Want Great Photos? Don't Forget These Important Tips
by WedPlan contributor Krista Lee - Nashville, TN

In order to make your wedding images as beautiful and memorable as possible, it is very important to take a few things into consideration. Many people forget that the time of year, the time of day, and the location will have a great impact on your photos. It is very important to take these things into consideration when planning your big day.

Your photographer will do his or her best to get great images, but a very dark church or a nighttime wedding can make it nearly impossible to capture those beautiful moments. Typically, if you are getting married outdoors, the sunlight is the most favorable 1-2 hours before sunset (also referred to as the golden hours). If your wedding is in the middle of the day, the sun will be directly overhead causing harsh shadows on your face. The photographer can use fill flash to help this problem BUT the pictures will still not be nearly as beautiful as if you had your wedding at an early evening time when the sunlight is golden in color and skims across the scenery.
Typically the temperature outdoors is also more favorable for you and your guests, as having a midday wedding can be hot and straining on the eyes. Finding the correct time for your ceremony is easy, as exact sunset times can be found for any city in the United States by doing a quick search on the Internet. And of course, bright overcast is the best! (Of which CNY is know for)

Another issue can be a dark church or a winter wedding. Many churches do not allow a flash to be used during the ceremony and if the room is not brightly lit with sunlight, capturing sharp beautiful photos becomes nearly impossible. Your photographer again will attempt to make the best of the situation by using expensive lenses and equipment, but many times even this is no match for a dimly lit church. Winter weddings can also be less favorable because all photos will need to be inside with artificial lighting. The scenery outside will be grey and desolate, which will not make for a pleasing backdrop.
If photographs from your wedding day are important to you, be sure to plan your wedding day accordingly so that beautiful images are able to be easily captured. -Krista

More Tips: If you are tight with time, some things that you might consider foregoing to gain more time with your photographer are:

Receiving lines. You will spend on average of 1-3 minutes with each guest. That can add up quickly and on average eats up 45-minutes to an hour at the church. Simply announce for all that they are free to head to the reception and you will see/meet/greet them all as you work around the room.

Don't tie up the photographer with "table shots". They always are tough and only end up in the back of your proof books. And when the photographer is getting ackward photos of people eating, he may miss a couple's important moment or nice light. Maybe try for a group shot of everyone either at the church or at the reception. 

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