An isolated country road makes a beautiful backdrop. This will take some planning to ensure you’re both kept safe from cars.
Ultimately the wedding photo locations used for the shoot on the day will be the difference between a breathtaking photograph and an average one. You may think that when you hire a photographer for your day, they will find the locations for your wedding shoot and it’s something you won’t need to consider. Of course your photographer will do their best to suggest and research locations but if you work together you can come up with some truly meaningful places that will bring out the best in your personalities and your photographer’s creativity.
What sort of locations should I suggest to my photographer?
Have a think about locations that mean something to you and your husband or wife to be. There might be a beach where you had your first kiss or you might love the ocean and have grown up sailing for example. These are things that your photographer should know so you should share as much information with them as you can. You’d be surprised just how excited and inspired your photographer may be to uncover a new and exciting location and how much more relaxed you will be snuggling with your beloved at a place that holds special memories.
Old sheds are one of my favourite backdrops especially for a rustic country style wedding
How many locations will we need?
This all depends on how long you have your photographer booked for and how far you have to travel between locations and back to the reception venue. You don’t want to cram in too much so you’re rushed from location to location as you may not enjoy the experience as much as you otherwise would. Let’s not forget that the experience is meant to be fun! Your photo shoot is the fun part of the day where you can have a champagne and celebrate with your closest friends after the nerves of the formalities are out the way. So for a 1.5 – 2 hour shoot I would recommend on average 3 locations.
What sort of locations work?
Diversity in your chosen locations is key. There is no point choosing 3 different gardens which will all potentially blend into one mass of green in your photos. I suggest having 3 distinctly different backdrops such as greenery, water background and architecture or a funky cafe a vineyard and a heritage building. Whatever locations suit your personalities, the style of clothing you’re wearing on the day and can be travelled to in the allocated shoot time. If your photographer makes a suggestion of a location that may seem a little odd to you, before dismissing it find out what their vision is for that location as you might be pleasantly surprised with the result you can get from some quirky locations that you may have never considered.
Think about the colours of your backdrops and try to have a variety
Take the time to visit these locations with your photographer before the day.
If you can book in a time with your photographer before the day to visit all of the locations together, then I highly recommend it. There are generally so many nerves on the day and you want to ensure that you’re as relaxed and organised as possible. Having a solid understanding of where you will be going and the order of things will help you to relax. You and your photographer can also bounce ideas of one another of shots for the day. This will also help your photographer to get a further understanding of any particular shots that may be really important to you. Trust me this will be a couple of hours well spent and should be built into your package.
It’s all about the light.
It’s true what they say, a good photograph is all about the lighting. So it’s important to take into account what time the sun is setting on your day. Jump onto Sunrise & Set and pop in your wedding date and location and it will give you the time the sun is setting on your day. Hopefully you’ve been able to plan your day so your photographer can capture some of your photos as the sun is setting, the golden afternoon sunlight is going to give you Hollywood lighting. It seems a shame to miss out on that after having found the man of your dreams and the perfect frock. The last location of the day should be the one which makes the most of the sunset.
Using the afternoon golden light in a vineyard gives a romantic warm glow
The result
With unique locations chosen for your day, the rest is easy. You’ve probably spent months trawling the internet and stores for the perfect outfits and accessories and putting in a little extra time to choose complimentary backdrops for your little love story will pay off when you get to see your photos and re live the fun and laughter of the day.
Images by Anthea Auld Photographer
Ms Gingham says: I didn’t know about the sunrise and set calculator available. That’s a brilliant tool!
Anthea Auld : “I encourage laughter and fun. My belief is simple; if you’re having a great time, this will show through in your photographs.”
Finding a location to perform the wedding photos does require so many considerations. Do not choose the wrong location because the result will be bad. In addition, please consider the access road for being there and the equipment must be taken. The couple can choose a close location but the photos can be captured from different sides.