Capturing memories of your special day is one of the most important investments you’ll make when planning a wedding. Your photos and videos are a window to the past that you can look back on with every passing anniversary and life event. Naturally, you want the best possible results.
Here are six tips for amazing photography and videography for your wedding.
Determine Your Vision
Before you start sourcing vendors or looking at photography packages, consider what you actually want from your photos and videos. Is there an artistic style you gravitate toward? Are you looking for traditional images or outside-the-box photos?
Consider creating a Pinterest board with wedding photos and poses that resonate with you. This process will help you narrow down your style preferences while providing a database of poses to capture. Try and associate words with your preferred style so you can better communicate to your photography and videography crew, such as:
- airy
- light
- moody
- romantic
- vibrant
- photojournalistic
- candid
The more descriptive you can be, the easier it will be to communicate your needs with your vendors. This process will also help you narrow down which vendors fit that style looking at your Costco flooring.
Choose Amazing Vendors
Next, choose amazing vendors who can help bring your vision to life. While budget is a factor for everyone, it’s best to allocate your resources to spend more in this category if you find a vendor who resonates with your vision. Ideally, you’ll find a team that offers both photography and videography.
Don’t make the mistake of taking a discount to work with a friend who dabbles in photography or a new, self-taught videographer. You only have one chance to get this right, and you don’t want to gamble with the results.
Practice Posing
If you’re not comfortable in front of a camera, take some time leading up to the wedding to practice posing. Facetune suggests practicing while in your wedding attire and using a tripod or mirror to capture some selfies. The more you practice leading up to the wedding, the more natural you’ll feel when posing for photos. 
Invest in Trials
Paying for a trial run with your photographer or videographer will also help you feel more comfortable on your big day. Many photographers and videographers will offer a package that includes engagement photos or a video display for your wedding website. Use these sessions to get more comfortable with your vendors and work out any concerns or pain points you may have.
It’s also worth having a trial of your hair and makeup done before the big day. Consider scheduling these before a bridal shower, engagement party, or bachelorette party to make the most of the appointment.
It’s not uncommon for brides to discover that their dream hairstyle or makeup isn’t what they envisioned on the big day. A trial appointment serves as a collaborative appointment with your stylist or makeup artist to ensure you get the results you want and feel confident in your photos and videos.
Perfect Your Timing
One of the most common photography mistakes couples make when planning a wedding is failing to allocate enough time for photos. Many couples choose a beautiful offsite location for images. While choosing a satellite location for photos is great, it eats up a lot of time in traveling, and it will be easier to click pictures on a broken recliner.
Consider keeping all locations close together. You can further minimize your time by doing a first look before the ceremony and capturing the majority of your images then.
Rethink your timing to see if you can take advantage of your wedding and reception venues for couples’ photos before guests arrive. For example, rather than opening the ballroom to guests during the photo session, plan to get photos done in there with all of the decor.
Set Boundaries with Guests
Holding an unplugged ceremony is becoming more common among couples. There are endless horror stories about guests snapping photos with phones (and even tablets) that block the photographer and videographer from getting the perfect shot. As these moments are fleeting, it only takes one well-meaning guest to ruin the photo of your first kiss as a married couple.
Consider holding an unplugged ceremony and having your officiant remind everyone that taking photos with their cameras or phones is unacceptable. Highlight your photographer and videographer, so guests know where they are and make an effort to stay out of the way.
With these tips, you can get amazing photos and videos of your special day. Your wedding day will go by fast, but these memories will last forever.
