Wedding Detail Photography Tips
Anyone else obsessed with detail shots? Just me?
I love adding a bunch of detail shots to your gallery. What are detail shots you ask? Well, they are photos of any detail that is a part of your day. Anything that helps tell the story outside of the people. This could be jewelry, center pieces, your venue, etc. Through out the day, we take a lot of shots of the things that make your day unique! Because no 2 weddings are alike and we want you to remember what made your day extra special.
Getting Ready Detail Shots
One of my favorite parts about getting ready (besides the awesome candids of you hanging out with your bridal party) is the detail shots. So much thought goes into the little details that make up your day and I think they deserve to be captured beautifully! We have had couples honor lost loved ones by wearing pieces that were once theirs. We have seen parents use their wedding attire and turn it into a bow tie or garter for their kids to wear on their wedding day. These details really can be anything!
My biggest tip for these getting ready detail shots is to have anything you want photographed or videoed set aside together. This helps save time so you aren’t scrabbling trying to remember where you put everything while you are in the midst of getting ready. Especially if you have chosen a smaller collection with less hours. My goal for these is to cover as much as possible during that time!
Ceremony and Reception Detail Shots
For these shots you really don’t have to do much on the day of! We will take care of that :) I’ve got a thing for beautiful reception decor with string light bokeh in the background so there is a good chance you may have a ton of these photos in your gallery. To get these, we will work time into your timeline so we can! Whether that is one of us getting reception shots during cocktail hour while the other is doing couples photos. Or giving you guys a photo break to enjoy your guests while we get shots of your space.
Candid Details
Not all detail shots come in the form of flat lays! On my questionnaire when I ask if about special details about your day, I also want to know so we can capture moments like these below. Evan’s mom took pieces of her wedding dress and created a bow tie and handkerchief for him to wear on his wedding day. How awesome is that?? So not only are we getting this sweet moment, we are also capturing the items she created. Knowing these things are important to you helps us to make sure we get these during your getting ready time. Sometimes it is set up where Lex is with one group and I am with another but sometimes we are tackling each group together which means we want to get everything that is important to you in your 45 minute window.
How To
Some photographers will bring a huge board with ribbons, buttons, and other little trinkets to set up detail shots. While there is nothing wrong with this I am more about using what you have. I think finding a fun well lit spot in your room or the hallway, using a pillow, carpet, your dress, etc as a backdrop just adds more to the story. I never want your wedding photos to look like everyone else’s. While my editing style remains the same for every wedding or session, I try to bring out the colors of your day. Or the textures or play up the season you chose to get married. Drew and Ben were married on a beautiful fall October day! So I wanted to play up those fall colors through out their gallery. In the hotel room, there was orange carpeting and pillows that worked really well to add to their story.
A Photographer’s Best Friend: Prisms!
If I have shot your wedding, I am sure you have seen me break out a triangular piece of glass and wondered what I was doing. I use a prism a lot during the getting ready process to add a little something to your photos. In fact, I used in most of the photos in this post. It is just a fun way to bring a little more magic to the detail shots where that be with rainbows, reflections, or light. I gave Lex and Zach their own for Christmas last year so now we won’t have to share and they can get creative too.
Details That Help Tell Your Story
I think all details help tell your story but there are some in particular that you may not plan out. Some that you didn’t realize we took photos or video of that help you relive your day. One example is the photo below of a phone. On the screen is a song from the sound track from Kirsten Dunst’s Marie Antoinette movie. Mollie and her some of her bridesmaids love this movie. They sang and danced to it while getting their hair and make up done. The day happens so fast and oftentimes your adrenaline is running so high that even within a few days you may forget things. Having these photos to look back on is so important to piece things together!
Ask Your Photographer
While I am a documentary photographer and most of your will be candids of your loved ones, like I mentioned above I love getting detail shots so you can look back and remember all the hard work and thought that went into your day. These little details help tell your story just as much as any photo. But that doesn’t mean every photographer will take them. Make sure when choosing a wedding photographer to go through their portfolio and their blogs. My blogs oftentimes have more of the wedding day than the initial portfolio so you can get a better glimpse into what I shoot. Every wedding photographer’s style is different. Some may not do any detail shots while others may do a ton. The best thing is to find a photographer’s style you love and have a chat with them about their approach.