How to look Natural In Wedding Photos|A Guide
How Do I Look Natural in My Wedding Photos?
This is going to sound harsh, but I’m genuinely trying to help you. Every couple says they want natural looking photos, but then they want a photographer to pose them, it really makes no sense. There’s two main reasons we are stiff in front of the camera. The first one is ego. You care so much about looking good, that you scare yourself into doing the opposite.(brains make zero sense sometimes)
Secondly, you’re embarrassed to look goofy in front of the photographer, which is hilarious because all I do is embarrass myself. But seriously, during your wedding or couples portraits, just constantly remind yourself, this is YOUR day and the opinion of someone you barely know isn’t that important. This is one of the biggest days of your life. Cherish it. Live it, I mean really live it and don’t worry about looking goofy, just allow yourself to be you. If you can learn to move freely, without over thinking, I promise you, your photos will be incredible.
You don't need to know how to pose.
You don't need to be good in front of a camera. And you definitely don't need to spend your wedding day trying to recreate photographs you've saved on Pinterest. A photo that looked good on Pinterest is almost guaranteed to be a candid photo with a relaxed couple. That’s why it looks so good.
The easiest way to look natural in photographs is to not let your ego win, at least not on this day.
01|
Talk to each other.
You don't have to stare into each other's eyes for ten minutes.
Talk about something.
Tell each other a story. Make a joke. Talk about what you're doing later. Bring up something that happened that morning.
We all have those goofy things we say to our partner in private. Say that, because I’m typically not close enough to couples to hear anything they are saying. Not that it would faze me anyways, nobody says weirder things to their partner than I do, believe me.
I'll photograph what happens while you're talking instead of asking you to manufacture an expression for the camera.
Walk together.
02|
Walking gives you something to do without requiring you to think about what your body is doing.
Hold hands. Walk slowly. Walk toward me. Walk away from me. Bump into each other. Stop for a second, face each other and grab hands, but keep your hands moving. It doesn’t matter how you move them. Motion is your friend. The reason people look stiff in photos is because they stood there like a statue, of course they look stiff.
You don't need to walk perfectly.
In fact, please don't.
Touch each other.
03|
Put your hand on their back. Hold their arm. Fix their jacket. Lean against them. Rest your head on their shoulder.
Think about the small ways you already touch each other when nobody is taking a photograph.
Those are usually the gestures worth photographing.
Look at each other when you actually want to.
04|
There's nothing wrong with looking at the camera. There's also nothing particularly meaningful about staring at each other because a photographer told you to.
Look at each other when you have something to say.
Look away when you don't.
A photograph doesn't need both of you looking at the camera to be a good photograph.
Let yourself laugh.
05|
If something is funny, laugh.
Don't immediately stop because you think we need to “get the shot.”
Sometimes the photograph I'm looking for is the moment right after the laugh, when you're still smiling at each other.
Don't worry about your hands.
06|
This is probably the question I hear most often:
“What do I do with my hands?”
Nothing special.
Hold each other. Put your hands in your pockets. Touch their face. Hold your flowers. Let your arms hang.
There isn't a correct position.
If you're comfortable, your body will usually figure it out.
Don't freeze when you see the camera.
07|
This one is hard.
You see me raise the camera and suddenly everything stops.
You don't have to stop.
Keep talking. Keep walking. Keep touching each other. Keep doing whatever you were doing.
The camera doesn't require you to become a different version of yourselves.
Don't try to recreate someone else's photograph.
08 |
Pinterest can be useful for ideas, but don't worry about reproducing somebody else's wedding photographs.
What looks effortless in a photograph usually was effortless because it was actually happening.
Your relationship doesn't look exactly like anyone else's.
Your photographs shouldn't either.
All of my best photographs came when my clients didn’t realize I was taking a photo.
And don't worry about being perfect.
09|
Your hair will move.
Your dress will wrinkle.
Your jacket might come untucked.
You might laugh at the wrong time.
You might trip over your dress.
Good.
Those things are part of the day.
I'm not photographing you because everything is perfectly arranged. I'm photographing you because you're actually there, together, experiencing something that won't happen again in exactly the same way.
You don't have to perform for the camera.
10|
You're already with the person you love.
Talk to them. Touch them. Make each other laugh. Walk around. Be quiet for a minute.
I'll take care of the photography.
You just have to be there.
And remember, this is your day and your moment. What anyone else thinks doesn’t matter.
Be present with the ones you love.