Are getting ready photos important?
For some brides the thought of a photographer being present while they are getting ready is stressful. For others, it’s a no brainer. If you are sitting on the fence about whether you’d like a photographer to capture the preparations on the morning of your wedding day, here are some things to consider.
Why have getting ready shots?
There are a number of advantages for having a photographer cover this part of your wedding:
Your wedding photographs tell the story of your special day. By including the getting ready portion means we can present the full story from start to finish. This is particularly important if you are thinking of displaying your pictures in an album.
It gives you time to ease into having a camera around and having your photo taken before turning up at the ceremony where all eyes and cameras will be on you. It also allows space for you to discuss any final concerns or plans with your photographer for the day ahead.
This is a great time to get detail shots of all the smaller elements that make up your wedding. You have put a lot of time and thought into your dress, shoes, perfume choice, invitations, flowers etc, all of which deserve their own photographs.
You only do this once so make sure you don’t regret not having these pictures to look back on in the future. If you have any worries or concerns, for example not wanting any pictures before your make-up is all done, that is absolutely fine. Speak to your photographer beforehand so we can capture your day exactly as you wish.
How much time to allow
As standard, we would spend about one hour with you in the final stages of getting ready. This means that we can get some photos of you getting your make-up done (or set up some mock pictures of this), getting your dress on and then some portraits before the ceremony with your parents or bridesmaids. We need to leave about 30 minutes before the bride to get to the venue in time to get photos of the groom and the ceremony space. Please bear this is mind when organising your schedule for the morning. If you would like your photographer to spend more time with you getting ready, please speak to us and we can adjust your photography package to accommodate this.
What to expect
Natural, organic pictures are the best, so we don’t interfere too much with what is going on but rather observe and photograph the general activity and emotions. We might ask that you do a certain task in a specific room or face a certain way to utilise the best light and space for your photographs, but then we step back and observe. If you are thinking, ‘there will already be too many people in the house let alone adding the photographer too’, then don’t worry. Amid the chaos and excitement, we will remain calm, relaxed and help guide you through the process.
Helpful Ideas
To save time, have all of the details ready for us to photograph – dress, shoes, perfume, flowers, jewelry and anything else that has significance to you on your wedding day.
If you’re getting ready at home, set up camp in the biggest, brightest room for utilising the best natural light for the photographs. Please make sure the room is tidy – it will inevitably get messy during the process but starting out with a non-cluttered room will help to create those timeless shots.
But let’s not forget about the groom - does the groom need getting ready photos?
Written by Eleth Mageehan, (c) 2020, all rights reserved.
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