Capturing Emotion in Wedding Photography

I’m a huge Hopeless Romantic and have cried my way through nearly all of the Nicholas Sparks novels that a twenty four year old can handle, so it’s no surprise that capturing emotion is on forefront of my mind whenever I walk into a wedding! (It also isn’t that unusual to see me tearing up behind the camera at a wedding, but that’s another post for a different day…)

In today’s Tech-Talk Tuesday, I wanted to take a moment to share a few tips that I’ve gathered over the years for capturing emotion on the wedding day! From anticipating the moment to slowing things down – I hope you can take these suggestions with you to your next wedding!

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Tips for Capturing Emotion in Wedding Photography

1) Building Trust & Establishing a Level of Familiarity:
The first and most essential tip for capturing genuine emotion lies in the photographer-client relationship. When your client loves and trusts you, they are more willing to let their walls come down. Period.

I personally believe that I produce my best work when my clients look to me as a trusted friend rather than a stranger hired to preform a professional service. This is the main reason that I include an Engagement Session with every wedding collection that I offer! Having that time together allows my couples to get to know me, my personality, and experience my images first hand! By the time the wedding day arrives, they feel at ease with me in the room and it establishes the overall atmosphere where genuine emotion occurs more naturally.

2) Anticipating the Moment:
With each wedding that you photograph, you’ll become better at anticipating moments that may evoke emotion from your subject. And if you’re familiar with your couple, as I’ve suggested in the tip above, you are more aware of where their emotions may lie.

Using myself as an example: I absolutely loved my grandmother so it isn’t a surprise that I nearly sobbed through the ‘Grandfather-Granddaughter’ First Dance. It was an incredibly emotional moment for me and I couldn’t stop the tears from falling! My wedding photographer knew how much my grandmother meant to me and I told her in advance that we were planning a special dance in her memory. With that knowledge, my photographer was able to pay special attention to my emotion and the reactions of my family members in the room!

There are a few points during the ceremony when I focus on capturing candid emotion, specifically: The First Look, Processional, Emotional Readings, and Vows. And during the Reception, I’ve also noticed that Toasts & Speeches, Parent Dances, and Family Traditions bring out laughter and tears from those closest to the bride and groom.

3) Slowing Things Down:
Many portions of the wedding day can feel chaotic, rushed, and rapidly changing. One of my favorite things to do during portraits, when time allows, is to purposefully slow things down and give my couples permission to stop “posing” and ask them to spend a moment together uninterrupted.

Sometimes it’s as simple as, “I want you to take one full minute, just sixty seconds, to soak up this moment.  I want this time to be for the two of you.” – If I know faith is important to my couple, I’ll often suggest that they spend one moment in prayer together without anyone around. And some of my favorite bride and groom photographs, have been captured in prayer. It’s amazing how the world slips away and they are suddenly no longer feeling the pressure to pose or “act” for the camera.

There are also “reveal” moments that may be incredibly important to your couple and it is always worth slowing things down to make this happen. From the bridesmaids seeing the bride in her gown to a father-daughter first look, these important events are worth running a few minutes late for. Trust me.

4) Be Unobtrusive:
Stepping back and letting things unfold naturally is often the key to catching those beautifully candid reactions, tears, and smiles. One of the biggest things I have noticed is how much better I am at capturing emotion when I’m using my trusty 70-200mm or 85mm lens because it allows me to remove myself almost completely from everyone’s view. I can stand on the opposite side of the ballroom and blend in with the background while moments unfold without distraction.

If you feel as though your couple is highly aware of your presence or simply needs a little space, switch to a telephoto lens and offer them a little privacy! The more unobtrusive you are, the more likely they are to forget that they are being photographed! And it is in these moments, where some of the most genuine reactions occur!

5) Changing Perspective:
One of the simplest things to do, that we often fail to remember early on, is to briefly divert our attention at times from the “main” attraction and look at the faces of those around us. At weddings, I frequently remind myself to “look beyond the action” and peek in different directions to get an overall feel of the moment and experience it unfolding from a multitude of perspectives.

During speeches, for example, all of the focus is on the bride, groom, best man, and maid or matron of honor. As the speech unfolds, after I’ve captured the primary images expected, I love swiveling slowly around the room to catch candid reactions. It’s easy to miss the bride’s aunt tearing up in the corner if your focus never moves from the sweetheart table. And some of my favorite photographs are those unexpected moments of emotion that occur when parents and grandparents listen to the toasts!

It seems like such a simple thing to do, but I know that early on – photographers work so hard to nail the shots they are “expected” to take… that they often fail to look at the overall picture. By doing a simple swivel around, you can experience the moment more fully and you might just catch a truly candid moment that tells the story best!

 

If there are topics you’d like to see covered in upcoming Tech-Talk Tuesday posts, be sure to shoot me an email! And I’d absolutely love if you’d sign up for The Newsletter for more tips, tricks & highlights each month right to your inbox!