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4 Tips to Get The Best Engagement Photos

  • OMG it's an engagement ring

 

Get The Best Engagement Photos

As a soon-to-be bride or husband, you may be wondering whether it’s essential to have an engagement photoshoot before your wedding. You may tend to overlook it, especially with how overwhelming the wedding planning and preparation can be, but your engagement photos can be just as important as your wedding photos. 

Getting your engagement photos taken is a great way to meet your wedding photographer and establish a connection with them. Remember that they will be with you for much of the day on your wedding day, which is one of the most intimate days of your life, so it’s important that you feel comfortable around them as soon as possible. 

4 Tips to Get The Best Engagement Photos

Your engagement photoshoot can also serve as your test run for your big day. This is especially important if you get anxious in front of the camera and start wondering if your photos will turn out great. To ease all your worries and get the best engagement photos possible, here are some tips you can follow:

  • Have your pets join in

Your pet may be a part of your life to the point that they are now considered one of your family members. To make your engagement photos more exciting and add more personality to your photos, you can ask for your cat, dog, or other pets to join your photoshoot. Just make sure the spot where you’re planning on having your photos done allow for pets!

Dog running in the Ekhidna WInes vineyards

  • Use unique and fun props

The conventional bouquets and balloons may now be out of style as props for engagement photos, but other unique and fun items are welcome additions to your photoshoot. For instance, you can use props that signify your passions. If you are a music buff, show off your guitar as you pose to serenade your significant other. You may also use books as props if you love reading. 

To have romantic, creative engagement photos, you can share one ice cream, use Scrabble letter pieces as titles, or ride cars or motorcycles. Just make sure to use those that help you create your desired theme and photography style.

Balloon man

  • Choose a memorable destination

While you can capture stunning engagement photos anywhere, you can make your pictures look more appealing and heart-warming by choosing a place that holds a special place in your hearts. Pick a spot that represents a big part of your history or relationship story. For example, the destination could be a restaurant where you first met together or a tourist attraction where you proposed.

You can even shoot inside the home you grew up in, or your future home. This way, you are assured there will be fewer distractions. You can simply focus on posing and getting your best photos taken without worrying about the weather or the people outside.

Consider your personalities or wedding theme too; for example – it would be a bit odd to have a fairy themed wedding, only to have a photo shoot in a modern hotel.

Tiwi Islands Sunrise

  • Shoot during the best time of the day

The best time of the day for photoshoots is the golden hour. It usually takes place just an hour before sunset, and it is when the natural lighting is at its best. It lets you have effortlessly breath-taking and romantic-looking photos. However, you can still choose any time slot according to your preference and convenience.

Sunset proposal

An engagement photo session is a fun and memorable way to be better prepared for being photographed on your wedding day. To ensure you get the best engagement photos taken and bring home unforgettable memories that you will cherish forever, follow the tips listed above.

Don’t forget to hire professional photographers who are skilled and have the necessary equipment to take high-quality photos and have a chat with them as they are sure to have further ideas to get the best engagement photos beyond what’s in this short list.

Capture your love story in the best way possible by hiring SvenStudios. Our team specialises in wedding photography and offers wedding videography, engagement photography, and photo booths for hire in Adelaide. Contact us to book your session!

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Planning a Wedding – What Your Photographer Needs to Know

Groom leading bride along cliff

Planning a Perfect Wedding – What Your Photographer Needs to Know

A wedding is an important event in a couple’s life. It is a day where a couple publicly shares their vows and enters into the lifelong contract of marriage. Moreover, it is a day wherein they proclaim their never-ending love and appreciation for each other. 

Since a wedding is one of the beautiful moments in a couple’s life, it must be cherished and documented properly. To make sure that you capture every important moment on your special day, talk to your photographer beforehand to set your big day up for success!

While it is best to let your photographer have artistic licence over what they are doing, as you chose them for a reason – it can’t hurt to communicate to them the images and setup you envisioned so that they will come in prepared to deliver you the best photos of one of the most important days of your life. 

Your photographer may have other ideas to better capture the moment, so it’s best to set a meeting with them to iron out the details. In this way, there is a clear goal for both of you! Photographers hate it when they don’t meet the expectations of their clients, so it’s best to set all the goals before the day of the wedding and figure out what your photographer needs to know.

Gallop bridge Wedding photo

What Your Photographer Needs to Know

Since there are a lot of things to communicate to your wedding photographer, it can get a bit overwhelming; in fact, you may even miss out on some of the most crucial details! That’s why we created this list of a couple of important things you need to talk about to ensure the success of the shots. 

  • Give them a list of names of family and friends 

One of the parts during a wedding ceremony is when you need to take family photos. It can be difficult to manage, especially when there are a lot of people whom you don’t know just milling around aimlessly! Beyond that, a lot of guests often want to enjoy the cocktail hours, so you need to be as quick as possible to ensure that it goes according to plan. 

Having a list will keep this part as smooth and efficient as possible. It will be easier on your part to just call the names instead of asking around who they are! To streamline this effort, help your photographer by writing it like this: bride’s parents with bride and groom, groom’s parents with bride and groom, etc. Don’t just list individual names.

Your photographer does not know who anyone in your group photos are, or how they relate to one another, it’s the one period of the day where they completely rely on your direction in order to produce what you expect, so I cannot understate the importance of this!

Bridal party group shot infront of Hobart Harbour

  • Give them a schedule of your wedding day

Having a copy of the timeline helps photographers keep track of the event as well. In this way, you both are on the same page on your wedding day and what your photographer needs to know! They will know what to expect and when to expect it—allowing them as much leeway to prepare for their shots as possible.

However, you both must understand that weddings don’t often go as planned! They usually run so late that some of the parts must be rushed. There are even times where 10 minutes were allotted to taking bridal photos; however, it ended up as 30 minutes because of all the retakes and requests! If you don’t give enough time or adjustment, you and your photographer may be stressed out due to the lack of time. 

Best way to avoid this is talk to an experienced wedding photographer and glean some insight from their experience form the hundreds of weddings they had covered beforehand.

Group shot

  • Give them a list of important shots you want 

You can always give your photographers a list of important shots that you want them to take. May it be the first dance, the cake cutting, or family photo, these need to be addressed to ensure that you get them at the end of the day! 

As I mentioned before, giving your photographer complete autonomy with their own artistic eye is the best way to let them create the best photographs for you – however photographers are not mind readers. if you have a certain set of shots you expect from your final set of images, make sure you communicate this with your photographer!

cutting the wedding cake at Mollydooker wines

A professional wedding photographer can capture the beautiful and important moments in your wedding. But, to ensure that both of your goals are met, you need to communicate to them what you expect during the wedding! May the list above give you a basic understanding of what your photographer needs to know to help ease the process along. 

If you’re looking for wedding photography services in Adelaide, SvenStudios is the one to call! Allow us to craft the precious memories of your wedding day in a fun and relaxed way that you’ll be proud to look at forevermore! Get in touch with us today to find out more about our services.

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Wedding Photography – Our Guide to Taking Family Photos

  • Guests table group shot

 

Our Guide to Taking Family Photos

Wedding photos primarily focus on the newly wedded couple, and rightly so. It’s their special day, after all! But no couple can stand on their own—they got to this joyful phase in their lives with the care, support, and love from their dear families.

Aside from your vows, first dance, bouquet toss, and other couple-centric wedding moments, your family photos will give you some of your most treasured lifelong memories. The best thing about professional wedding photography is that you are promised high-quality results that you can share as much as you want—you can send digital copies off to family members, print them as souvenirs; the options are endless!

With this in mind, heres a short guide to taking family photos on your big day!

Guide to Taking Family Photos

Family Photos You Shouldn’t Miss

Before the ceremony – Make sure to prioritise family moments as you prepare for your wedding day. Candid photo sessions with parents and siblings can be fun and a little bit teary.

Mum looking on proudly

After the ceremony – You can take group family shots around the altar or another scenic space in the ceremony venue. It’s best to prepare these locations before your wedding day.

group photo at Ekhidna Winery

During the reception – A popular choice for wedding couples is to take group photos with each table at the reception. You can set up family portrait sessions at your reception venue, too!

boys group shot

Besides the general photo-taking guidelines, rounding up family members for photos can be a challenge on top of an already hectic wedding day. Read on for a simple guide to to taking family photos as easy as possible.

 

  1. Set Your Priorities

If you grew up closely with certain cousins, a family member who helped raise you, or someone who has been very special to you all these years, prioritise their presence in your photos. This is your day, and you should be able to share all of your memories with the people closest to you.

For many families, it’s usually a given that parents, grandparents, and siblings are the main members included in family portrait sessions. To make things more efficient, you should make a list of group shots  in advance.

group photo at Alru Farm wedding

  1. Send a List to Your Photographer

Professional photographers work better with a specific shot list—this helps them prioritise and watch out for specific moments during your wedding day. Once you have a list of your family photo priorities, send them on to your photographer. This will make the photo session go much more smoothly.

 This is incredibly important – your wedding photographer works best when they have artistic freedom – however they do not know who are in your family and who belongs in a group shot. Out of all the opportunities for photos on a wedding day, your wedding photorgapher relies 100% on your direction with this. As a bonus, if your photographer knows which family members are extra special to you, they will keep an eye out for candid photo opportunities during the reception and beyond.

Guest group shot

  1. Put it on Your Schedule

For maximum efficiency and little hassle, it’s best to set a specific time for family portraits. Many couples decide to take family photos at the end of the ceremony, before everyone moves on to the reception venue. However, this is a very narrow window of time, especially if you want to change before the reception or if you have other special plans.

Another option is to get the portraits done before the ceremony starts. This will give you ample time to get all the shots you want without infringing on the ceremony and reception schedule. Just make sure that all family members are told so they can arrive on time!

St Francis Winery Wedding

Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime milestone, and the feelings of love and belonging are not limited to your partner; these emotions include your family, too. Make sure to set aside time and locations for your wedding photographer to capture moments with your closest family members. These are lasting memories that will stay with you forever.

Hopefully this guide to taking family photos on your wedding day helps out slightly in your planning!

If you’re looking for wedding photography services Sven Studios is the best choice for you. We have a variety of customisable wedding photography packages that will deliver all the high-quality products you need. Contact our award-winning photographers about our services today! 

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Be Inspired by Disney Princess Wedding Dresses

  • Wedding dress reflected in mirror

 

Disney Princess Wedding Dresses

As a wedding photographer , a trend I’ve noticed in weddings I’ve covered over the years is that brides often say that they have their wedding dresses inspired by Disney Princesses. Now when you hear that statement it sounds fairly childish, but when you sit back and have a think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Disney movies are what we in western society are brought up on.

Their morals and stories are ingrained in our childhood minds and stay with us right through to adulthood. The Disney variants of the classic fairy tales such as Cinderella and Snow White have even replaced their original storylines in common knowledge. For example, did you know the original story of Notre Dame? written in 1831 would not suit a typical Disney movie… Far more death and adult scenes involved there..

Wedding dress

ANYWAY, modern brides are more often turning to dresses they have grown up and idolised in Disney movies. The most popular Disney princess wedding dresses by far from my experience as a wedding photographer has been Belle’s Ballroom dress she wears when first dancing with Adam aka the Beast.

I’m a huge Disney nerd, and in particular love the princess movies, so having a closer look into Disney Princess Wedding Dresses is an interesting topic to me! Obviously some of these Disney Princess Wedding Dresses arent actually their wedding dresses, but are just iconic dresses they happen to wear in their movies – but they are still interesting to look at.

Belle

Belle

I haven’t had the privilege yet of photographing a banana-yellow dress design 100% copying the style of the dress seen in the movie, but I have had more than one bride telling me they modelled their design on this disney princess dress. Little wonder why really; Belle featured in Beauty And the Beast, a film released in 1991, when then-7 year old girls would now be turning 30-35, or prime-average age to be married these days.

Otherwise Belle also follows a fairly relatable life for girls in modern society (as far as I can make of it anyway); always being called pretty and beautiful while also feeling slightly different on the inside due to her ‘nerdy’ habits of never having her nose in a book. She is romantically pursued by a handsome but arrogant hunter, in whom she shows no interest because of his conceitedness. Luckily she finds her perfect match in the Beast while trying to live for her family (saving her father) and avoiding the clutches of her sexist suitor.

Sounds pretty much like a typical parallel to a modern life of a growing woman. At least from what I’ve heard, I mean I haven’t lived the life of a growing woman… as I’m male; but it seems to me the attractive and intelligent girls out there like the Disney princess Belle out there live a similar life.

ie revelling in the popularity their beauty brings, but also feeling like an outcast due to their good grades, always the subject of an annoying or boorish guy’s affection and finally finding their ‘Beast’ of a groom to whom they will be married and live happily ever after.
I think? I don’t know, I’m just trying to dissect why Belle is such a popular choice in having wedding dresses inspired by Disney Princesses.

Cinderella

Cinderella

Cinderella of course is the archetype design of Disney princess wedding dresses, however quite different in personality to Belle’s. For example she is made a servant in her own home and is constantly tormented by her evil stepmother and two stepsisters. Quite different to the free range of lifestyle Belle enjoyed, while Cinderella is also shy and romantic, Belle on the other hand is quite extroverted.

One can see a parallel to modern life here, where by a bride could feel like they are made to be a servant at their work, or even family with little time to look for their ‘prince charming’. Suddenly through chance, or their ‘fairy god mother’ are granted a chance to meet someone and live happily ever after, despite making social faux-pas such as leaving their shoes all over the place…

Cinderella is not as popular a Disney princess in choosing her dress to mimic as a bride’s wedding dress. Possibly due to the age of the Disney film; it was released in 1950. I wonder if wedding photographers were having brides tell them about wedding dresses inspired by Disney princesses back in the 1970s? Quite likely I would assume.

Rapunzel & Elsa

elsa

It hasn’t been too common to have brides state they’ve drawn inspiration from more modern Disney Princesses like Elsa, Rapunzel or Anna, I mean the films were only released in 2010 and 2013. But I’m pretty sure that it’d be highly likely I’ll be hearing stories from future brides, perhaps in the next 10-15 years about how they’ve always wanted to have a dress like their favourite Disney Princess.

Particularly with the success Frozen and Tangled have enjoyed as the first two 3D Disney princess movies. Tangled was the highest grossing DVD of the year, and Frozen was the highest grossing animated film of all time, which is impressive considering the number of 3D animated films being produced these days. So look out for this type of dress in the near future!

The others

Wedding dress hanging At Alru Farm wedding

While there are some traditionally conservative designs still in the line up of Disney princess wedding dresses, one would be hard pressed to envision a dress inspired by Pocahontas, Jasmin, Esmerelda, Fa Mulan or Kida except on the most adventurous of brides. That isn’t to say that any bride who grew up idolising these Disney princesses wouldn’t look fantastic in their designs, it’s just that they aren’t traditionally wedding-type dresses.

Others though like Ariel’s from The Little Mermaid could possibly be overlooked as she isn’t often pictured in her wedding dress other than right at the end of the film, promptly followed by giant calamari-making by her prince..

Tiana from ‘The Princess and the Frog‘ might be a popular choice in the United States as its one of the few Disney princess movies even mentioning America. Besides her dress has a bit of an eccentric design, it’s nice, but a bit strange when compared to the more traditional shape.

Aurora (or Sleeping Beauty) is possibly not overly appealing as a dress design as she is pictured more often than not asleep. Pretty boring eh? Besides, who among you knew that her name was Aurora? I had to google it :/.

Finally, Snow White is probably too old fashioned, and Megara isn’t really a princess until she marries Hercules so she doesn’t really fit in this list anyway… Actually, neither is Fa Mulan.. huh. OR BELLE! oh dear there goes this whole article!

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3 Ways to Display Your Wedding Photos At Home

  • Physical Products shop

 

Display Your Wedding Photos At Home

Your wedding day is easily one of the most celebrated, memorable moments of your life. You’ve put a lot of work and thought into making sure every detail of the ceremony and reception was perfect, so it makes sense to capture it all and enjoy a healthy stack of wedding photos. However, you may be wondering about the best way to display them, as you wouldn’t want them sitting untouched on a hard drive or collecting dust in a box!

Your wedding photos memorialise an extraordinary occasion, so it makes sense to preserve and present them in the best possible way. Apart from putting them in photo frames, you’ll want to display them creatively throughout your home. Here are three ways to do that: 

3 Ways to Display Your Wedding Photos At Home

  • Photo Books/Albums

Digital storage has made it easier to store thousands of photos, giving you a treasure trove of memories from your wedding. However, printed wedding photo books are still the best way to display snippets of the celebration in a modern, compact form. After all, flipping through the book with your loved ones is a great way to transport yourself back to the special day and recount the story behind the photos. Additionally, it ensures that you see your wedding photos regularly instead of leaving them on a memory card. 

Having an album made is also the best way to future proof your photos. Digital media like USB sticks are only rated to last for around 10 years – and often die well before this date, but a book lasts forever.

If you plan to create a collection of professional images or plan to throw in candid, fun photos as well, you’ll have to account for three elements: the types of images, the paper, and the details you choose to highlight. For instance, you’ll want to avoid putting too many similar images in your photo book, especially if they were taken at the same moment.

The best way to think about it when designing your album is to think of it like a story book from your day. Try to create a narrative from the beginning to the end of your day with all the emotions you felt throughout.

It’s ideal to choose only the best pictures, whether they’re the funniest or capture the emotion of the occasion the most. Then, you’ll need to make sure you choose the right kind of paper that brings out the most tones, colours, and details in each of your photos. For this reason, thicker paper stock is best since it will age slower and keep your pictures in better condition.

  • Stretched Canvas Prints

The wonderful thing about having tons of wedding photos to choose from is that you can turn them into stylish wall art, allowing you and your loved one to remember the happy memories of that day. Choose a photo that will work well with your interior décor and have it printed on stretched canvas, which is a lightweight material that’s easy to hang.

Alternatively, you could hire a professional artist to reinterpret the photo or stylise it, which you can turn into unique wall art. You can choose from many different sizes to make sure you display each detail of your photos properly, commemorating the moment every time you walk past it!

Having your photography presented in this way is much more cost effective than it used to be. If you’re hesitating to display your wedding photos due to this, I implore you to recheck the cost of having your image printed like this from your digital album I present to you.

  • Framed Fine Art Prints

You’ve probably printed out a few photos to frame and display throughout your home. Why not take it a step further by turning them into fine art prints? It’s a great way to personalise your home and display your wedding photos taken that day. 

However, you’ll need to pair it with the right frame that will complement the atmosphere and tone of the photo, along with ensuring that it matches its surrounding décor. If you’d like to go for a more casual look, choose lighter coloured frames, adding a friendly and relaxed vibe to any space. However, if you’re aiming for a more formal presentation, choose darker frames. 

This is something not enough people do – I’ve tried to make the purchase of prints cheaper and easier through my new online portal shop I personalise and present to each new bridal couple I shoot so please make use of it! It’s so much better than sitting on your photos in your USB.

Framed Print

Your wedding photos are one of your greatest treasures, so it only makes sense to display them as such! Instead of allowing them to remain unseen on a hard drive or storage box, consider these three methods to display your wedding photos!

That way, you’ll get to relive your special moments with your loved one any time you wish!

Have your wedding photography done by SvenStudios! We are a team of wedding photographers who take pride in our ability to capture the precious memories of your wedding day in a fun and relaxed way. Contact us today to learn more about our wedding photography packages!