Wedding portraiture begins as early as when the bride and groom are just getting dressed up. It is ideal to take the series of portrait shots at the beginning of the wedding before the ceremony begins so everything from the make-up, hair, clothing and emotions are all fresh. This will also prevent any delays in the ceremony and it’s easier to round up members of the family for family portraits.
Orchestrating the perfect wedding portraits entail dealing with a client base that comes in all shapes and sizes. This also goes for the venue and the weather. It would take a lot of lighting skills and different poses to achieve fantastic shots. Make sure you’re familiar with the types of lighting you can use in different types of weather and a variety of traditional and not so traditional poses for your subjects in any given situation.
Although candid shots can make the poses appear natural and sweet, it would be important that you include static and formal shots such as the bride and groom looking straight at the camera. These are the more typical shots families would like to have. One such pose is the classic portrait of the bride and groom in solo shots, as well as shots where they are together. Typical sizes included in this type of portrait shots are full length, 3/4 and close-up forms of all the portrait shots.
Once the traditional yet important portraiture portion is completed, the fun part of showing your creative side now comes into play. Start by taking a succession of informal and relaxed portraits of the bride and groom. Try to make it fun for the couple and treat the next sessions as part of their own collection of their memories.
When doing group portraits, include the families of both the bride and groom as well as the wedding entourage. Make sure that you are familiar with the guests and the important members of the family as well as friends that the couple would like to include in the group portraits. It would be handy to have a list of names and their relationship to the bride and groom to keep you up to date on such a busy day.
Pay particular attention to being equal in terms of covering both sides of the couple’s family. Make sure that whatever portrait shots the bride has from her side of the family, the groom also has on his side.
Most times, individual shots of key figures are also essential. Don’t miss out on having enough portraits with parents, grandparents, siblings, and key members of the wedding such as the best man and bridesmaid.
The venue plays a major role in a wedding shoot. It’s important that the full glory of the place is captured in the photographs. Place emphasis on the beautiful areas in the location so you can position the bride and groom here for a few poses.
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Portraiture is one of the most popular approaches in photography since people as subjects are just naturally interesting. Whether it’s our loved ones or complete strangers, we seem to gravitate towards images of fellow human beings, especially if the photographer has managed to capture their distinctive appeal. A portrait is generally defined as a posed image of a person (or persons, if a group portrait) with the face as the main point of focus. However, the term ‘portrait’ now has evolved and has a looser meaning which can include candid, animal and partial portraits.
viewpoint can make the image look more dynamic and can present the subject in a more uncommon manner.
Try partial portraits – instead of making the subject’s face entirely visible, try framing only half the face or just the eyes or the feet. By showing only a part of the body, it adds a sense of mystery and drama since it is less conventional than the regular portrait.
