Laura Christin Photography

Getting the most out of your photography time

If your family is anything like mine, having everyone in one place at the same time is a feat involving lots of planning and air travel. One of the many things that makes your wedding day so special is that everyone comes together. And it’s a perfect time for PHOTOS! :)

If you, Bride and Groom, do not plan to see each other prior to the ceremony, we usually do the majority of the family photos right after the ceremony. Then we photograph the wedding party, then the two of you! That way your family and wedding party can enjoy part of the cocktail hour, since we need the two of you for all of the photos anyway.

With a limited amount of time after the ceremony, it’s important to discuss family photos with your photographer. Prior to the wedding day I always get in touch with the bride and groom to find out which family members they would like to be included in the family photo session. Then I make myself a list of those photos in an order that makes sense to photograph them in to save time. Have I mentioned that I love being organized. It actually makes me happy. I know. It’s weird. But, it makes me happy. :)

Most of the time this part of the day runs super smoothly. Then of course there are those few times when no one can find Uncle Bob (I know exactly where he is – cocktail hour) and we really want him to be in our next photograph.. so we are waiting. Uncle Bob isn’t in a huge hurry (he’s enjoying a mojito) and likely doesn’t realize that finding him is eating up our hour of photography, which ultimately affects not only the family photos but also the wedding party photos and the photos of just you & your spouse.

Which leads me to my next tip!

Once you’ve decided who you’d like to be involved in family photos, kindly shoot them an email or give them a note card at the rehearsal telling them when and where to be for family photos. You can even explain to them that you will be doing lots of other photos within that cocktail hour after family shots so in order to get the best photos possible, it’s really important for them to be ready on time. You can tell them your photographer said so ;)

The truth of the matter is, the photography always works out. We always get fabulous shots, and we always smile through the search for Uncle Bob because enjoying the day is just as important as anything else! I’m just a firm believer in planning ahead to make the most of all of the time we have. Here’s a sneak peak of the beautiful Denise and her mother during family photos last weekend:

Inquire about: our availability & packages for your wedding
Phone: 619-518-4228
Email: Info@LauraChristinPhotography.com
Check out our official webpage: San Diego Wedding Photographer, Laura Christin Photography

Recently, I was talking on the phone with Kristy, a bride who’s wedding I will be photographing in March, and we were scheduling her engagement session. She told me she was nervous about the photos because her fiance Kevin gets a little camera shy. Kristy said she loves the laughter and the fun I capture in other couples photos and really wanted that photojournalistic “unforced” look for her session as well. I assured her that I shoot a TON of pictures and we laugh a lot while we shoot. My goal is to capture the moments in between “poses”. Sure, you might not want a photo of you laughing hysterically, mouth wide open at something I’ve said (although I must admit those photos are awesome) but it’s that moment right after the big laugh where you squeeze each others hands a little tighter, pull each other in a little closer and smile genuinely.

It got me thinking about my boyfriend, Kosta and me. We don’t have many pictures of us together. He always feels uncomfortable. He smiles kind of hard and opens his eyes a little wide. I don’t know why.. he’s super handsome. I think he’s just trying too hard. When I shoot I really try to eliminate the trying aspect. We walk around, talk, laugh and just kind of make the moments flow together. There’s no: “Stand there. Ready, One Two Three SMILE!” But if I were about to have a photo session with Kosta I might feel a little bit like Kristy. I’d want Kosta to feel really comfortable so we’d have great photos. It got me thinking of a few things that always crack Kosta and me up – on cue – everytime and I would so pull those things out of my hat at our session.

My advice for those of you nervous about looking awkward in photos: Choose a photographer who not only captures a style you love, but who you feel like you can be yourself in front of. Then, think of a few things you know will make your fiance laugh or smile and keep them as reserves in case you feel that moment during your session where you’re both tensing up.Kosta does a hysterical impression of Apu, the convenience store owner in the Simpsons. You should see the joy that crosses his face when he starts his impression. He knows he’s going to make me laugh. And then we do laugh.. hard. We also crack up every time we watch Little Britain, the comedy series. I would definitely ask him to do his impressions. One day. :)

And here is one frame from Kristy & Kevin’s session we shot last weekend:

Inquire about: our availability & packages for your wedding
Phone: 619-518-4228
Email: Info@LauraChristinPhotography.com
Check out our official webpage: San Diego Wedding Photographer, Laura Christin Photography

I was talking with a friend recently about wedding photography and how fun it is to experience all of the elaborate decor, little details, song choices, hysterical toasts, garter retrieval pranks and so forth. I have a plethora of ideas for my own somewhere-in-the-future (no I’m not engaged yet) wedding. I’ve also been there, behind the scenes when things haven’t gone as smoothly as everyone would have hoped. It’s usually little things, not deal breakers. But most of them could have been avoided if only *insert what you wish you had done the day/week before the wedding here*. I am ALL about planning ahead. And it’s easy to plan when you know what to plan for! But you, bride to be, have likely never been married before and even if you’ve been to a few weddings you probably haven’t been behind the scenes when something threw a wrench in the works. So I am starting a new series on the blog: Tips for Brides (and grooms!). Your day should be stress-free, easy, and fun, and planning ahead makes that so much more feasible. All of the tips in this series are based on my personal experience. I really don’t want to make it a negative thing by telling “horror stories” so I will leave out the details but trust me.. these tips are worth following!!

Tip #1 - Try on your dress the week or two before your wedding. You may have lost weight. That’s definitely the goal for a lot of brides. But if the dress is particularly heavy and now too big it may slide down exposing your bra. You may have picked up the wrong dress from the shop. Really. Just make sure that before your wedding day while you still have time to alter it if necessary your dress is looking the way you had envisioned it. Really, try the whole darn thing on. Undergarments, fluffy slip (does this have a technical name?) dress and all. Even shoes! Is the dress long enough? Too long?

It gets better. Practice walking in it. Especially if you have a poufy dress (there I go again with technical terms). I’ve seen more than a few brides struggle walking down the aisle. Picture this. You have a bouquet in one hand and your other arm linked into your father’s. You can’t pick up the front of your dress to walk and sometimes it’s hard not to step on the front of your dress. Practice what I call the kick-walk. Kick the front of your dress out as you go.

And lastly, if you have a train, take the dress out of the bag and hang it so it has a chance to un-wrinkle. Preferably before the wedding day.

(Photo is of Thalia’s dress, who’s wedding I shot a few weeks ago. Beautiful couple, great location right on the edge of the world by the sea in Ocean Beach.. will blog soon!)