Must Have Shots!

It' s no secret how much I LOVE great photography....and I'm fortunate to have so many incredibly talented and wonderful photographers share their work with us at TBC.....so today I thought I would share with you some of the "Must Have Shots" that you may want to make sure your photographer "snaps" for you on your special day...AND... leave a comment letting me know who was or will be the photographer for your special day...there maybe a little surprise for one lucky TBC reader......Thanks Guys!

Deciding to have your portraits taken before the ceremony is a great idea...it gives the photographer the opportunity to really capture the reaction of the first time you are seeing each other....image courtesy of  Alisha Hurt!

Having your photographer take photos of the pre-reception table decor...as seen in these three images is a must!...Unless you have the opportunity to see the reception untouched, this will be your only chance to see all of the hard work that went into the planning of your reception....image courtesy of  Laura Novak!

Image courtesy of Jose Villa!

Image courtesy of Elizabeth Messina!

Flowers truly make your day so very special...I couldn't imagine a wedding without them....so having a photo of your bouquet and an image of the groom's bout is truly a must....so very beautiful...images courtesy of Mi Belle Inc Wedding Photography!

A great shot of your wedding dress is so very special...just imagine that you will be sharing this image with your grandchildren one day and showing them what you wore on your special day...so make sure that you find a special place to hang your gown for this shot...this bride hung her gown on the door in the bedroom and I love how Fred captured it with the black and white shot....image courtesy of  Fred Eagan!

Another way to capture the "dress shot" is by hanging it where there will be lots of light...I'm sure there is a special place where you can hang your dress for this shot,  so give it some thought before the big day....image courtesy of Laura Novak!

And while we are on the "dress shot"....make sure you ask your photographer to take a photo showing the back of your gown...so many times we miss out on what the back of the dress looks like...image courtesy of  Elizabeth Messina!

Now another way to get the back view of your dress is to have your photographer take a shot of you two from behind...Tec captured a great shot of this couple walking away and the scenery is great...image courtesy of  Tec Petaja!

Now that we have covered the dress...you have to have a shot of the shoes...gorgeous shoe images courtesy of Marie Labbancz!

Now how fun is the group shot....such a special way to get everyone together....image courtesy of Leigh Taylor of SugarLove Weddings!

And a group shot of the bridal party and see how fun they made it by adding the bicycle..image courtesy of  Jenna Walker!

The shot of the two of you entering your reception is also a must have...images courtesy of Meg Smith and......

continuing on to the first dance!

I had to include this image of the guest partying at the reception...this will surely let everyone know how much fun your celebration was and how much your guest enjoyed themselves...image courtesy of Fred Eagan!

I love the fun shot with the guys' socks..so much fun to see.......image courtesy of  Jonathan Canlas and....

with the sneakers...truly must have shots...image courtesy of Beth Beljon!

This shot was taken from above to capture the total view of the ceremony...image courtesy of Florence McCall!

And you have to have the "oh how cute is that shot"...a shot where you are just "in the moment" and having fun...image courtesy of Gertrude and Mabel Photography!

Comments

[MissCapitolHill]

One of my biggest pet peeves is when bride's do the wedding dress shot and have a horrible hanger...go buy one nice hanger (wood, white felt, satin, etc.) for your dress. It makes a differece.

Also, while I'm normally kind of against must take lists (to avoid cookie-cutter pictures), what I like about this list is it isn't too specific. I think giving directions such as "pic of dress hanging" lets your photographer know its important for you to have this shot but still allows them to creativly position the dress so you don't get pictures that look like every others brides pictures. When brides start getting really specific with their requests is when you kill the creativty of the photographer. But I think general guidelines are helpful.

[uberBrides]

The number one complaint we have heard from photographers is that they don't have enough time to get all the creative shots - if you want shots of the room set-up, be sure to schedule some time in the schedule!

If you want portraits of just the two of you alone, schedule in some time!

The day always seems to go by so fast!

the überBrides Team
www.uberBrides.com

[Ashley]

Hello,
I'm new to the blogging, but I love yours! I keep a file of pics I'd like to get on our big day this one really helps! I'm getting married in June 13th, '09 and Brittany of La Vie Photography (St. Paul, MN) is our photographer. Sally (the owner) is a fabulous photographer I met earlier this year, but unfortunately we took too long getting engaged and she booked herself. We're very happy to have Brittany though! We are on a strict budget and Sally is really helping us make having Brittany possible! She's truly wonderful. : )

[Madelyn @ Southern Weddings]

I love that second image! That table is absolutely fabulous! I love all of these images; they are so inspiring! That final image is so sweet! I love that shot! Perfect Post!

[Darci]

I don't have a list of must's... Unless you count the dress shot, the shoes, the bouts, the unstaged bridal party, the little details... Okay, mayb I do have a list. But out of my un-list of "must's" I must MUST(!) have the shot of my fiance's face when he sees me for the first time. We are going the traditional route for this and won't see each other until the actual ceremony, so I want the photographer to capture the emotion on his face. I also really must have a photo of my shoes. I'm a shoe girl.
Also, I haven't booked my photographer as of yet (meeting w/ him Thursday) but I am in love with the photography of Albert Yau of Secondprint Productions (Chicago, IL).

[Sarah H]

Great post! My wedding is in two weeks, and I'm gonna send my photog your way to check out this post! His name is Spencer Combs, and he's awesome. http://spencer-combs.com/

[Janie]

Hi Ashley, thank you for stopping by TBC and thanks so much for your kind words about the blog. I am so glad that you found us and I hope you stop by each day and congrats on your June '09 wedding!

[Aleta]

This is a really great summary post of must have shots. I remember picking up tips about these from some of your other posts, but my photographer was fabulous and did most of them without any asking. Her name was Melissa Laggis and here are the teaser pictures from our July wedding: http://www.melissalaggis.com/blog/?p=234

[joyful weddings & events]

3 years after the fact, I adore my photographer and our photos. We hired the amazing Laura from Docuvitae (www.docuvitae.com) out of Los Angeles.

[Jennifer Duran]

I love the shot of the green Loubs... those are FABULOUS shoes!!!

If you want creative photos then my suggestion is just be yourself! Your shinning personality will show ALL of your quirks on your wedding day. Don't feel shy in front of the camera... be yourself and enjoy the day! I have to toot my photographers horn Rick Schamberger... he was AMAZING and if you want to have your wedding photographed like it was in a magazine then you have to check him out!
www.easthillphoto.com

[Andreza]

Its SO nice to start one more week with such images… they are awesome, Janie. You made my day.
In my deep dreams I would love to have my wedding photographed by Elizabete Messina. Her images speak for themselves, it seems like we can touch the essence of the weeding through her photos: LOVE.
Unfortunately, I live in Brazil, so…

[maria @ {ritzy bee}]

Great, great advice Janie! I believe that a photographer is one of the most important elements to a wedding. You want the perfect pictures that capture each moment and detail especially...years after the cake has been eaten and the dress is hanging in the back of a closet!

[Stella Blass]

Making a "must have" list is a great way to make sure your wedding photography starts to look like the wedding of everybody else. The reason why Jose Villa's photographs are so beautiful and fresh is because he is making pictures from the heart, not from a template. Instead of a list, hire a photographer with vision. He'll/she'll see the good pictures. You won't have to tell them how to do their job.

[The Pontilists]

What a great list of must haves! And the photography selected is so beautiful (as always). Sharing the plan of action and lists of shots desired with our photographer before the shoots I coordinate & style definitely makes it all go much more smoothly.

Mayta
The Pontilists

[Karen]

Hi Janie,

I'm a complete blog stalker and thanks to you we found our amazing photography duo - Whitebox Weddings. Photography is without a doubt the most important vendor to us we are thrilled to be working with Sara & Mel. Our 'big day' is set for next September in Annapolis =)

[Karen]

Hi Janie,

I'm a complete blog stalker and thanks to you we found our amazing photography duo - Whitebox Weddings. Photography is without a doubt the most important vendor to us and we are thrilled to be working with Sara & Mel. Our 'big day' is set for next September in Annapolis =)

[Janie]

Hi Karen...thanks for stopping by the cafe and I love Sara & Mel at Whitebox Weddings...I hope to see your beautiful day on TBC!

[Marnie]

what a nice coupling of advice with pictorial references - love it!

I don't believe in a shot list as much as a few notes on what's and who is really important to you.

If there are some old friends or a group of your college buddies that you may never see together in the same place, point them out to your photographer or ask your maid of honor to help you out there. If you did a ton of DIY there may be some special details that mean a lot to you so the better your photographer knows you, the more images you'll have that will really speak to you, and your relationship.

My wedding is next October in Connecticut and 80 photog web sites later, we still don't have a shutterlovebug. I adore Kella MacPhee (NJ) and Ryan Brenizer (NY) - both are incredible photographers but they are booked on my date. I also have big love for Our Labor of Love but too expensive :-(

[jen]

Hi Janie,
We had a fabulous photographer for our Hawaii wedding, Debbie Friedrich (http://www.debbiefriedrich.com).

I met with Debbie a few days before our ceremony with a list of people I wanted to capture special moments with and she did a fantabulous job! One idea she had was to take a photo of the newspaper heading on our wedding day, which is a nice way to remember what else is happening in the world on that day.

Thanks to Debbie, we have a ton of wonderful memories to pass along to our children!

-jen

[Laura E @ Southern Weddings]

This is such a great collection. I love so many of these images and they all are filled with great inspiration.

[Jen]

I love your list of must have shots, specific but not too specific! I can't wait to see what my photographer takes in little less then 10 days! My photographer is Travis Hoehne and I think hiring him was the best wedding decsion my fiance and I made!

[Paula]

This is helpful. I hadn't given much thought to the must-haves. My photographer is Alex Rodriguez (www.alexrodriguezphotography.com). Any tips for engagement pics?

[Paula]

This is helpful. I hadn't given much thought to the must-haves. My photographer is Alex Rodriguez (www.alexrodriguezphotography.com). Any tips for engagement pics?

[jenn]

beautiful pictures