Choosing an experienced professional wedding photographer will put you in safe hands. Your photographer should be with you every step of the way, helping create stunning photographs and natural poses. That said, the poses and location shouldn’t necessarily be 100{c8c3b3d140ed11cb7662417ff7b2dc686ffa9c2daf0848ac14f76e68f36d0c20} the photographer’s wishes. There are many things you can do to help your photographer achieve some great poses and super photos of your big day.
Pre Wedding.
Practice makes perfect. It may feel odd posing in the mirror, but a little bit of practice can go a long way. Learn how to position your body and your face; it can be a great boost to your confidence. On your wedding day your photographer should guide your poses, but why not surprise them by suggesting a few of your own?
Within reason, spending some time getting fitter will leave you feeling your best on your wedding day. That doesn’t mean dieting like a supermodel or becoming an athlete, but you might want to take some advice on how to feel fresh and beautiful for your special day.
A pre-wedding shoot could not only give you some extra practice but also help you get to know your photographer and how they work. This will help you feel relaxed around them on the day and also let them get know what works best for you. Try to book a photographer who includes a pre-wedding shoot as part of the package and use the time for some great practice shots.
On The Day
Whatever position your photographer asks you to pose in, make sure it’s comfortable. If you’re uncomfortable it will show, so don’t be afraid to adjust it a little so you become relaxed.
Unless your photographer has asked you to look away, try to look directly into the lens. Even if you laugh or smile whist doing so (which can be lovely anyway!) maintain your eye contact. The direction you’re looking will often vary, but try and keep your eyes up and in the direction requested at all times and move your head to one side whilst maintaining eye contact can give your face a great shape.
Hunched shoulders are unsightly. Shifting your weight onto one leg as often as possible can help yourelax and maintain a good posture and lifting your stomach and arching your shoulders back can really give you a confident look.
Keep your hands busy. Like all poses, an experienced photographer will help you position your hands to fit. A simple hand-on-the-hip pose can keep your hands busy whist adding a sleeker edge to your figure.
Don’t be afraid to use props; hold your flowers, put your hand on you partners face, hold each other’s hands. Whatever helps keep them busy without fidgeting.
Try to forget about your dress. Yes, it was expensive but it’s almost impossible to keep completely clean, and spending all your time trying to not get a mark on it will really limit what your photographer can do, and therefore the chances of a great picture.
Let your dress fall naturally on the ground and try not to worry about a little dirt. The chances are, by the end of the 
night, the bottom will be marked from the dance floor anyway (if not the catering!) so try not to worry about keeping the train off the floor everywhere you go… just relax and enjoy your day!
While your guests are enjoying a drink or some canapés it may be tempting to want to join them, but the more time you give your photographer, the better the results will be. Try not to rush your photographer or worry about spending ‘too much’ time on the photographs; the results are for you and those few minutes will last a lifetime. Use the time to relax from the hectic pace of your wedding day.
A lot of us aren’t used to public intimacy, but get close to your partner and don’t worry about being romantic. But overall, if there is one thing that will create great weddings photos it’s confidence. Think of yourself as a confident, professional model for that one day. Work with your photographer and trust in their ability to produce stunning results. Remember; you look stunning, it’s a fabulous day and the photographs will look great!
Video Options
There are a few options for your wedding video. Some companies offer a video hire service. This means you’ll hand round the camera to whomever in the party wants to film something and the finished product is sent back to the production team who extract and edit the finished footage. This can result in some great unexpected filming (and hopefully not too raucous!) so if you’re having a more informal wedding, this may be a choice for you.
If booking a professional, it’s essential that you and they have similar ideas as to how your finished video or DVD should look. If the videographer has an own fixed style, make sure it’s to your taste. If they’re more adaptable, all the better, and share your own ideas with them. It’s important to feel comfortable with them – after all, they’ll be at your wedding all day!
Questions of insurances and licences will often help you eek out the professionals from the amateurs. Ask them what training or experience they have and ask to look at some of their past work to make sure the audio as well as the video is good.
Remember to ask whether they do this as a full-time job or just a sideline. Make sure you know exactly who’ll be actually doing the filming on your wedding day as well, as some companies sub-contract the camera work out and only edit the finished film themselves.
Things to Ask:
See a sample of their work
Don’t be lured by a ‘hard sell’ or discount
Don’t feel obliged, even if they came to you
Make sure they have insurance and/or copyright licences
Make sure they’re using professional cameras (although this can be hard to spot as some pro cameras are as small as amateur models)
Check the sound and picture on the video and whether the editing is done well.
Anyone quoting you less than say £400 can’t possibly have enough time to working on your finished video, so be prepared to pay the ‘going rate’. You don’t want well shot footage badly edited due to cost restrictions.
AA Productions – 07790 778991
Blue Green Blue – 01872 580956
Esther Lewis Photography – 07525 014452
Just Nice Photos – 01872 580429
Roseland Media – 07813 523466
