Ten Beach Wedding Photography Tips
Couples who hire a professional to photograph their beach wedding certainly won’t need to worry, as pros know all the tips and tricks of this type of photo. However, many couples are on a tight budget and have opted for a beach wedding because of its frugality. Chances are someone in the family or a friend or friends will be serving as photographer for the big day. These tips will help those amateur photographers to get some awesome shots that will rival those of the best pros.
Later, when you’re finished reading this, you should read the article on contemporary wedding photography for more ideas.
Beach Wedding Photography Tips
* Beach weddings by their nature are much less formal and looser than traditional weddings, and it is more than okay for the pictures to show that. In fact, it should be celebrated, as the couple has chosen this open, airy, natural wedding because it is what they love and wanted to share with all of their loved ones.
* Make sure the person who will be photographing the wedding is familiar with taking pictures outdoors, especially in sunny places like the beach. The entire lighting aspect is totally different in this kind of natural space. If they are a relative newbie to this type of thing, it would be wise to give them the camera ahead of time and send them off to take some beach photos to practice.
- In most shots, the sun needs to be behind the photographer, and off at an angle. The people in the photo will be looking into the sun, and there will be some squinting, but the lighting quality is awesome with this type of shot. Get at least one or two shots of the bride and groom literally walking off into “happily ever after” together, from behind, as these are truly romantic photos.
- For romantic silhouette shots, the exact opposite in lighting is true. The photographer will need to take the photos INTO the sun, and will end up with just black silhouettes of the bride and groom.
- Beach weddings can be a little tricky at first, so shoot about twice as many shots as you think you will need. When going through the photos later, you will see why, as many of the pictures won’t be as good as you’d thought they would be. The lighting can play havoc, and you only want the best photos as keepers.
- You may need more than one person to take the photos, but start shooting very early and keep taking the pictures until everyone has left the beach. Vary the photos, and take pictures of things that seem inconsequential, but might look amazing in tandem with all of the other photos later.
- Cool action photos always add a fun, whimsical touch to wedding photo albums. With beach weddings, it’s easy to do. Just have the wedding party run barefoot in the sand, or splash in the surf…..at the end of the wedding of course.
- With the sun over the water, you can position the wedding party in front of it and also have them block the direct rays. Use a flash to keep the shadows off their faces, and scatter the bouquets in front as well for extra color.
- Another cute shot is one of the bride and groom inside a large heart drawn in the sand, maybe with their initials or names and some rose petals scattered around.
- Most beach weddings also have a nice beach reception planned right nearby, so be certain to get lots of pictures of the reception as well. Especially scout out any kids, like the flower girls, as chances are they will be so pooped they’ll be napping somewhere, which makes for a great photo. Likewise, Grandma doing the “Electric Slide” or boogying to disco music with the groom are feel good pictures to get.
Beach weddings are beautiful, and the photos will be too. Beach wedding photography is not that difficult, but you do need to learn a little about the lighting to be successful. It is just a little different, but can be loads of fun!
If you’re keen to specialize in wedding photography, then like every other successful wedding photographer, you’ll need to invest in yourself, follow proven steps and read. There’s more to this than having a list of potential poses. That’s why the professional wedding photographers rarely run out of work, they’re in demand! You should be aiming for the same – plan to place yourself in a position of being in demand! That said, check these few articles for some extra tips and make sure you see the two guides I’ve made available below them. If you can’t get both guides, at least get one to start!
- 9 wedding photography tips
- wedding photography poses – a list
Wedding Photography Must Have List – If you are thinking of doing wedding photography properly, you need to know about preparing invoices correctly, wedding poses or posing the bridal party and couple. Then there are things you must know like; extended time agreements, the photographers contract, skilled thank-you letters (you want more business later from this – right?), and a tactful photographer’s deposit reminder. It would be wise to have a better and more detailed wedding photography checklist than this helpful though basic list above. A wedding photography website is also a must and there are templates specifically for that purpose available.
Here’s one of the few places we know of that can help with all the above at this link – at the very least it gives a good idea of what you should be looking for if you would like a clear blueprint. This wedding photography blueprint is perhaps the best resource to make the most out of your wedding-photography-business I know at present.
PS. If the links above break for some reason, use this link below –
http://e0540g3jj16cfd6-ydqdusgu63.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=WEDDBPRINTBLOG
