Photographs capture every moment of your big wedding day beautifully. But later when the pictures come out, you definitely think of a thing or two you could have done differently. Most brides and grooms hire photography teams and leave them in charge, and then just settle for the albums and photos they get. But we think that is quite unfair! Your once-in-a-lifetime celebration should be perfect just the way you have always wanted. And that is why Magnolia has brought you this A-Z guide. Everything from stage setting and styling adds up to give you beautiful frames! Let’s take a look.
1. Book a wedding photography team in advance.
This is probably a job everyone likes to leave to the end, picking a photography team. And then in the final rush, we look for a good brand and choose them. But what we don’t realize is that these teams do multiple weddings in a day and unless you make a prior booking, you end up getting one of their junior photographers for your function. Or even worse, if it is a rush season, you might have to settle for a company you don’t even like! So it’s always best to pick your photography team, and preferred photographer at least 3 to 4 months before the wedding. This might also be more economical.
2. Choose Integrated Photography.
Integrated photography is when the bride and groom get one photography team instead of separate ones on each side. This helps reduce the array of photographers and light boys crowding up your wedding stage. Having one team also increases coordination between teams so you get better photos and good timing. Lastly, you also save money by getting the work of two teams done with one. Integrated photography is a popular plan that takes into consideration so many conveniences. It also gives you even-toned pictures for both bride and groom. What can be better at a celebration of unity!
3. Hire teams that work with your event planners.
Coordination is what makes any celebration a success. Most of the time, this completely goes haywire at a wedding. Your photography team and event team, who are absolute strangers, being unable to stand each other is a highly plausible scenario! If the lights need to be dimmed, decoration adjusted, or seating arranged, they need to work together. And so, no matter how good the teams are separate, they are of no use out of sync. And this is why it is always recommended to arrange a photography team instructed by your event planner. You don’t have to do it blindly. But your choices could be definitely based on their suggestions.
4. Candid Photographs – Get it right!
Candid pictures bring out the real soul of a wedding ceremony. Looking back at the giggles and joyful tears would definitely bring back memories. A relatively new trend, candid photography, and portraits have caught up lately. Most couples these days wish to have more candids in their album than flat function pictures. But getting good candids can be hard. A photographer needs to get into the mood of the function, understand the crowd and be with your friends and family. So while choosing your candid photographer, be sure to check out their previous works. It is never bright to fall for claims. And you can always ask us for suggestions. Photography has always been one of our areas of personal pride.
5. The “where” of your wedding.
Usually, when wedding venues are booked, people look at very minimal details, like connectivity, space, catering and seating. But when we take photography and its requirements into notice, the ambience of the wedding venue matters a lot. An area that has outside seatings, beautiful staircases and balconies would definitely add a lot of photo value. Auditoriums with wall colours that are more reflective would be better. Dark, opaque colours would make your pictures dull For daytime functions, a hall with huge windows lets a lot of natural light in so your pictures look good sometimes, but in the case of a theme wedding, natural light is not advisable. Lastly, it is always recommended that you choose a hall with good air conditioning to maintain the freshness of makeup and to keep the crowd lively.
6.When you stage it.
The most attention that wedding stages receive is regarding what flowers to hang. But imagine this, most of the function and photography sessions of your ceremony happens on stage. And bad lighting or clutter could completely ruin that. We make it a point to sort out the lighting and arrangement of the stage, sitting down with the photography team to ensure the right angles for your function pictures. During the rush of the function, replacing lights and cameras could be tedious, so these need to be planned. At Magnolia weddings, we arrange stage managers who help you pose and structure out each line of an event so there is no last-minute stage rush.
7. Pick your style.
While choosing your wedding costume, give a lot of thought to the style and fitting. Women especially have different body types (pear, apple, hourglass) and your costumes need to be styled accordingly. Colour is an important factor too. According to your skin tone, you need to see what shade of clothes to pick. And all of these would matter in your pictures more than the live event because photographs pick up every loose end. Spend quality time with a good stylist to know what suits you best, this would help spruce up the wedding album.
8. The big makeover.
Makeup is definitely the most vital part of any picture. Even for a fashion shoot, makeup and hair can completely make a picture come alive. A different tone of foundation might change the feel completely. Likewise, for your wedding, it’s never wise to choose a random makeup artist and just let them do whatever. You need to pick an artist who can work around your skin tone, use the right products and most importantly, not overdo the bronzer or blush. This might look alright on stage, but your pictures would accentuate bad makeup.
9. Time management.
Most weddings start looking like missile launches towards the end. The bride’s makeup runs late by 2 hours, the groom’s suit arrives late, and almost every mishap might overlap at the worst imaginable time! And most of the times, photographs take the hit because the happiest moments get lost in the hurry. The trick is to rely on the right teams for these things and keep a plan B handy. Everything falls in place when the make-up team, photographers and logistics work well. And coordination, as we said earlier makes all the difference.
10. Talk to your event fam!
During the span of your wedding, your event team is like close family. Everything that makes your pictures good is handled by them. At Magnolia, we always keep these relationships personal. Suggesting good styling, venue and decorations is the least of it. We even get you the right pre-wedding diet and recommendations on postures that will suit you.
‘Photogenic’ may be a word used loosely because every picture looks good if all the right components are placed in it. As you plan and coordinate, we hope you find these suggestions handy. And if you need more help with your special day, there is definitely more where this came from!