How to make the most out of your wedding photography package?

Your big day isn’t far away - and things are getting really exciting! But one of the most important people you’ll need to confirm things with is your wedding photographer. Although you can leave the thoughts of wedding poses all to your photographer, there are a few things that you can do to make the most out of your photographer on your big day. Here are the 10 tips…

1. Get to know your photographer

   When booking a wedding photographer, you should take your time to do research and look through the photographer’s portfolio. You don’t have to look for a best friend in your wedding photographer, but you certainly want to find someone with whom you get along, feel natural around and can fully trust to capture the perfect photos of your big day.

2. Look online for some couple poses and share your favourite ones with your photographer

   During the pre-wedding consultation and planning, you should work with your photographer to create a photography timeline for your wedding day. Look through your photographer’s portfolio and let them know your favourite photos so they can recreate them for you during the couples shoot! This will not only help your photographer understand more about your desired style but also helps to build trust between you.

3. Find a room in your venue with lots of light for portraits

   Light is every photographer’s best friend, especially when it’s natural light! You can discuss this with your wedding venue when planning your big day and let your photographer know about the lighting situation for portraits. This includes single portraits of the bride & groom as well as couple and family portraits. A room with natural light will undoubtedly result in a more beautiful wedding gallery that you can cherish forever.

4. Keep your prep room tidy and clean

   During morning preparations, the room can easily get messy and it’s important that you delegate a friend/family to help to tidy up so it’s peaceful and clean for photos! This can help the photographer a lot as they would spend less time arranging/clearing up the area and more time shooting.

5. Be in the moment

   Being in the moment will allow you to enjoy your day more whilst also allowing your photographer to take natural photos. This will make your wedding album more genuine and authentic, capturing raw emotion. Of course, if your photographer wants you to look at the camera, they’ll always ask.

6. Consider doing a first look

   Doing a first look is especially important if you’re anxious about your wedding day. From a photographer’s perspective, this method seems to take the nervous edge off and allows you to see your partner in a private setting where you can have your first-look photos captured in a way that’s candid and natural.

7. Consider having a wedding planner

   Having photographed many weddings with wedding planners and without, I must say that having a professional planner will really help to take the pressure off you as the couple and your family. This way, you’ll be fully present and won’t have to worry about details. From a photographer’s point of view, a wedding planner is definitely helpful as it allows your photographer to maximise the photographic opportunities so they won’t be spending much time worrying about timings and logistics. This means more shooting and therefore a better wedding album.

8. Trust your photographer

   After you’ve looked over your photographer’s profile, you should have a good understanding of their style. This will help you go into the wedding trusting their skills and the kind of photos they will capture. It’s ok to show them different images from other portfolios or galleries that you like, but understand that your photographer has their own style of work and that it might be hard for them to recreate images that aren’t already in their repertoire.

9. Confirm group shots ahead of time

   The major advantage of confirming group shots including formal family portraits is that you’ll save a lot of time deciding who to take photos with on the day. Although this may not be as difficult with smaller weddings, it can be quite stressful and time-consuming especially in a larger wedding where there are more than 100 guests. Having a plan and sharing this with your guests ahead of time means they will know when the group portraits will be taken and at what time, so nobody will miss a photo!

10. Take a deep breath and remember it’s your day

    It’s your big-day! Take a deep breath and enjoy the moments as this will help you look more relaxed in your wedding photos. Unique moments come naturally and spontaneously and your photographer will spend more time capturing the unique details.

My name is Aryan Dariush and I'm a wedding & commercial photographer and filmmaker based in Dundee, Scotland.