As a photographer, I am always looking for the best light. As a wedding photographer, my style is to document the day as it unfolds, catching all of the happy and joyful moments in front of me. The problem is that some of the most beautiful and sweet moments don’t always happen in the best light. So what then?
The best time of day for wedding photos – or any photos, really – is the evening, when the light is soft, the shadows are long, and the sun is low on the horizon. But on your wedding day, that is usually the same time as your toasts, or your first dance, or all of the hilarity that ensues as a wedding reception. It’s the time for which you have planned and planned, paid and paid, waited and waited for your reception and all of the fun it will entail. But it’s the best time for beautiful photos! What is a girl to do?
Here is what I suggest: let’s do both things. Let’s make time for photos and for your hilarious reception! Because both things can happen with a little planning.
Of course it’s my job to make sure that your photos are beautiful no matter what, and I always deliver. Like the Postal Service. Whether it’s raining, snowing, sleeting or 90 degrees and sunny. But with a little planning and thinking about your timeline for the day, I can make you some really stunning wedding photos at the most flattering and lovely time of day, when the light outside is gorgeous and soft.
All it takes is 15 minutes at some point during the hour before sunset. Just 15 minutes. As I said, this window tends to be during the early parts of your reception, especially during summer weddings, so in order not to miss anything or delay your reception at all, we have to plan this out.
And sure, you may decide when it’s all said and done that you DON’T want to leave your reception for photos, which is MORE THAN FINE! It’s your wedding and you get to do what you want (you can tell everyone I said that.) I just want you to be informed that the gorgeous wedding photos you see on Pinterest where the couple are enshrouded in a kind of magical fog can only happen at one time of day, and it’s gonna be just as you sit down for dinner. So talk about it ahead of time, consider that “Golden Hour” as you create your wedding timeline, and make sure your photographer knows what you really want on your wedding day.
