Ballara Receptions understands the importance of remembering your day, and keeping the highlights of your day forever is just as vital. Check out our wedding photography tips below to capture your magical wedding moments.
Must-Have Capture List
Sadly minds cannot be read. If you have a list of people, photo combos or an inspiration shot you want to recreate, put together a list of these and give a copy to your photographer and assistant. This way, nothing is lost in translation and they can capture your ideal photos.
Planning it Out
If you are having your photographer do “getting ready” shots and want some cute photos of your rings, shoes, etc. then try to have these all set up the night before the wedding so that you don’t need to be worrying about this on the day. This will also help if you are running behind schedule with hair or makeup as the photographer can take these shots while you finish up.
Timing and Scheduling
Photographers can often offer a range of different package times. Be sure to think about what moments of your day you want them to be around to capture. For example, do you want photos while you are getting ready? Are you doing a sparkler send off at the end of the reception?
Don’t forget that you need to budget in their travel time between the two locations you will be getting ready at plus the ceremony to reception location (if you are not holding everything at Ballara). Make sure you take these factors into account when working out the length of your package. Keep in mind what time sunset is, should you want to go out for some cool photos, and what time it will be fully dark for you to go out and capture some beautiful night shots too.
Group Photos
At the end of your ceremony, you may wish to have a big group photo with everyone included. Consider the following:
- Taking a photo in front of the building in a semi circle – this way the photographer can use a ladder or stand on the steps at the front entrance to get a good angle.
- If you have smaller numbers, you might like to have the guests up on either side of the veranda and have the bridal party and parents on the steps.
- You may like to use the gazebo lawn area for your photo. If you are using the gazebo for your ceremony, we recommend one of the other above options so that we can remove all the ceremony chairs. This way, they won’t be in the background for the rest of your photos.
In this case, it’s all about location: it’s vital in getting a good angle and ensuring that everyone is in the frame.
Plus, why not add fresh rose petals, dried flowers or leaves, bubbles etc to add to your group photo fun?
Family Photos
The family photo time is normally quite quick and busy. To make this easier, have a non-bridal party/parent person in charge of coordinating the time and the people you need in photos.
Special Moments
Capturing your bridal waltz or walk down the aisle can involve extra items that make the moment truly pop. This includes dry ice, fireworks and the like. One of our top wedding photography tips is to let your photographer know if you are planning to include any of these for your bridal waltz, a sparkler farewell, etc. so they can prepare their equipment accordingly, and capture these in the right light.
