How To Make Your Lifestyle Wedding Photos Look Candid
Posted on: 5 November 2018
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Lifestyle wedding photography is similar to documentary photography stylistically, because both styles contain visual elements of photojournalism. However, lifestyle wedding photography involves much more posing and direction from the photographer, whereas documentary photography is entirely candid. Lifestyle wedding photography is great for couples who already have a list of photos in mind but don't want their wedding photos to look too stiff or formal. A good photographer, who is well versed in the genre of lifestyle photography, can make a couple's wedding photos look as beautiful and as appealing as a fashion spread in a magazine or catalog. However, there are a few tricks to keep in mind so that the photos seem tailored to each couple and event and don't end up looking like stock photos.
Posing and Direction
Lifestyle wedding photos should have a candid feel to them, even though they are posed. Photographers should set-up a scenario and give directions like the bride and groom are characters in a magazine ad, fashion shoot, or a play at a theatre. The goal is to capture the couple and their wedding party having fun and looking relaxed, without the stiffness and formality of each person facing the camera and striking a pose.
One tip that can help facilitate the posing process is to come up with a list of scenarios that the wedding party can act out in different areas of the wedding venue. If possible, photographers should arrive early to scout out different locations to pair loosely with each scene that will be acted out. The photographer should think of themselves as a director, and the bride, groom, parents, and the wedding party are actors who need verbal directions and to have the scene set up for them to act out.
Action
Before shooting each scene, the photographer should direct the stars of the photograph to not look at the camera and to act naturally, and they should also tell each person in the photograph what mood they are trying to convey. Some examples are scenarios like the wedding party talking amongst themselves at the alter as they wait for the bride and groom, the bridesmaids peeking from around a doorway as they get ready to go down the aisle, the flower girl or ring bearer swiping a little bit of wedding cake icing with their finger, or the bride's mother placing the veil on her daughter. The idea is for the pictures to convey a mood, a sense of a style, and maybe even a little bit of glamour.
For more information, contact a local Lifestyle Wedding Photography service.