Congratulations! May 26th,2018 Amanda + Marco tied the knot.
Right after their ceremony in Lachine, we walked across the street and over the bridge to do their portraits along the canal. If you are thinking about where to do your portraits, try to keep it simple and not travel soooo far to do them. Also, remember to have a rain plan too, some locations require to have a permit as a professional wedding photographer ..but it’s well worth the stress free day!
There are so many details a bride and groom put in to their wedding. Be sure to share them with your wedding photographer. We don’t want to miss out on any important details.
Here’s a tip for the morning of your wedding. Keep the room you are getting ready free of bags, make sure it’s clean and tidy, it will be the backdrop of your photos. Leave out the accessories that you want photographed, this also helps to ensure you won’t forget anything. Keep the room nice and bright with natural light, this saves your wedding photographer to be focused on taking beautiful portraits of you and your VIP friends and family where you get ready.
I love taking portraits of brides, some directed shots, some in between moment shots like this. A lot of our couples are looking for a mix of looks between directed portraits, and ‘unposed’ shots. There is a fine line of difference between the two. I’ll do my best to explain what this means. The way we stand, for example, a little bend in the knee creates a beautiful shape for the body. Hands can make or break a shot. Showing the side of the hand looks far more elegant, than stiff robot hands. If you feel stiff, you likely are on camera. Shake it out, breathe and relax your shoulders. We carry stress in our hands and shoulders. I have many more tips for you, and will walk you through the shots when we need it. Once we have the shot, I love to ask questions to my couple about how they met, or how the proposal happened…this always melts any tensions away. There’s a lot that goes in to a great wedding portrait shot.
Before the wedding, I always set up an one hour call with my couples to discuss locations for their wedding portrait session, rain or shine. Once we nail down the location, it’s time to focus on the portraits. I set the schedule and stick to it..ask any of our couples. We always, ALWAYS do. I plan for all kinds of timely scenarios. “This ain’t my first rodeo” Simply by us changing our lens choices, the angles, change in our position, and our couple’s small changes, we can try out several different looks for you, in just a little time. If you are wondering how much time to allocate for your wedding portraits, I would suggest one to 2 hours MAX for portraits of the bride and groom and the bridal party (bridesmaids + groomsmen) The couple will need to decide ahead of time if you would like for the larger group photos to be before or after the couple portraits. Remember, for the most part, the couple portraits are the only time of the day/night during the wedding that you actually spend time together alone! Knowing this, schedule accordingly with your photographer. We also make sure to make time for family photos, this is key and separate of the bridal party/couple portraits.
At Amanda’s and Marco’s wedding, the day was overcast with pockets of sun all day, along with rain in the morning. It was a typical Montreal weather day..(all over the place, haha, but pretty normal for Montreal wedding photographers). When setting up a shot for our couple, if the sun is high and bright, just make sure to have your backs to the sun. We don’t want you squinting and uncomfortable from the heat and direct sun. In fact, direct sun, unless we are firing back with studio lighting outside really isn’t the best scenario. So, instead, we will turn your backs to the bright light and we will shoot towards the sun. Or, we will find a great shady spot and keep the harsh light away from you all together. Soft, even light is very flattering. I must also suggest an engagement session, warm up to the camera and your photographer. Perfect time to have your makeup and hair trial done!
After taking a few directed shots, I always love to incorporate some movement to a photo. Simply walking down a path, or under a willow tree like this. When there is a videographer team, they will also appreciate the movement. I like to tell my couples to slow things down. I also try to slow things down in my own actions, simply by how I am shooting. If I’m running around like a lunatic, hahaha…it creates a bit of a stressful situation. So, I try to mirror how I want my clients to also react in front of my camera. The day flies by like no other day in your life..I swear, it’s the fastest day you will every experience in your life. So, in order to slow things down for a shot, I have to make sure to take my time with the shot that will be in your album or mantle or in a frame on your wall for years to come. Try not to rush through your portrait session, trust me..It’s work the effort and the time. Another tip I always give my clients is to make sure you are hydrated, you have snacks in the car, and you have a big breakfast. We need high energy from our couples and bridal party to get these magical shots.
