Pre wedding photoshoot

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Andrey Kazanovsky Creative Director, co-Founder RetouchMe, Ukraine

• Benefits of pre wedding photoshoot
• What is the point of a pre-wedding photoshoot?
• Ideas for pre wedding photoshoot
• Honoring traditions
• Styled photoshoot
• Glamorous
• Casual
• Specific themes
• Solo-performance
• Shooting angles and drones
• Preparation for pre wedding photoshoot
• Choosing a location and sticking to the theme
• Be yourself
• Elaboration of the concept

A pre-wedding photo shoot is usually held a few months before the event. It is usually between two months and six months from the planned date. Most people do not understand the meaning and benefits of this type of photography and consider it simply a waste of time and money. Today we will try to debunk this myth and make sense of the pre-wedding photo set.

Benefits of pre wedding photoshoot

One of the main advantages of pre-wedding photography is the fact that you will get to know your future photographer, who may also shoot you at the wedding itself. A pre-wedding photoshoot allows the photographer to get a feel of the couple and prove himself at the same time, which in turn will reduce the degree of tension between the photographer and the newlyweds during the upcoming wedding photoshoot. Let us call it a test drive because it is much calmer to work with people who know what to expect from each other and have interaction experience beforehand. Hence, the less stress, the more realism, which would positively affect the wedding photos. Doing pre-wedding photos, you can also discuss the ideas for future wedding photos with your photographer in advance.

What is the point of a pre-wedding photoshoot?

A pre-wedding photo is also known as an engagement photo shoot. The meaning of such a photo shoot is stored in the name itself. What is an engagement photo? It is when you clarify your intentions to your significant other and your interests in living together, showing your involvement. Photographers began to focus more on the details and decor of the wedding. Frames with rings, flowers, invitations, and shoes have become mandatory in wedding photography. During the ceremony or a walk, it is worth taking not only staged shots but also catching emotions, and looks, to catch interesting and unusual details. Engagement photography is a great way to beautifully express and capture these moments. The main difference between the pre-wedding and wedding photos themselves is that there will be fewer official photos and these pictures are more about the real you, unlike what will be photographed at a formal event. You need to see things that the average person would not even look at to create pre-wedding photos. Subject photos become an integral part of a newlywed couple's photo album. When planning a celebration, every detail is thought out, and they need to be captured for memories and emotions. Here you can have a lot of different ideas about how to conduct this pre-wedding photo shoot for all tastes and colors, and there is no restrictive framework for you as at the wedding itself.

Ideas for pre wedding photoshoot

What makes a great and creative pre wedding photoshoot? Of course, the variety of ideas and their implementation. Ideas can be different, from casual to antique. The only main point stays the same, the task of such a photo set is to tell the story of a couple and capture as much vivid emotion as possible. Photos should be narrative or storytelling. The concept must match the specific couple. It is important for the photographer to understand what common interests the couple has, whether it is a passion for camping or biking in the park each morning. Or perhaps you are involved in creating different entertainment content on the Internet, whether it is games or blogs. There are many ready-made concepts gathered from the experiences of photographers and couples, let us discuss the most popular ones.

Honoring traditions

By this concept, you show the roots of your cultural heritage. This is especially popular in Eastern and Asian cultures. Thus, if you are planning to hold the wedding photo shoot itself in a traditional atmosphere, some of the elements of your traditions can be used in the pre-wedding photo shoot. You also choose pre wedding photoshoot places and clothing with the same approach.

When doing a traditional photo shoot, choose your traditional outfits and places that emphasize the authenticity and vibe of your culture.

Styled photoshoot

Pre wedding photoshoot clothing ideas and locations are based on the theme you have chosen.

In addition to traditional clothing that emphasizes your cultural heritage, you can of course go above and beyond and shoot in glamor or casual style. These two styles are inversely opposed to each other, and the atmosphere must be appropriate for each of these styles.

Glamorous

If you decide to try your hand at glamorous style, it is time to put on fancy suits and dresses, hair wax for men, and red lipstick for a woman. Then find a premium venue whose atmosphere will compliment your outfit. Let it be an opera house, a theater, or an expensive restaurant. But it is not necessary to limit yourself to the common framework of glamor because a photo against the backdrop of sights or just picturesque places does not impair the photo in any way, but only demonstrates the width of your horizons and diversity in your life together.

Casual

On the other hand, if you do not like to embellish, then you can choose a casual style and demonstrate the ease and simplicity of the philistine in this style. As they say, to be like everyone else and closer to people is just as good as the desire for a more vivid expression. It is a matter of choice, and the perception will be the emotions and the storyline behind it, that your photographer should be able to pick up in the frame.

The subject can be about your first meeting, or about your personal and shared daily hobbies. For example, the first frame will be called "our first meeting," and the second frame is "our mutual hobbies. In terms of clothing, everything is simple and seasonal. For men in the summertime shirt or t-shirt and shorts, for a woman - a sundress or light skirt with a top. This is already a good start for your wedding album, which you will further complete with photos from the wedding itself.

Specific themes

There are also more specific themes. For example, a vintage photo shoot or a photoshoot in the style of the 20s. In addition to the clothes specifics and places for such a photo shoot, it is also important to process these photos to add tan if you follow some beach photography ideas for instance, and make them look appropriate to the chosen style. You have to agree in advance with your chosen photographer about this or do the processing manually. If you choose such a specificity, then most likely you already have an idea of where you will be holding this photo session, as well as decide on your outfit.

If you want to convey a vintage atmosphere, then you need to hold it in an antique setting, and most likely the outfits will need to be either tailored in an atelier, or ordered from theaters that specialize in your subject.

 On our blog there is a whole article devoted to vintage photos, we recommend you read it if you decide to choose this style.

Solo-performance

Pre-wedding photography can include not only a couple's photoshoot together, but also a separate photo shoot. Soon there will be an article called Bridal boudoir photography, where we will tell you about a very trendy style of photos for brides, which can be placed in a separate album as a gift for your future husband. There would be certain female portrait poses, outfits, and atmosphere. At the moment you can read about the same style but for men in this article.

Shooting angles and drones

Drones are becoming more affordable nowadays, and photographers are actively using them to make awesome photos. This type of photography is not yet common, so bird's-eye shots will be pleasantly looking in your album. Drones are especially useful for shooting outdoor scenes, as they allow you to shoot from angles inaccessible to a regular DSLR camera. This direction of photography is still developing, which gives more opportunities to experiment for those who dare to take such a photo shoot.

Preparation for pre wedding photoshoot

No matter how simple or complicated your pre-wedding photoshoot may seem, preparing in advance will not be superfluous and certainly will not complicate the process itself.

Choosing a location and sticking to the theme.

Carefully research the location of the photo shoot, and make sure it fits your chosen theme, concept, and closet. Make sure you also analyze the theme you have chosen and look at a number of successful examples, this will be your initial point of reference. It's also important to find a photographer who you can connect with well and come to a consensus in terms of the shoot.

Be yourself

On the eve of such an important event as a wedding, many people lose their heads by trying to be overly distinctive in their pre-wedding photos, like dramatically changing the hairstyle that they didn’t use to. This loses the naturalness of the image, and it is not the pictures that you would like to see in your future photo album.

Elaboration of the concept

With all of the above, it is equally important to get unique photos. To do this, it is important to thoroughly research both your concept and the location for the shoot. It is important to plan everything down to the details, otherwise your photos won't be outstanding and won't be much different from those who just "follow the trends. Make sure that the color palette of the shooting location will match your outfit. Think in advance about the angles and poses for pre wedding photo shoot you would like to be photographed in your chosen location. The photographer can advise you, but it's better when you initially understand what you want.

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Author

Andrey Kazanovsky Creative Director, co-Founder RetouchMe, Ukraine

He started his career as a professional photo designer and retoucher. Professional commercial photographer with 20 years of experience. He is a leading advertising photographer and has worked as a food photographer with Michelin-starred chefs. His work with models can be seen on the calendars of many leading companies in Ukraine. He was the owner of the photo studio and photo school "Happy Duck".