Most photographers include a pre-wedding shoot as part of their packages as they feel it is important to get to know their clients before the wedding day. This way the client can sample their style of photography and dispel any fears they may have about being photographed, so on the wedding day they will look more natural and relaxed.
The shoot takes place approximately 3 months before the wedding day it is typically outside using natural light which is more flattering and enables the photographer to capture the couple naturally. Often photographs are taken of the couple individually as well as together this gives them the experience of how they would be photographed on the wedding day.
There are countless advantages of a pre-wedding shoot; building rapport with your photographer, as it’s a long day to have a stranger with you on your wedding day. Understanding how your photographer works and seeing the results of your pre-wedding photographs of the day and give you confidence that your photographer will capture fantastic shots of you both on the wedding day.
If your photographer has not photographed at your venue before it is a good opportunity to combine the visit to the venue along with your pre-wedding shoot. If you’re wedding is taking place in Autumn or winter you may like your pre-wedding shoot to take place at your wedding venue in the summer, this way you will have a selection of contrasting seasonal images from your wedding venue.
Wherever you choose to have your pre-wedding shoot embrace the experience, as it’s a great opportunity to have some relaxed spontaneous images together with a professional photographer as you may not have had any pictures taken professionally of the two of you before.
It’s important to the photographer to understand how the couple wish to be photographed and find out if there are any concerns the couple have regarding public affection or which side they prefer to be photographed. Or there may be a considerable height difference between the couple and they wish to see how the photographer can approach this. Viewing the pre-wedding images with your photographer is just as important as the shoot itself, this way you can give your feedback to the photographer so they are aware of your preferences.
They will have options and make suggestions on how best to use your pre-wedding images. These options may include a sign frame, guests can write their personal message around the mounted image on the wedding day instead of a guestbook. This way your favorite image from the shoot will be on display at your wedding. The concept is a real talking point and you’ll have a lasting memory displayed on your wall of the messages your guests have written on the day.
An alternative is a photo guestbook this would have a selection of your favorite images from the pre-wedding shoot alongside blank pages where your guests can write their own personal message.