Photographing The Bride
Your wedding photography technique will improve dramatically if you pay particular attention throughout the day to the Brides appearance. She is the most important person in your photographs. Before firing the shutter always check that she is looking her best. Pay specific attention to the stance of the Bride. She should be posed by asking her to stand at a slight angle to the camera. The foot nearest to the camera should be extended forward three or four inches towards the camera with the knee slightly bent. Now ask her to transfer her weight to the foot farthest away from the camera.
Her head should be turned towards the camera and tilted slightly. Avoid straight limbs, for example arms and wrists should always suggest a gentle curving, almost flowing movement.
Flowing Lines
When you are composing a full-length portrait of the bride, make sure that you position the bouquet where you would a fig leaf! When you place the bouquet in this position the arms will look more graceful.Ensure a gentle curvature of the elbows. If you allow the bride to hold the bouquet higher than this, you cover the detail in the waistline and body of the dress, and you put harsh angles into the arms. Not graceful or pleasing to the eye. The most important single thing to remember when photographing women at any event is that they must look graceful.Also remember to keep the bride at a slight angle to the camera, never directly face on. Approximately 30 degrees is flattering. You can get away with less of an angle with thinner brides.Elevate her index finger slightly above the others for a graceful hand and be sure to show the side or edge of the hand and not the palm or back of the hand. When photographing the bride and groom together, or the bride with any male, angle the shoulders so that the male is wider to the camera than the bride. The last thing you want to do is make the bride look bigger than the groom.
Tilting the Head
Head tilts are another important subject when photographing the bride. Your goal is always flatter the subject to the best of your ability. There are two basic head tilts, masculine and feminine. Masculine head tilts place the head leaning down toward the front of the body while feminine head tilts have the head tilting down over the shoulder toward the back of the person. Feminine head tilts look best on thinner brides.
The Heavier Bride
If you are photographing a heavier bride try to avoid any shots in sitting positions, they always look better standing.
If you are photographing a group, including a heavy bride, keep her standing, turned at an angle to reduce her width, bouquet lowered and if possible, place her slightly behind another person so that one arm and one leg are hidden. This is the only exception to my earlier direction of always having the bride and groom at the front and unobscured!
In conclusion, your wedding photography technique must include a good repertoire of shots and poses for the bride. You must practise and experiment with your posing technique. As with all posing techniques you must practise them before using them on a practical basis.
I hope this brief article gives you the information you need to improve your wedding photography technique.
Regards
Bobby
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