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 Bright Lights Imagery

The Importance of a Wedding Day Photo Checklist ?

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February 24, 2020

Blissful Meadows Wedding Uxbridge, MA Photography & Videography by Bright Lights Imagery

I might be a little bit biased, but photos are such an important part of your wedding day. Other than your love, your photos are the only thing you will have after your wedding day. After spending so much time making sure every little detail is perfect, you want to photos to hold onto the memory of your wedding day for decades to come.

It is shocking to me that 40% of brides are unhappy with their photos, and its my mission to make that number much lower.

The last thing you want is for certain moments to be unnoticed or worse, not captured.

Chances are, you have meet with your photographer and have spoken a lot about your wants and needs for your wedding day. You probably went over a timeline to make sure they are there for the important moments which is a great start.

Even though I get to know my couples pretty well before the big day, (I often feel like an extended member of the bridal party!), I/your photographer still won’t know the entire guest list. Your photographer won’t know if you have a group of friends in town for college or if you have a special necklace that is a family heirloom.

Wedding days go by so fast, and you have so many wonderful emotions going on that it can be hard to think about those little things. So, prior to your day, discuss these things with your photographer. Check out this wedding photo day checklist to help keep everything organized! The best part, if its done ahead of time, you won’t have to think about it and can be even more present on your wedding day with your guests šŸ™‚

Bridal party photos

Typically if you have a bridal party the bridesmaids and groomsmen will be hanging our together before the ceremony. There are so many opportunities for great photos! We always start the day with detail photos (invitations, rings, flowers, dress, ext) and then move on to getting ready.

California Wedding at the Iris Gardens Photography by Bright Lights Imagery

During this time, we always love to get some candid photos but will often capture:

  • The bride/bridesmaids in cute robes
  • The bride getting into her dress
  • The bride putting on her shoes
  • The bride putting on jewelry
  • The bride holding the dress
  • Group photo of the ladies helping the bride in her dress
  • The groom/groomsmen getting ready
  • The cheers photo with the bridesmaids or groomsmen
  • Groom putting on jacket
  • Groom adjusting tie, watch, pocket square
  • Groom putting on shoes

You should let your photographer know if you plan on doing letters/gifts with your fiance so they can photograph that. If you are close with your friends and have gifts for them too, let us know! Or maybe you have something unique planned like having the guys play pool while they wait for the ceremony to start. These are those little moments that, if they are not photographed, you might look back through your wedding photos and get a touch disappointed.

Your Ceremony

Typically the moments captured during your ceremony are going to be everyone walking down the aisle, the two of you holding hands at the front, rings being exchanged, vows being read, the first kiss and then the two of you walking down the aisle as newly weds! We also love to photograph some guests as well.

The Tiffany Ballroom Wedding in Norwood, Massachusetts. Wedding Photography and Videography by Bright Lights Imagery

What to tell your photographer:

  • If you have a unity or other cultural ceremony, let them know so they can be prepared to capture it.
  • If you have and speeches or guest speakers

Your Reception

You are officially married-yay!- now it’s time to celebrate! Typical moments captured are, your grand entrance, the first dance, parent dances, speeches, some dancing photos, and bouquet and garter toss, and cake cutting if you are doing those.

Roger Williams Park Casino Wedding in Providence, Rhode Island. Wedding Photography by Bright Lights Imagery

However, this is another one of those times that moments could be missed if you haven’t spoken with your photographer. Once everything has been decided on, think about your reception and all of the moments that you want to be able to look back on for years to come.

I love it when couples make their reception unique to them. If you are doing anything special, you should let your photographer know. For instance, I had one bride that told me she was going to surprise her groom by doing a karaoke song. It was so sweet! At another wedding, the father of the bride brought in some surprise Irish Tap Dancers and by telling me, we made sure I was there to capture it before heading out for the night.

At another wedding, the bride said they were going to make a special announcement to their grandmother. Knowing ahead of time have me a chance to find where she was sitting to we could make sure we could photograph the moment when the time came šŸ™‚

All the other details

If we are friends on instagram (@Brightlightsimagery) you will know how much I LOVE details! I am a very detailed oriented person and I’ve been a bride myself so I totally understand how many hours on pinterest and hours go into finding the perfect flowers, invitations, and details for the day you marry your best friend.

Wedding at Endicott Estate, Dedham, MA Wedding Photography by Bright Lights Imagery

If you have a vision for something, please share it with your creative team! Our goal is to make you have an amazing experience and have photos that become family heirlooms.

One of our brides had a special hanger for her dress. (Sidenote: one great tip is to get a non-plastic hanger for your beautiful dress on your wedding day. The dress is gorgeous and the plastic hanger does not do it justice! You can get a wood hanger or custom hanger online and it is very inexpensive.) Anyways… the bride had a vision of her dress being hung in the barn where her reception was. Because we knew, we planned a little bit of extra time in the schedule to transport the dress and get the photos šŸ™‚

If you want photos of you getting your hair done, or that perfectly posed photo of you putting on a necklace or spritzing your wedding day perfume, speak up! We want you to have those photos if they are going to mean a lot to you. Some couples are ok without them, and that is fine as well!

The easiest way for you to get all of the moments and memories captured, is to go over a wedding day photo checklist with your photographer & videographer month or so before your wedding. That way we know where the importance of photography is and what makes the checklist and what doesn’t!

As always, if you need help feel free to reach out šŸ™‚

February 24, 2020

STEP 1: We arrive to the location!

I like to start off every session, no matter if I’ve meet you in person before or not, with a solid 5-10 minutes of us just talking a little bit before I take any photos.

My #1 goal is to make you feel comfortable, and if we rushed into the session I don’t think that would happen right away. I love getting to know my couples and hearing all about them!

There is no rush when it comes to having your photos taken and if the photographer is snapping a hundred photos from minute one, before even speaking with you, then it sets the session off on a rushed note and you will see that portrayed in the photos. 

February 24, 2020

Time to get ready!

After our short chat we have typically warmed up to each other, maybe even cracked a few jokes. Laughter goes a long way, so I like to find ways to make the two of you smile and laugh. Now we will begin your photoshoot.

At the beginning of every photoshoot, I will have you stand close to each other, most likely hip to hip, but recently I have loved having my couples stand facing one another. You will hear me say,ā€Ok, so I am going to check my settings to make sure everything is good. These are just tests, so go ahead and just talk with each other while I set up.ā€ 

I like to do this because it gives you and your partner the chance to see the camera go up, hear the shutter, but not really be too focused on what you are doing. It sets the tone for that natural candid capture.

Sometimes during these ā€œtestā€ shots, I actually capture some really cute moments between you and your partner. Like Ashley and Josh, in the photo above, you can see her laughing at something that Josh said to her while I was setting up. Because they are focused on each other, I was able to capture that true moment as it was.

February 24, 2020

Once the test shots are settled, the photoshoot will truly begin. Depending on the level of comfort and ease y’all show in those first moments, I will start one of two ways. The first is to have those more ā€œposedā€ photos of the couple holding each other close together, holding hands, maybe a few smooches.

I do this because, if you are naturally less expressive with one another and need a little more posing help, I can start that from the get go so that you are comfortable. If you and your partner are naturals in front of the camera, I know that sticking you into poses is going to make you look unnatural and uncomfortable, so instead, I will coach you through movement and moments to capture those candid photos of you two in your element together. 

In general I like to work you through movements because every person, every couple will have a different way of expressing themselves.

Some of my favorite, more intimate moments are when I ask you two to embrace, cuddle up and hold each other close. Another trick I like to use, is having one of you whisper something into the others ear that they know is going to get them to crack up. It’s gold I tell ya!

For the majority of your session, we will all be chatting back and forth. I like to keep communication flowing because the silence can be deafening and leave the two of you feeling uncomfortable. Once we have gotten into a flow of me helping you into poses, or the two of you moving in and out of them on your own, I will typically ask you two to remember back to those first couple of dates. I love to do this because it can be really humorous and lead to those genuine laughing photos! (aka: candid moments ? )

I’m also a big ā€œshow and tellā€ photographer. Meaning I will be showing you the photos from the back of my camera as we go so you can see how adorable you and your fiance are šŸ˜‰ This is also great, since I can get feedback from you to make sure you absolutely love the photos as we go. 

February 24, 2020

I like to throw out some experiences and just capture you and your bae’s interpretation of said experiences. A couple of my favorites are,

    Practice your first dance
    Go on a little stroll while holding hands
    Get in nice and close and visualize your wedding day

These are wonderful photography moments because it portrays who you are as a couple. Like I mentioned earlier, no two people are going to move in the same way as you both and it is so unique and memorable.

As we wrap up you session, I like to ask if there are any other poses that you envisioned that we didn’t capture and if so, let’s do them! If you are like me, you have several Pinterest boards full of poses that you have fallen in love with and I want to make sure they are all captured for you in the best way possible. I will say, it isn’t always 100% the same because every photographer is going to have different ways of photographing and different equipment. But I will try my best to get it just right!

And that’s about it!

Having your photos taken shouldn’t cause you anxiety, so if you are feeling nervous, let’s chat! I will always be up for a phone call or text if you are nervous about a photo session coming up. It is my job as your photographer to make you and your soon to be spouse, as comfortable as possible! And believe me, I work very hard to make sure every couple who works with me has an all time blast, that has them chatting about their session even after it is over!

So, let’s do it!!

x Kayla

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