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Between following up with the wedding caterer and finalizing wedding favors, we know that you’ll have little to no time to chalk out the wedding photography timeline. Of course, that does not mean that you should be sidelining the wedding photographer entirely, simply because it’s your big day, and you want to get as much of it as you can on the roll.
Let’s take a look at what aspects come into the picture on your wedding photography timeline.
Usually, an hour should suffice for prep-time wedding photoshoots, but two hours can be fun too.
These aren’t your typical orchestrated photoshoots where the photographer tells you to lean back a little or slightly tilt your head as he/she gets a picture, and if anything will be about capturing those candid moments where the bride is having her makeup done or her hair done up, where you can almost feel the excitement in the air.
It goes without saying that the groom and the bride will be the pivotal characters of this photoshoot, but when they are too busy getting dressed, the photographer will capture shots of friends and families at the venue. This is also when the photographer will get shots of the wedding dress, shoes, rings, and other key details of the wedding.
The exact time that it takes for the wedding ceremony cannot be pinned down, as customs and traditions may vary from one wedding to another.
Then again, you may want to have a chat with those who manage the ceremony beforehand, as the last thing that you want is for ceremonial officials to be displeased because the camera flash caused a disruption right in the middle of the ceremony. Of course, photographers usually try to get candid pictures during the ceremony, without causing any disruptions.
In fact, you would do good discussing details of the ceremony with the photographer beforehand, so they capture these shots at the right time, whether it is lighting candles or releasing doves. If you or your groom are planning on throwing in little surprises at the wedding (the groom once pulled out a banjo to serenade his soon-to-be spouse, how cute is that?), you may want to let the photographer in on the secret.
Right after the wedding ceremony is when the photographer gets the tear-jerking shots when emotions run high.
This is one of the toughest bits for the photographer, considering it involves getting everyone to look at the camera at the same time, and that includes everyone from your four-year-old nephew who is easily distracted, to your eighty-year-old grandma who is busy ranting to that old aunt of yours that she hasn’t met in ages.
A good tip is to keep it short, say about 15-20 minutes all in all, so you have everyone’s attention (let’s be realistic here), and try and arrange it near the ceremony so everyone is around, and you don’t have to go looking for anyone.
We advise you save this for the last, preferably during sunset, so you can get some fairytale wedding pictures to go above your mantlepiece!
Of course, if you are having a beachside wedding or one in the middle of a vineyard, spectacular views are a given at any time of the day. We would say keep about half an hour to an hour aside for the couple’s portrait session.
We won’t deny it, a lot of this time the couple’s wedding photography session is spent waiting, while friends and family try to intentionally photobomb the pictures, which makes for some fun shots anyway!
