Whether you’re starting to look for your potential wedding photographer, or you already have someone booked in, these tips will help you to become more comfortable in front of the camera, to enjoy your experience, and ultimately ensure that you absolutely LOVE your wedding photos!

Now everyone has their own taste, and every photographer has their own style! Maybe you’re into journalistic photography, a fly on the wall approach where moments are captured candidly, as they happened. Or maybe you love fine art, photos that could be hung in a gallery, where things are a bit more posed and you and your partner look like models. 

You might not even be able to put your finger on it, but whatever it is, you’ve chosen to reach out for a reason. Maybe it’s because they caught your eye on Instagram, or because they were recommended to you by a friend. These are all important aspects, of course you should already love their style and their photos. But amazing photos don’t just happen. Sure, your photographer is a talented artist, but all the talent in the world won’t make you feel comfortable in front of a camera.

That word, comfortable, (you’ll be hearing it a lot), is paramount to ensuring that you end up with incredible wedding photos that you absolutely love, and that you have an amazing, easy and fun experience! Because how could you look back at photo of yourself having that much fun and feeling that comfortable and not love it?!

So, how do we achieve these incredible levels of comfort and joy? Well, start by meditating daily and practicing good healthy eating habits for 3 months before enquiring with your photographer…(Jks), that probably would help to be honest, but let’s get real…

Communication between yourself and your photographer is the ABSOLUTE KEY to enjoying your experience. And this starts with the very first time you reach out to your photographer. 

Think of it like dating…

1. The first date, get to know each other!

Make sure you meet with your photographer BEFORE you book them!

Your photographer is going to be a HUGE part of your day. You will also most likely be entering a contract and paying a large deposit to this person. Don’t you think you should at least meet them first?

Surprisingly a lot of people skip this step, and I get it, you’re probably extremely busy like everyone else in this hectic world. But come on, everyone has time for a 10 minute zoom call, or even better, a quick beer/coffee. If there is one wedding vendor that you should meet before booking, it is your photographer/videographer, because they are the only vendors who will be with you the WHOLE day on your wedding, and please god you have to make sure you like them!! 

Think of it like a first date.. Now I’m not saying you should be looking for your future hubby/wifey here, because I’m really hoping that decision has already been made by this stage! But, in order for there to be a second date there has to be some kind of a spark right? It may not be love at first sight, if you’re anything like me you will probably be a bit nervous and slightly awkward. But you should at least vibe with that person, feel some level of comfort, excitement, have things to talk about, and have a similar vision for your wedding day. 

The bottom line is, if you don’t think that you could be friends with them, then they should not be shooting your wedding!

Bonus tip: If you do have the time, (and a certain virus isn’t standing in the way) try and make this meeting happen in person. It is way easier to gauge if you like someone in person than over a video chat, and who doesn’t want an excuse for a beer?

2. The second date, a romantic walk on the beach.

I’m talking about an engagement shoot here people! 

Cast your mind forward to your wedding day. You’ve gone from never having your photo taken professionally before, to then having a person you hardly know point a camera in your face all day long whilst awkwardly trying to tell you to “just relax”, on what is often an already very stressful, hectic, anxiety inducing day. Keeping in mind you’ve paid thousands of dollars for that person to be there putting that pressure on you to “just relax” or your wedding photos will be crap.

This is what most people do. Sounds crazy right? Well, unless you’re a model, it kinda is.. 

If your wedding photographer is telling you to “just relax” on your wedding day, it means that you look nervous and awkward, which makes a whole lot of sense, because you’ve never bloody done this before!!

That’s where your engagement shoot comes in. Honestly, I think engagement shoots should be re branded as “practice shoots”. They’re the single most effective way to get yourself feeling as comfortable and confident as possible in front of a camera, and also such a fun way to get to know your photographer better!

You can work on poses, hugs, kisses, how to fucking walk, (trust me, some people seem to forget basic motor functions once a camera is pointed at them). You can also learn tips from your photographer, ask all the questions that I’m sure you have, and just generally practice things! You also come away with some awesome photos, which (if you have a good photographer) I guarantee will make you feel a lot better about yourself, and confident that your photographer is making you look fab! Then, on your wedding day you will be a natural!!

Bonus tip: Sounds cheesy, but practice hugging in the mirror! If you see a photo that you like online where a couple looks natural and great, see if you and your partner look great like that too! Most photographers just want things to look natural, and that means feeling natural!

3. The third date, deep conversations about our future together

Alright so your wedding day is coming up fast and things are starting to get a bit serious, a little scary even. It’s time to have… the chat. You know the one about the future and stuff. I don’t mean like house and kids, but you need some assurance that your wedding day is going to go as smoothly as possible, and that your photographer is there with you every step of the way, and on the same page.

It is SO important to work out the nitty gritty details with your photographer before the wedding day. Things like timing and a rough schedule, important events throughout the day, people you simply must have a photo with.

Let’s look at an example: Sunset shots. Now this usually happens right around that time you’ve gone in for dinner or you’re having canapé’s and a drink and are enjoying yourselves with friends. And as you know, sunsets happen very quickly!! You have to be on the ball to nail the lighting. 

Personally, as a journalistic, fly on the wall type photographer, I would not go and disturb my couple to pull them away from the party to go back out and get the perfect sunset shot unless we had previously discussed that that’s what we want. Because some people don’t give a shit about sunset shots! They’ve been in front of a camera all day and they just want to relax with their friends, and maybe actually soak in the sunset, and that’s fantastic!

But imagine if that beautiful sunset shot is something you really wanted, and it was missed, because you took it for granted that it would just happen, and it was never communicated with your photographer.

Look, the responsibility is not completely on your shoulders. Each photographer has their own style when it comes to working out a schedule. Some will send you detailed questionnaires, and to the tee “shot lists”, with every single detail written down to make sure that no shots are missed. Others will work out the rough times that major events are happening, but otherwise will keep things completely candid, and unless you ask for something or someone to be captured specifically, it very well may not be!

Both of these approaches are great, depending on the style that you are after and the photographer you have chosen. And your photographer should be doing their best to communicate this with you too, but in the lead up to your wedding, if you have something important you need to say that the photographer hasn’t covered, please say something! Don’t take it for granted that it will just happen. You only get one shot at this, make sure you’re on the same page!

Bonus tip: All these details can be worked out on the second date if your wedding day is close enough that you have a decent idea of the timeline!

So that’s it! The bottom line is, if you want to make sure that you are going to LOVE your wedding pics, then make sure that you are loving the experience! Create a friendship with your photographer, one that makes you feel comfortable, someone that you can laugh with and trust! Do the prep work, practice, communicate, get on the same page. If you do this well, you won’t even have to worry about what your photographer is doing on your wedding day. They’re professionals, they’ve got you!!

I whole heartedly believe that you can’t not love a photo if you were genuinely enjoying yourself in that moment. Yeah your smile might be a little crooked, or your arm may be in a slightly awkward position, but who cares! You will look at that photo and smile, because you will remember how good you felt in that moment. After all, it’s your wedding day! Your priority should be making sure that you enjoy yourself, doing it your way, laughing, smiling, hugging, kissing and dancing. Do these things, genuinely, the way you want to, and the photos will come naturally 🙂