For Brides: How to Get Beautiful Ceremony Pictures

This post is part of a series for brides (and grooms!) or for those who are helping someone plan a wedding. My goal for this series is to help you make informed and educated decisions about your wedding day so that it will be as beautiful as possible! If you're joining me for the first time, you can catch up here:

1. Should I Do an Engagement Session?
2. What Should I Wear for My Engagement Session?
3. Should I Do Bridal Portraits?
4. Making a Wedding Day Photography Timeline
5. How to Get Great Getting Ready Pictures
6. 6 Things Every Bride Should Get Ready for Her Photographer
7. Should We Do a First Look?
8. 5 Steps to Great Bride & Groom Portraits
9. How to Get Beautiful Ceremony Pictures

Your ceremony is one of the most important parts of your day but it can also be one of the most difficult to photograph! Ceremonies are often in dimly lit churches or outside during the harshest sunlight of the day. Here's a few tips on how to get beautiful pictures of your ceremony:

1. Consider the Lighting
If you've been following along, you've probably noticed a theme in my blog posts by now: lighting is key!! When you're considering venues for your ceremony, think about the lighting. If you're planning an indoor ceremony try and find somewhere that has a lot of windows and natural light. If your ceremony location doesn't have windows, consider leaving all the lights on. I know that may not be the "look" you're going for, but I promise you'll be happy you did it. I've shot in an auditorium before with all of the lights off except for harsh spotlights hitting the couple on stage and it is not a flattering look! It would have been much better, and the lighting would have been more even if all the lights in the auditorium were on.

2. Consider the Time of Day
This tip is especially important if you're planning an outdoor ceremony.  I absolutely LOVE shooting outdoor ceremonies! However, if you plan your outdoor ceremony at noon, you're going to have very harsh lighting that will not be flattering in your pictures (unless you luck out with an overcast, non-rainy day!). Consider having your ceremony as close to the golden hour as possible (the golden hour is one hour before the sun sets). If it's not possible to have your ceremony during the golden hour, the later in the afternoon you can have it, the better. However, make sure you steer away from having your ceremony after the sun goes down if you want the best lighting possible!

3. Consider the Rules of the Location
Some locations (usually churches) have very particular rules about what the photographer can and can't do during the reception. Sometimes the photographer must remain in the back of the church and cannot use flash. I can work with these requirements because I have the equipment I need to have to perform under those conditions. However, it is always helpful to be able to get closer in order get more intimate shots and creative angles. 

If you found this post helpful or interesting please share it and/or leave your thoughts or feedback in the comments section below! Check back next Wednesday and I'll be sharing my next post in the "For Brides" series one part of the wedding day that can sometimes be the most difficult...family formals!

For Brides: 5 Steps to Great Bride & Groom Portraits | NC Wedding Photographer

This post is part of a series for brides (and grooms!) or for those who are helping someone plan a wedding. My goal for this series is to help you make informed and educated decisions about your wedding day so that it will be as beautiful as possible! If you're joining me for the first time, you can catch up here:

1. Should I Do an Engagement Session?
2. What Should I Wear for My Engagement Session?
3. Should I Do Bridal Portraits?
4. Making a Wedding Day Photography Timeline
5. How to Get Great Getting Ready Pictures
6. 6 Things Every Bride Should Get Ready for Her Photographer
7. Should We Do a First Look?
8. Five Steps to Great Bride & Groom Portraits

Bride and groom portraits are one of my favorite parts of the wedding day! I absolutely love taking these pictures and I think they're extremely important. In fact, as I mentioned in my last post, 90% of the pictures displayed in my homes and bride and groom portraits of me and Alex. So how do you get great "Bride and Groom" portraits? Here's 5 steps:

1. Consider location
Think through the location where you plan to take your bride and groom portraits. Most of my couples opt to have their pictures taken at or around their ceremony and/or reception location and that's great! Just make sure that the location you choose has the "look" that you want. For example, if you're getting married downtown Raleigh but you want to stop in a field on the way to downtown to take your bride and groom portraits, your portraits probably aren't going to match the overall aesthetic of your wedding day. Also, try and find a location that has some versatility with multiple locations or options for getting portraits. Trust your photographer as well and ask them for advice and lean on them to find good light and spots at your location choice once you arrive.

2. Think about the time of day
Consider the time of day and the light when you plan the time of your ceremony and reception. For example: if you plan to do a "first look" at noon and take your portraits at 12:30 so you can make it on time to 2 o'clock reception make sure you realize that is the worst possible lighting of the day. The later in the afternoon or evening (or early in the morning) that you can take your pictures the better! The time of day should also play into your location choice. If you plan to take your pictures at noon, make sure you'll be somewhere that has plenty of shade or diffused light (i.e. light shining through trees or other objects that help "diffuse" its harshness). In addition, depending on the time of your wedding, consider allowing your photographer to steal you away for an additional 15 minutes of portrait time during the "golden hour" (the hour before the sun sets). I always ask my couples if they're willing to do this because I know they'll be so happy they did when they look back on their beautiful sunset pictures!!

3. Leave plenty of time
I can't stress this enough. Leave plenty of time for bride and groom portraits. These really are some of the most important pictures you'll be taking all day! I always ask for at least 30 minutes with just the couple and ideally I like 45 (30 minutes before ceremony if doing a "first look" and 15 minutes during sunset).

4. Consider doing a first look
I've already written a whole blog post on this topic and so I won't spend much time here. I encourage you to consider doing a first look because otherwise, it's very difficult to get 30-45 minutes for bride and groom portraits between the ceremony and the reception. Typically the photographer has an hour between the ceremony and reception and bridal party pictures and family pictures usually take at least 45 minutes which leaves 15 minutes or less for the photographer with the couple. If you aren't planning to do a "first look" I highly encourage you to allow your photographer to pull you away for an additional 15 minutes of portrait time during your reception.

5. Interact with one another
You should trust your photographer and allow him/her to pose you. However, I always encourage my couples to interact with one another while I pose them! I want them to consider my poses more as "suggestions." My hope is that posing my clients will lead to them interacting naturally. Remember as your photographer is taking pictures that it's one of the happiest days of your life and try and allow your natural emotions to flow out of you and pretend like your photographer isn't even there (I know, easier said than done)!

If you found this post helpful or interesting please share it and/or leave your thoughts or feedback in the comments section below! Check back next Wednesday and I'll be sharing my next post in the "For Brides" series on how to get beautiful ceremony pictures!

How I Share My Images

I often get the question, "How do you share your pictures?" "Will I get all my images or will I have to pay for each one?"

There are a lot of different types of photographers and methods of sharing images and so it can get confusing! I am what is called a "shoot and share" photographer. "Shoot and Share" is defined as "photographers that focus on service and share the high resolution photos with their clients" (you can learn more at shootandshare.com). Many photographers charge per image or only provide prints and products but "shoot and share" is a business model that allows customers to receive all the edited, high resolution images from their session and to share those images. 

A few years ago I made the decision to start using a professional photo sharing program called "PASS" and I have never looked back! I love PASS! You can learn more about PASS at pass.us.

Why I use PASS:

1. Digital Delivery and Instant Download
With PASS I can deliver all of my images through an online gallery instead of using a CD or USB. That means that my clients receive their images instantly and can send them to friends and family instantly! Instead of having to wait for a CD to come in the mail or having to pay an additional fee to have me mail a CD to family members, you get all of your pictures with the click of a button! I do deliver wooden USBs for weddings (because I think they're so pretty!) and I sell wooden USBs to anyone who would like one from a portrait session.

2. 10 Years of Cloud Storage
With PASS your images are stored on the cloud for 10 years! That means you can access your images online any time you would like. No more worrying about loosing a CD! I've found this feature super helpful with my own wedding pictures. There's been lots of times I've wanted to pull up a picture from my wedding to use on social media or to print out and they've all been available with just the click of a button.

3. Social Media Integration & A Mobile App
PASS integrates seamlessly with social media! You can automatically share an image through PASS onto Facebook or Pinterest. In addition, at the click of a button you can create an app that is added to your phone so you can access your gallery at any time. How cool is that?!

4. Beautiful Galleries
I love the way PASS galleries look! They're clean and simple. In addition, you can organize galleries by "collection." So for wedding pictures I create different collections for each part of the wedding day (for example: "Getting Ready," "First Look," etc.).

I hope you found this post helpful! If you have any more questions about how I share images please feel free to contact me or post a comment below.

For Brides: Should We Do a First Look? | NC Wedding Photographer

This post is part of a series for brides (and grooms!) or for those who are helping someone plan a wedding. My goal for this series is to help you make informed and educated decisions about your wedding day so that it will be as beautiful as possible! If you're joining me for the first time, you can catch up here:

1. Should I Do an Engagement Session?
2. What Should I Wear for My Engagement Session?
3. Should I Do Bridal Portraits?
4. Making a Wedding Day Photography Timeline
5. How to Get Great Getting Ready Pictures
6. 6 Things Every Bride Should Get Ready for Her Photographer
7. Should We Do a First Look?

There are a lot of opinions on this topic! Before I share my thoughts with you, let me explain what a "First Look" is in case you haven't heard this term before:

What is a "First Look?" 
The first look is a special time when the bride and groom see each other for the first time before the ceremony. It's intimate and private with only your photographers (and videographer if you choose to have one) there to capture each moment as it unfolds.

Now, I want to preface my opinion but sharing that I think the decision on whether or not to do a "First Look" is 100% up to the bride and groom. Your wedding day is YOUR wedding day and not your mom's or your photographer's or anyone else's day. So ultimately, you and your fiancé need to decide together on what is best for you. Also, while I'm about to share my thoughts on all the benefits of doing a first look, I completely understand why people choose not to do a first look. Most of my couples decide to do a first look, but I have some that decide not do it and want to be more traditional. I completely understand that and I know there is definitely something special about your groom seeing you for the first time as you walk down the aisle!

With all of that said, my opinion is that doing a "First Look" has many benefits and should seriously be considered as you're planning your wedding. Here's some of the main reasons I encourage couples to think about doing a "First Look":

1. You'll Get Intimate Time Together
Wedding days are a whirlwind and brides and grooms usually have no private time together to connect and take it all in. During the "First Look," I always tell the couple that I want them to enjoy the time together and not worry about me being there. I far stand back with a zoom lens and allow them to embrace and interact without any direction or posing. My goal and hope is that they'll forget I'm even there! I also think having some intimate time together before your ceremony can ease a lot of nerves and pressure. During my own first look, I found that it really helped me calm down and be a lot less nervous and it was such a sweet time to talk and interact with Alex before our ceremony. 

2. You'll Get More Pictures
You're investing a lot of money into your wedding photography and you want to maximize the amount of time you have for pictures! Doing a "First Look" gives you more time before the wedding for bridal party pictures and bride and groom pictures. Instead of trying to cram bridal party pictures, bride and groom pictures, and family formals into an hour after the ceremony, you will have a lot more time if you do a "First Look." In addition, couples who do a "First Look" get a lot more bride and groom portraits. And I promise you, those pictures are some of the most important ones you'll take on your wedding day because you will cherish them and they'll end up hanging all over your house (90% of the wedding pictures displayed in my house are portraits of me and Alex that we took before our ceremony!). 

3. You'll Get to Your Your Reception Faster
Let's be honest, no one really like waiting around after the ceremony to get all the pictures done before entering the reception. Everyone is ready to get to the reception and party! Doing a "First Look" cutsout most of the wait time for you and your wedding party so that everyone can get to the reception faster and enjoy it longer. 

From the Groom's Perspective
What is it like to do a "First Look" from the groom's perspective? Obviously every groom is different, but here's a quote from my husband, "We chose to do a first look, and boy am I glad we did! It made the day run so much smoother and gave us more time to get the shots we really wanted. Now some of those images are among our most cherished."

Here's a shot of my husband and I during our first look (captured by the amazing Naisang Photography):

If you found this post helpful or interesting please share it and leave your thoughts or feedback in the comments section below! Check back next Wednesday and I'll be sharing my next post in the "For Brides" series on how to get great "Bride and Groom Portraits."

Marie & Ben's Engagement Session at Eno State Park | A Durham, NC Photographer

I met with Marie and Ben at Eno State park in Durham for their engagement session and I had a wonderful time! Marie and Ben spent a lot of time at Eno park while they were dating and so they showed me around and took me to some of their favorite spots. Since moving to NC, I have really enjoyed getting to do photo shoots at so many new places! I loved Eno park and I especially loved the beautiful drawbridge. I definitely plan to come back here for more shoots in the future!

I  loved watching Marie and Ben interact with one another during their session! They were completely natural in front of the camera and their chemistry and love for one another was very obvious. Marie and Ben told me a little history about her engagement ring. The diamond in Marie's ring was Ben's grandma's and has been in Ben's family for many years. 

Marie and Ben, I had a blast and I can't wait until your wedding in September!