Cameras during the ceremony processional and recessional
Allowing cameras and cell phones at the ceremony takes away from the timelessness of the photography. It also makes the pictures look messy. If people go out into the aisles to take pictures, then I can’t get a good picture of the bride walking down the aisle.
To avoid this problem, make a recommendation to the guests, or have the minister remind the guests not to take pictures during processional and recessional ceremony. You can put it on the website - Please no photos during the ceremony - or you can have a cellphone drop at the entrance of the ceremony.
Another important point about this — people who are putting photos up on Facebook are going to steal the thunder of the final, edited wedding photos that you will soon receive. My recommendation is ALWAYS no photography during the processional and recessional. Family and friends should be in the moment, and it is not a photo that they need to have because they are going to have the hi-resolution photo soon enough!
The Bride’s Side.
Consider positioning the bride with the sun at her back. It is a good idea to have the bride backlit & bathed in the nice light during the ceremony. The bride should be backlit. Men can handle the harsh sunlight better than women can.
The Flower Girl.
If you are going to have a flower girl, make sure that she has done everything that she needs to do before the bride walks out. It is hard to capture both moments simultaneously, so you need to allow time for those two entrances to happen and those two photos to be taken.
Walking Down the Aisle.
There are many venues at Vermont Weddings where the aisle starts out as a staircase and then turns into an aisle. In these situations, everyone coming down the aisle needs to look UP in order to look good in these pictures. Look up and smile.
The Officiant.
The minister should to be asked kindly to move when the first kiss happens. Or, to stay in the frame and have a GREAT reaction – big smiles etc. If you do not want the officiant in the photos when the rings happen and the kiss happens. I don’t want to see the minister at these special moments.
Also, find out if the minister is planning to use an iPad rather than a nice bible to read out of — and push for him to consider using a bible. I would consider asking the minister to think about stuff like that. The iPad loses the timelessness in the photos. It is immediately going to date the photo, and I think it is degrading to the photos.
After the “I do’s”
When you’re walking down the aisle after you’ve just been named husband and wife, walk down that aisle like you are on top of the world! You have just done something so special and everybody is going to be celebrating around you. No matter what, stop at the top of the altar for a moment and celebrate with people, because those are great photographic shots of you getting the congratulations from everybody else, right after the ceremony. There should bee a good amount of time taken for that. You need to take advantage of that moment. That is the most natural excitement of the day.
Charleston Photographers Amy & David Bennett | 1559 Gemstone Dr, Mount Pleasant, SC
802.825.7505 | www.amybennettphoto.com | amybennettphoto@gmail.com