We're about to take the PERFECT photograph. The light is hitting the beautiful couple perfectly. The moment truly is breathtaking. Then a large group of tourists walk by in the background. We have to wait. They leave, and now we can take the photo. Another group of tourists start walking by. And another.
We have had many instances like this, where the photographs would be JUST PERFECT if it wasn't for one tiny detail like a million people walking through, or guests leaving every 2 minutes to hide from the sun shining on them. We can spend the hour waiting to get the perfect photo, or, we can leave. Both of which take time.
Why not avoid this issue entirely?
When I was 9, I found one portrait of my grandparents wedding. I was amazed at this photograph. Your grandchildren will be aswell, when they pull out a photo of your wedding portraits. In the most important day of your lives, the portrait session is the second most important moment of the day (right next to the one where you say your vows). Let's think about it: you spend hours picking the perfect wedding dress. The perfect makeup artist, deciding on how you will wear your hair. After all of those hours spent deciding how you and your partner will look, wouldn't you want to capture the result in the most beautiful way possible?
Finding a location for your wedding portraits can be exciting, nerve wracking, and needless to say a pain in the booty for the photographer if it isn't done properly.
Often times, the venue of your wedding may have a beautiful location for your portrait session. Venues such as Swaneset Bay, and The Secret Garden of Woodbridge Ponds are beautiful locations to do portrait sessions. However, oftentimes, the bride or groom have a different vision for their wedding portraits, or their dream reception venue does not have the ideal place to take portraits. It is up to the couple and the photography team to decide what that perfect place will be.
Our beautiful city of Vancouver is flooded with many amazing parks, mountains, and beaches, making it easy to get carried away with where to take photos. Of course, we want the most beautiful park. We want the one with the most beautiful background. The one where the lighting hits us perfectly.
There are countless problems we have come across amid photographing in these locations. Understandably, with a million other things the bride and groom are thinking about, there is a lot we miss while deciding on a location. This is, however your wedding day-NOT the time for things to go wrong. This post will teach you four things to consider in order to avoid A LOT going wrong during this photoshoot.
1. Style
The beautiful Daniel and Monica’s wedding was in the winter, so their theme was slightly more moody. The majestic Deer Lake Park’s large grassy field covered with snow made the photos look mystical. If we are working with a bright, summer wedding, it may work better if we choose a floral or colourful location such as Queen Elizabeth Park, or Van Deusen Gardens. If your vision is more "moody" then places like Deer Lake Park, or Iona Beach may be exactly what you're looking for.
2. Less popular places have less tourists!
During the wedding day of the lovely Alison and Aeronn, we picked Jericho beach to be our photoshoot location, however, as this is such a beautiful beach, there were many people choosing to spend the day there aswell. This lead to us not being able to portray the newlyweds in this beautiful location to its fullest extent because people kept getting in the way! The photos turned out to be beautiful, as, we managed to find a more secluded area, however that decreased the time set out for the photoshoot.
If the day of your wedding falls on a weekend or holiday, there will be loads of people wanting to also see it's beauty. Either, like we mentioned, they will get in the way, or you will have to wait for them to pass by, taking away time that you can be getting your photographs done.
There are beautiful, picturesque places that are slightly less popular but can be much more convenient when you are on a tight wedding schedule. Our advice is allow yourself to use up the entire block of time you have set out and capture these beautiful moments to their fullest extent by picking a less populated location to start with!
3. Amenities
During photoshoots, I promise you it is easy for you and your guests to get impatient, hungry, cold, hot-or uncomfortable for any reason. We forget how much work it is to have portraits taken of us! It really is just a part of being a model for a day! Ending early takes away from potential photographs that you will cherish forever. Choosing a location that has a bathroom, a place to hide from sun (or perhaps rain!) or even a concession stand to buy some ice cream to cutesy up your photos will make your experience much smoother!
During Fozia and Tim's Wedding photoshoot, they picked White Rock Beach as their location. This was ideal, because right along the boardwalk there were restaurants and stores, bathroom-the perfect amount of amenities in case anything were to be needed by either the bride, groom or guest!
4. Communicate!
With your partner, with your wedding planner, with your photographer...with EVERYONE!
We've had an incident where the bride changed her mind of what her vision was for her wedding photographs. This is completely ok! As a matter of fact, it is common to start daydreaming about a different photo vibe on the day and once you are in your wedding dress. However, letting everyone involved know what you're thinking as soon as possible can only make the odds of your vision becoming a reality that much higher!
Choose your portrait session location wisely. It is the most important day of your lives, and you want it captured beautifully, and to its fullest extent. Have faith in your photographers, and most importantly, don't stress too much! Photographs are most easily captured when we know you're having fun!
