How do I make sure I get great wedding photos?

1. Think through the details of your day and plan your wedding timeline.
Wedding Timelines are GREAT, but they are really just a starting point. Things will happen during the day that will cause the timeline to get a little tight or adjusted and if you keep that in mind as you plan your timeline your wedding day will be much less stressful. If you think you’ll need 30 minutes to get ready, plan an hour. Give yourself some breathing room so you can sit and exhale or spend a quiet moment with your fiancé. Take time to enjoy the day and really soak it all in.




If you like the idea of seeing each other prior to the ceremony, then we highly recommend a first look and shooting all formal portraits prior to the ceremony. The portraits generally take an hour (20 min for bride/groom and 40 min for the wedding party). If you choose to see each other before the ceremony, the time that we spend shooting you as a couple can be a special time for the two of you to share a glass of champagne, or catch the guests at the cocktail hour if you prefer.
After the ceremony, we find that most brides and grooms are not very excited to do portraits but would rather spend time interacting with their loved ones and guests. If you choose the traditional approach of shooting portraits after the ceremony, make sure to time your ceremony so there is sufficient light available. Natural light makes all the difference in the quality of your photos. Always plan at least a half hour after the ceremony to interact with your guests before beginning portraits (or make a plan to rush off if you'd prefer to wait before socializing). And if you’re having your reception at a location separate from the ceremony make sure to plan for travel time in addition to the time for portraits.

2. Make sure we are aware of any “must have” shots. And speak up if we aren’t remembering.
We usually shoot the following family/party portraits:
- Bride & Groom
- B & G with Bride’s parents
- B & G with Bride’s extended family
- B & G with Groom’s parents
- B & G with Groom’s extended family
- Bridal party all together
- Bride with bridesmaids (grouped & individually)
- Groom with groomsmen (grouped & individually)
If there are any others that you would like to have, just let us know. We recommend that you keep this list as short as possible.  We've shot weddings before with long lists of formal portraits and everyone involved gets fidgety and eager for cocktails. The goal is natural smiles and real expressions, and if everyone is ready to eat that becomes really obvious in the family photos. We will be shooting constantly throughout the day and when you’re looking back through the images, it’s the ones with true emotion and real expressions that you will really cherish.

3. Make sure everyone is aware of the style of photography you have chosen.
As you’re aware, our style of photography is highly photo-journalistic. We will be following you throughout the day and shooting all the details and special moments as they happen. Sometimes that means we are crouched in a corner while your makeup is getting applied and other times it means standing up in a limo for a shot on the way to the ceremony.  Occasionally we're on our knees or standing on a chair to get the best angle.  This can seem odd to friends and family members that are familiar with traditional/posed wedding photography.

It is important to communicate your excitement about your choice for photography to your family and friends. One way to get them familiar with us is to share our sites and have them poke around (www.portlandphotocompany.com) and our blog (www.portlandphotoco.blogspot.com). When they see examples of our work they should better understand what we are doing on your wedding day - and why we are laying on the floor. This will also help them feel more comfortable around the camera. Encourage them to ignore us as much as possible. We try to be unobtrusive and invisible throughout the day so we can get more natural shots. Preparing your family and friends will help everyone enjoy the day and insure that we capture true emotion as it happens.

4. Enjoy your day!

Once you've made all of your plans, take a few deep breaths and enjoy your day. Take in every moment as it happens and soak up the love of everyone there to celebrate with you. We am very honored that you hired us to capture one of the most important days of your life. Trust that we will do a fabulous job documenting your day and that you’ll have amazing photos to cherish for a lifetime. What we want more than anything is for you to enjoy your wedding day, worry-free and confident that all of the right shots and emotions are being captured.