Before the ceremony
If you are having a first look anyway, simply allow 20 to 30 minutes more. Then you already have your first couple portraits in the bag, and things are more relaxed later if time gets tight, the weather turns or something else comes up. Michelle and Marlene went into the woods with me straight after their first look.
More about how it works is in the post about the first look.
Right after the ceremony
Without a first look, we take the first photos after the ceremony. You do not need to go far, but far enough to find a beautiful spot.
With Leah and Sina at Galanthus it was a two-minute walk and twenty minutes in total; at Kulturhof Stanggass we simply stayed on the grounds.
It has a lovely side effect too: it always takes a while until every guest has a glass of bubbly, and the congratulations spread out. When you then join them, everyone cheers and raises a glass to you.
Before and during dinner
A few photos also fit in just before dinner. Then you are the last to enter the hall and get celebrated all over again. At Brianna and Sebastian’s wedding, all the guests welcomed them with flying napkins. During dinner things are often quieter, so you can easily slip away for ten minutes without missing much of your own wedding.
The most beautiful light comes in the evening
My favourite is to take you outside for ten minutes in the evening, just before sunset, when the sun is really low. Then I photograph into the backlight, play with soap bubbles or the veil and capture silhouettes. At Lake Starnberg it was no more than ten minutes on the jetty; with Leah and Sina, ten minutes in a field right at the venue.
It is worth going out after sunset too, when the sky turns red. I check various apps and forecasts for that beforehand. And when it is later still, the moon may already be up, as it was for Michelle and Marlene with the cows in the pasture. Once the lights come on outside, I work with flash, create softer, blurred images or photos with sparklers.
Short and often rather than once and long
If you would like something different, that works too, of course. If there is a break between the registry office and the outdoor ceremony, for example, we can use one, two or three hours, drive somewhere and visit different places. It depends on what matters to you.
Which places work well
A lake, a forest, a meadow. Fields and meadows look far better than you would expect, especially with a few flowers. Vineyards or beautiful buildings work well too.
What matters is the light. Ideally we have shade, or the sun is already low, which keeps us flexible. Otherwise I like to shoot into the backlight so you are not dazzled; the camera can handle it. In high summer, when the midday sun is high, there are harsh shadows everywhere. Then we would rather find a shady spot.
You do not need to learn any poses
We walk a little, stop, look around. I give you small prompts, and you do not need to know what to do with your hands. More about this is on the couple shoot page.
Keep planning
I plan every wedding day together with the couple. The examples on this website are ideas. We can change the order, leave parts out and add other moments.