Your Guide to gorgeous Bridal Prep photos | Newcastle Wedding Photographer
Estimated reading time 10 minutes.
Table of Contents:
1 - The importance of light.
2 - Minimal clutter.
3 - Size of Party.
4 - The small Details.
5 - Your Schedule.
6 - Preparation.
Every Bride wants dreamy photos of their Wedding morning with their nearest and dearest around them, all getting glammed up, everyone gearing up for a fantastic day. When done well Bridal prep photos can be so magical and full of feeling, they’re often some of my favourite photos of the day! But it does take organisation, attention to detail and a will from yourself to achieve these kinds of photos. As much as I adore working in a natural documentary way, we do need some direction and organisation for perfect photos!
Here are some of my top tips for perfect Bridal prep photos…
1 - The importance of light.
I would argue that this is the most important one on the list! Light is everything for us photographers. And I mean natural light. Natural light illuminates the details in the room and on objects, natural light is flattering on skin and bodies and natural light doesn’t create any unnatural colours or tones or shadows.
From my experience most hair and makeup artists will set up in a bright room next to a window, it benefits them as well as us capturing the morning. I would definitely think about this before the day itself. Work out where you might ask hair and makeup to set up and mention it to them before the day, so everyone is on the right understanding on the day.
2 - Minimal clutter.
I totally get it, Wedding mornings are full of people each doing a different task with about 10 different objects each. It can be chaotic. And it can be messy!
It is really important to be mindful of your surroundings, any little bit of mess I promise you will get picked up in photos and it’s all you will see when you look back at your Wedding gallery. Of course it would be impossible to have no mess and the tidiest rooms ever when you’re all getting ready for a Wedding! My point isn’t to have a cleaner on hand all day tidying up as you go. It’s absolutely ok to have glasses all over the place, makeup dotted around your getting ready space, bouquets sat ready to go, dresses hanging up. These are all important bits to your Wedding day story. But overflowing bags and suitcases, plates of food or wrappers or kids toys everywhere aren’t quite as photogenic.
I would suggest maybe chatting about this before the day with your fellow Bride Tribe so that you’re all on the same page about it and all making an effort to keep things looking good!
3 - Size of Party.
I think it’s really important to think about how many people are going to be there on your Wedding morning including vendors like hair, makeup, photographer and videographer. I have been at many Wedding mornings where it’s been a little overcrowded. And as much as I understand it makes sense to have all these amazing friends and loved ones around you, I’ve seen on a few occasions that this actually causes a lot of stress and panic for the Bride. Which is really not the way to be feeling on your Wedding morning!
I think having the people who are truly close to you and you feel must be there should be all that you see on your wedding morning. This way you can keep calm and collected and not have too much going on leaving you to feel overwhelmed.
I’d also recommend thinking about the space you are going to be in. Is it big enough for all your Wedding morning guests and the vendors? What I have seen a lot of Brides do is hire an Airbnb or utilise the Wedding venue for getting ready in the morning. This way you know that the space will be big enough, and also you can have confidence that the space is going to be photogenic and bright!
4 - The small Details.
The small details are SO important I can’t even tell you! I love to capture the details of a Wedding Day and the Wedding morning is so exception. I love to capture photos of the dress and all the accessories to go with it. Small details such as your dress hanger for both Bride and Bridesmaids, how you’re presenting your jewellery, what you and your bridesmaids are wearing for the Wedding morning will all make such a difference and will honestly make your photos step up a notch!
It’s also worth noting this about the space you are getting ready in. Anything you spot that catches your eye (for the wrong reason!) is likely going to be in the background of your photos. So I’d maybe take a look around and if you do notice anything that’s majorly distracting, you could check if that could be changed.
5 - Your Schedule.
As an organised person I literally live for schedules and a list! I truly think it is the best way to be in charge of your time and ensure that all you want to do is achievable. The same goes for you, Brides! So many Brides say to me they’d love a photo of all Bridesmaids together in their matching pj’s, a photo of dad seeing his daughter as a Bride for the first time and photo of all the girls before they set off for the ceremony. And often things run late or not to schedule and these plans can often end up out the window. For no reason other than lack or organisation. These photos are all achievable if they are organised and accounted for in your schedule, and it’s a team effort to get them done.
If you aren’t an organised person, don’t panic. Your photographer should certainly help you get organised for your wedding morning and I am more than sure that your girls will support you with this too!
6 - Preparation.
This kind of leads on from before. And it’s just to say to be as prepared as you can. Bringing all of these points mentioned above together will ensure that your Wedding morning runs smooth and looks gorgeous, which is a winner all round. Be prepared that you might need to put in a little more effort for the perfect Wedding morning, and be prepared that your photographer may have to take some control throughout the morning to be able to get all of the shots you want.
If you have any questions, or if you think that I could maybe be the photographer for you, head over to my contact form and say hey!
