with the ceremony venue and officiant if photography restrictions exist for the professional photographer and let me know these restrictions in advance of your big day. It is ideal if I can have free range in the venue, and permission to use my flash at will. However, some venues/officiants do not permit the use of flash and some go as far as ask the photographer to only shoot from one location in the back, or sometimes not shoot at all. In all these circumstances, I can still do my job (well … except when no photography at all is allowed), but obviously, if I’m only allowed to shoot from one location, there will be a limit to what I can do.
Most often, any restrictions are determined by the officiant. If you think you can persuade the officiant in these matters, please do so as I will only do what the officiant allows me to do– I will not negotiate with them on your behalf on the day of the wedding. I cannot stress enough that you need to check with your officiant the rules for photography during the ceremony so there are no surprises on your wedding day.
Q - How do we get really great ‘kiss’ shots?
Make sure to make your first kiss a ‘Hollywood’ length kiss. If you want a good kiss shot, I’ll need more than just a little peck from you. This is kind of cheesy, but bear with me 
For the best kiss shots, slow down your approach, look into each other’s eyes and DON’T RUSH! When your lips touch, close your eyes and count to 10. Feel free to practice often before the big day You’ll thank me later.
- Group and formal portraits
Q - How should we plan for the group and formal portrait photos?
Set aside 1 to 1.5 hours of time at some point during the day for larger group photos and couple portraits (leave half of the time for yourselves). Keep in mind that a huge variety of family groupings can steal time away from your couple portrait time. Your wedding day will be very busy, and often the schedules get pushed. A few times in the past, I’ve had couples with no time left for their own portraits. I suggest that you limit the groupings to the following
Couple and Groom’s Parents
Couple and Bride’s Parents
Couple and Groom’s Immediate Family (parents and immediate siblings)
Couple and Bride’s Immediate Family (parents and immediate siblings)
Couple and Wedding Party
Limiting your group shots to this list will give you lots of time for meaningful shots of just you and your partner and each of you separately. Also, with groups of 10 or more people in the same shot, it becomes very difficult to pose and arrange people in a pleasing way. From experience, it takes about 4-5 minutes per grouping to gather people up, pose them and take a photo.
Keep in mind, almost everyone at the wedding will have their camera, so miscellaneous groupings of extended family and friends will be captured as a normal part of your wedding day, and you can get copies of these shots after. Ideally I like to do the family groupings in 15 to 20 minutes, then have 45 to 60 minutes with just the couple so we can try different lighting setups and locations.
Q - What do you think of doing group portraits first, before the ceremony?
It has been my experience that doing group photos BEFORE the ceremony makes for a very smooth day, and less delay for the guests to endure between the ceremony and the reception. If you are a modern couple, and don’t believe in the bad luck of seeing each other before the ceremony, then I highly recommend scheduling the group shots as the first order of the day. If you want to do it the traditional way, I can do that too. Just let me know what you want to do.
- Reception
Q - Where should we put you during the reception?
It is typical that I be seated in the reception hall and included in the head count.
It is ideal if you place me on the outer rim of the tables, and against a wall so that I have a place to stow all my gear, and can have easy access to it all night (next to the DJ table is fine).
Generally, I try to eat when you eat. Let’s face it, people munching on food does not make for good photos, so I avoid taking your picture when you are eating (and hey, you want to enjoy your meal in peace, right? :). Also, in the summer, the best lighting happens right around dinner time. With this in mind, try to arrange with the reception venue to serve me just after they serve you and the head table. That way, when you are done eating and your guests are still being served, we can pop outside for some great sunset photos without disrupting the flow of the reception.
Q - Our DJ has a lighting rig. Is this a problem?
Not at all! If your DJ can bring even a modest light kit with them (colored spotlights etc.), it will make the candid dancing shots all the better and more interesting.
Q - At what point will you leave for the day?
Typically, I stay for the first dances, cake-cutting and the bouquet and garter toss (if you do that). Then I shoot a little of the general dancing, and once I know I have some great shots of people dancing and having fun, I will approach you to see if there’s anything else, and if not, I will then pack up and leave. Of course, we can discuss other options unique to your own wedding schedule. Most couple book at least 8-9 hours of coverage. Things like the number of locations and their distance, the length of the ceremony and the flow of the reception should be kept in mind when planning your photography coverage.