Five Must Have Wedding Shots

I’m not exactly Tanzing and Hilary making the first summit of Everest here. Nothing about this post is going to break new ground or tell you something you can’t hear in many, many places. I will say what makes this unique is my perspective on it, at least I suppose that is what makes it unique.

When I go into a wedding there are five shots I’m always accounting for getting. Even if you don’t think you really want them I find that they resonate and have impact with almost every couple. Here they are in pretty short order.

The Dress

I don’t mean the dress on the bride, I mean hanging in natural light and surrounded by the details of the day. The flowers, the rings, shoes (women love the shoes), all of these these are important details to capture but more than any single item the dress speaks to a place somewhere deep in a woman's soul. This is a shot that resonates based on the ideas behind it rather than the content in it.

I like to shoot it with natural light through a window if at all possible in a couple of different frames. One with the proper depth of field to expose some of the great detail on these dresses and one to bring the whole dress in sharply.

The Rings

I love a good ring shot. Again its the idea behind the ring shot that does it for me more so than the actual ring shot itself. The idea of these two perfect precious circles joined forever chokes me up a little bit to be honest. Again I go for natural light here if possible and try to incorporate other elements like shooting the rings on the stems of the bouquet or in the champagne bucket.

The Bride In Natural Light

I love a shot of the brides face as she kneels below a window. I got this idea from wedding great Susan Stripling and I’ve been in love with it since I saw the first result.

Walking Her Down The Aisle

The father of the bride escorts her down the aisle.

If its possible I love a shot from behind the bride as she walks down the aisle. Everyone is turned to look into the frame as she looks forward at her new life. I just love that symbolism personally.

The Canoodle

A private moment captured from 25 feet away.

The Kanoodle is some personal moment between the newly married couple. Something they whisper to each other, or feeding each other or a brief stolen kiss. If you keep your eyes peeled there are dozens of these moments. Be aware of them and catch them. When people say “catch the emotions of the day” these kinds of pictures are typically what they mean.

See thats a short one, catch you next week.

Five Must Have Shots