Every wedding is unique, each made up of the countless choices and details decided upon by the bride and groom that help make the day so special. Yet so often wedding photographs can be tired and formulaic with dated techniques and contrived poses that don’t let the individuality of the bride and groom shine through. To try and remedy this I have outlined below five of the simple ideas that I have picked up over the years that take seconds to do but can create some genuinely unique, beautiful and intimate moments that will look stunning in any wedding album. Don’t be afraid to ask your photographer for them!
1. The Grand Staircase
This is a technique that always guarantees great results and all you really need to set it up is a balcony, stair case or any high up vantage point. Simply pose the bride and groom close together and have the bride look up to you, she automatically becomes the center of the image and the raised chin has a very flattering effect on the face. To keep the smile on the bride’s face genuine I ask the grooms to whisper sweet nothings into his new brides ear, I don’t know what they say but it seems to do the trick! The only slight danger is if the groom has a bald spot but I will leave it to your skills in Photoshop to correct that.
2. Sun Kissed
This is the trickiest of the photos listed here as for it to work you need the right setting at the right time but if you can make it happen the results are magical. The combination of the golden light and intimate pose creates a fairy tale feel to the images that you simply can’t get any other way. A technical note to all the ‘togs reading this; you will have to shoot manually as the back lighting and white dress make a mess of any metering system!
3. The Champagne Spray
“The Champagne Spray” is great fun and one of my favorite photographs to do. It has some big advantages not least of which is that a lot venues ban confetti but have no problem with this as it leaves no mess to clear up. Also, it always elicits such genuine and happy reactions from the bride and groom as well as the crowd that there are always great smiles to be had. Don’t think you have to use anything expensive to spray either as it is not going to get drunk and the label won’t appear in the shot, I always keep a few bottles of Tesco’s £2.99 Cava in the boot to for just this photograph!
4. The Groomsmen
Posing groomsmen can be tricky. Large groups of men is suits always run the danger of looking like security guards or a firing squad so it is important that variety is brought into the images to make them stand out. This is easy to achieve but always pay attention to the placements of hands and feet and eye line as these are the little details that can make an image. Another thing to keep in mind is how apparent the groom is in the photo. If you have a group of guys in identical suits it can be easy to lose the groom, however by having him stand just half a step forward or by having the other groomsmen look to him you can make him stand out from the crowd.
5. The Sweep
My final technique is another really simple idea that creates a powerful sense of intimacy and drama to an image and nearly always gets a smile as well! Simply have the groom support the brides weight with his left arm and take her left leg with his right arm and then lean forward for a kiss. The only word of warning with this is to make sure that neither party have had too much to drink as balance is rather important!
I hope you have enjoyed this selection of ideas, if there is anything you think I have missed then please leave a comment below.
Photography by Adrian Spencer of Will Hey Wedding Photography, a professional wedding photographer based in the High Peak near Buxton and Stockport and covering Derbyshire, Cheshire, Manchester and Sheffield.
