Top 10 Tips From Toronto Wedding Photographer

In most of cases, bride stays on left side during ceremony and reception. In such case, the right side of the face is visible more, especially when doing kiss. If the bride intends to leave some hair open on one side of face, it is suggested to have hair falling to the left side of the face so the right side is visible from the behind where the photographer is standing. Sample of such photos are show here.

While every moment on the wedding day is important, there are cases when the couple have to sacrifice some moments with photographer to maintain the schedule or budget. If you have to skip some photo, then it would be getting ready part of the day. It helps avoid extra travel and setup for the photographer. It gives you private time to get ready.  Though skipped, you can still plan to take few pictures by yourself. Take photos of the dress and accessories. Hang the dress in a clean area and assemble the accessories on a flat layout using poster card from dollar store. Some of the getting shots can be faked during the day. 

For outdoor ceremonies, it is suggested to have sun in the back of Altar / Arch / Backdrop to avoid sun shadows on the faces. A professional camera can face the sun very well. The top picture in the sample has sun on the right side of the wedding party causing strong shadows on one side of the face. The bottom picture has sun in the back and cast no shadows or highlights on the face or outfits. 

To ensure that you do not miss a family or family member or mix up wrong family members, create a list of shots to be taken for family and bridal group shots. Get over with family shots first as they want to have some drinks and mingle around. Have your best man or maid of honor or day of coordinator call out the next group of people to be ready for the shots. Here is sample list: 

Groom's parents

Groom's grandparents

Groom's parents, grandparents and siblings 

Groom's parents and siblings

Groom's parents and Bride's parents

Bride's parents

Bride's grandparents

Bride's parents, grandparents and siblings 

Bride's parents and siblings

Contrast the overall wedding colors. Most brides wear white dresses. Having a decor in contrasting colors gives better pictures. Decor like Altar backdrop setup, bouquet, reception backdrop, sweetheart table, etc. 

Hit the golden hour (an hour before sunset) for the couple photos. The lighting is better at that time if it is a sunny day. For most of the weddings, the golden hour falls around the dinner time in summer and the couple would have to schedule their speeches so they can sneek out to capture magic.

One of the best way to enjoy all the moments is to schedule your photos strategically. Having done with your bridal and group family photos prior to ceremony gives you more time to spend with the guests after the ceremony and enjoy cocktail hours. It also allows the photographer to capture candid moments at the cocktail hour.

Have an engagement session with your wedding photographer so the two of get to know each other, can learn each other's personality and get comfortable in front of camera. 

An unplugged ceremony is where phones are in silent mode and the guests are not taking any photos/videos during the ceremony and first dance. Ask officiant or/and DJ to announce an unplugged ceremony and first dances. If the friends, families really need to take pictures of the couple, allocate 5 mins after you arrive and before the ceremony starts for phone camera photos so the guests are done with their curiosity.

Photography during dancing is the tough due to lot of moment and group dancing where the photographer is not able to fit. Some couples ask for crane/jib based camera which can capture moments from a height. However, there is an easier solution. Ask your photographer to provide you a GoPro or similar camera so you can take pictures of few crazy moments. Don't forget to pass it to your friends. 

Have a photobooth so you can have photos with crazy and weird poses that you may not feel comfortable in front of a photographer. Allow your creativity to flow. Just have the booth open in the last 2-3 hours of the wedding day.