You’ve been meticulously planning your bridal look – the dress, the shoes, the makeup, the hair and you’ll definitely want to have an everlasting memory in your wedding photographs of how beautiful and radiant you looked on your big day…
For that reason I recommend that you specifically discuss with your wedding photographer to allocate time for some bridal portraits that’ll capture you looking your most beautiful – using even, gorgeous light that bounces off you with that happiest smile on your face!
Bridal portraits often get overlooked and I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve received e-mails from brides telling me that the portraits I took of them when we finished their makeup and hair on the day are about the only portraits they have or that they like of themselves from the whole wedding story!
Dear Wedding Photographers…
There are some very good reasons why brides plan their bridal looks meticulously and why it takes us MUAs and hairstylists a good couple of hours to get every bride looking mind-blowingly beautiful. They want to look amazing for themselves, their new husband, for the other wedding guests AND in the photographs.
A lot of brides dream about their looks becoming admired to such an extent that they are pinned on Pinterest or posted on Instagram! Having done over 500 weddings and having trained as a professional photographer myself, I naturally tune in and listen whenever I hear wedding photography being mentioned. I admire how wedding photographers are able to capture the most wonderful tear-inducing moments but also I hear way too often that there were not enough (or any) beautiful bridal portraits taken on the day.
As a previous bride myself I know how important this is. Time and again I’m hearing after weddings that flattering bridal portraits captured in beautiful light are missing from wedding photo stories.
Brides are usually the ones who approve or disapprove wedding images. The first thing they pay attention to in the photos is themselves, scanning over the images to check if there is at least one portrait that they like themselves in. Only then will they get to the tear-inducing moments.
Why not give every bride the most amazing portraits where SHE looks the MOST AMAZING EVER – then even if you’ve accidentally missed an important shot like the ring exchange or the groom’s first glance at the bride it won’t be noticed. However the lack of GREAT bridal portraits where the bride actually likes how she looks will always be noticed.
Is this vanity? No, it’s reality. Bridal looks are created with great effort and planning – the MUA and hairstylist of choice are usually booked first, before even the venue. They want to feel comfortable that on the most important day of their lives they’ll look their most beautiful ever. Capture them looking so in portraits that they’ll fall in love with and they’ll show them off to the world and you’ll be recommended to many many other brides-to-be.
