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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!

The Ultimate Guide to Taking Family Photos at Weddings

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 Things Professional Wedding Photographers Wish You Knew

  • Happy wife happy life

 

What Wedding Photographers Wish You Knew

Photographers have their fair share of difficulties, but that just comes with the stress of the job. We do everything we can to capture the magic of your wedding day in your photos. 

In this job you really wear your heart on your sleeve and the best of us are passionate about what we do to a fault, But while we try our best to provide the best possible service, there are some things we keep to ourselves that we hope you understand. Here are just a few things most wedding photographers wish you knew: 

3 Things Professional Wedding Photographers Wish You Knew

1 – We don’t want to replicate cheesy Pinterest photos

Wedding photographers have their own style. They have their own creative vision and want to be able to use it with their clients. While bringing in some inspiration is much appreciated (and even highly encouraged), we don’t want to commit a case of creative plagiarism. We do not deliver a replica of a fellow photographer’s vision because most of us have a great portfolio to show you as well. 

Plus, we want to give you a new and fresh concept that has never been done before. Every wedding is unique and special, so we want your photos to reflect your own personalities.  

Instead of searching for photos you want to imitate, compile a mood board with the vibe and feeling you’re going for and look for a photographer with an impressive portfolio that can interpret that vision. We love creative ideas, so don’t be afraid to tell us what you want to go for – sometimes cheesy can be fun – but too much is just silly.

OMG it’s an engagement ring

2 – Our rates are like that because we’re professionals

We understand that you’re on a budget. And as much as we want to help, we need to support our business and families too. Our equipment is an investment, and the skill we possess comes from years of experience and training.

Wedding photographers wish you knew just how much of our lives are poured into our craft and we price ourselves accordingly – it’s not just because it’s a ‘wedding’ and many people like to say.

We know that people are willing to do your shoot for two hundred bucks, but every photographer bases their rates on their skill and years of experience. If you want high-quality photos, you have to be willing to invest in a professional. At the end of the day, the adage, “You get what you pay for,” holds true.

Waterfall wedding photographer Hobart

3 – We wish you’d give us some credit online

It is completely your prerogative to do whatever you want with our photos. We’ve edited them the best we could, and it is our pleasure when you post them online. But tagging us in your photos and leaving us positive reviews can help out our business — especially if you post them without any filters. It would be much appreciated if you give us credit. 

It’s the best thing in the world to hear and to see that you enjoyed our work so it’s really put a smile on our face!

Happy groom

At the end of the day, wedding photographers can let these things slide. It is a special day for a lovely couple, so most photographers will do everything they can to make the newlyweds’ experience special. When clients show their appreciation for us and all the creatives who worked tirelessly on their wedding, it reminds us just how fortunate and special our job is.

Photography is more than just having good equipment and pressing a button. It’s a skill that takes years to develop, so every heartfelt “thank you” recommendation, online mention, and tip in any shape or form truly brightens our days.

Don’t let one of the best moments in your life go uncaptured. Contact Sven Studios, the creative company of the best wedding photographers in Hobart, Darwin and Adelaide. From lovely prenup shoots to formal wedding shoots, we help make this special time in your life last longer through breath taking photographs. Contact us today!

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Tips For Dealing With Wedding Day Family Drama

  • Group shot

 

Dealing With Wedding Day Family Drama

So, your wedding day is finally just around the corner, and you can’t help but be so excited for the new chapter you’re starting with the love of your life. Dealing with wedding day family drama though is weighing on the back of your mind as you know not everyone sees eye to eye with you.

Now that you’re well past the planning, hiring, and spending on vendors, there isn’t anything else to worry about and you’re probably spending far too much time wondering about about family drama during your ceremony or throughout the day.

Why family drama?

Let’s face it: no matter how much we’d like to believe that we came out fine regardless of how crazy life was growing up, the fact is that our families have their fair share of drama. Every family is different of course, with varying degrees of issues, but it’s important to think about dealing with wedding day family drama beforehand to that none of it ruins your day.

If you’ve searched the web for “best recommendations” and wedding day tips to put your mind at ease with your big celebration coming up, then you probably heard and read some family drama horror stories. In fact, watching a bit of reality TV may have opened your eyes to the fact that having a brawl, shouting match, or lots of tension break out during a special occasion can become reality. Although those TV shows are absolute trash…

I personally have covered weddings as a photographer where receptions have been shut down due to rowdy behaviour, or the bride and groom has enlisted the services of a security guard – so they certainly can happen.

group photo at Alru Farm wedding

Common wedding day family drama problems (and how to fix them)

Although we’d all like to think that our relatives love us so much that they won’t let pettiness drive them to ruin our special day, the fact of the matter is that there’s no such thing as too safe. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as immunity or full prevention for problems like these because you can’t really tell whether or not they’ll come up. This is why you’ll have to know how to effectively deal with wedding day family drama problems before they snowball into bigger ones that can ruin your day.

If you’re looking to ensure that the biggest moment of your life isn’t shadowed by wedding day family drama, here are some potential problems you can prepare for (and how you can solve them):

Drone group shot at Ekhidna WInes

You have an overbearing parent or sibling in attendance

One of the most common problems that soon-to-be-wed couples end up struggling with is an overbearing parent or sibling that can’t seem to keep themselves together. 

While your frantic family member may have the best intentions for you in mind, the fact that this is a day that’s also special for them may be causing them some excitement as they strive to make sure everything goes well. Fortunately, you can prevent your family members from pushing the boundaries on your wedding day and messing things up by setting them aside somewhere private and asking them to calm down.

A common way this rears it’s head as a photographer is the family friend who has a camera who loves to take photos, but don’t really realise that the official photographer is there for a reason.

All that needs to be done is before the wedding gently remind them that they are paying for the photographer to be there – draw on the fact that they want the guy with a camera there as a guest and not to worry about working too hard. This way it wont hurt their ego so much.

Guest group shot

You have family members that share a whole lot of family history 

Whether it’s in the context of divorced parents who aren’t on good terms or an uncle that hates another uncle over something they said once during Christmas, feuding family members essentially present an imminent threat. Considering that family beef can bear so much tension during your big day, it’s important that you diffuse a potential bomb before it blows up. 

When it comes to preventing family members from feuding and turning your reception or wedding into an untimely boxing match, the key to success lies in learning how to separate them. Separation mostly involves doing everything to keep people with beef far apart from each other—something that can manifest itself in the form of special seating arrangements, timed sections, and the like.

One example of effectively separating feuding family members to avoid drama is to tell your photographers about such situations so that they can take the necessary precautions to avoid accidentally grouping them together!

It’s one reason why making a list of family photo groups is so important – as your photographer will not know any family history and has to rely on your direction on the day to capture any desired family groups.

Group photo

Dealing with family drama is never an easy task, especially when it happens during your wedding. Through this guide’s help, you won’t have to worry about these certain scenarios of wedding day family drama having problems bulldoze through your day and end up cutting your special day short (which can surprisingly lead to more problems in your own marriage)! 

Sven Studios is a team of Australian wedding photographers that you can rely on to have your priceless memories immortalised. If you’re looking to not only manage your potential family drama and have some amazing pictures to boot, get in touch with us today!

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Important Wedding Photography Dos and Don’ts

All photographers view weddings as a major day. This is because the amount of responsibility on the shoulders of wedding photographers is gargantuan. After all, it’s one of the biggest days in the life of the couple involved. In that case, there is no question that nerves will always be part of the equation for each and every wedding that they cover.

The key to successfully executing wedding photography is to ensure that both the groom and bride are comfortable in front of the camera’s lenses. A pre-wedding photoshoot is a great way to manage the nerves on both sides and establish better rapport between the photographer and the couple as well – but it’s not a requirement.

I feel as though being a successful wedding photographer is really all about putting the trust in oneself and your experience in order to be confident in capturing the day no matter what is thrown your way. Being flexible is very important.

There are also some wedding photography dos and don’ts that really need to be heeded at every wedding. While these guidelines are primarily for your wedding photographer, knowing these will help you be more mindful of photography details during your big day.

Some simple Wedding Photography Dos and Don’ts

  • DO focus on even the smallest details

Weddings are planned months in advance, and often, even years. It’s safe to assume that even the most minute detail was well-thought-out and has some sort of significance. Aside from candid couple photos, and even some sneaky shots of guests with their guard down, the photographer should look at the setting and small details the bridal couple has put effort into.

Your photographer should ensure there’s a photo of the entertainment at the reception, especially if it’s your favourite performer. Shots of buffet or plated meals are a must, too. If an heirloom has been passed down to either bride or groom, a captured snap of that should not be missed as well. 

This is something you should communicate to your photographer – as even the best wedding photographers may sometimes miss a ‘must have’ shot that you expect to have. Despite it being best to let your photographer have freedom to do their thing – pointing out small details would always be appreciated.

Guest gift

  • DON’T stand out so much or call attention to yourself

Weddings and the receptions that follow are incredible training grounds for photographers to be ninjas. It’s important that people are able to feel unobstructed by cameras suddenly in their face, or by constantly being asked if they’d like a photo. While there may be an idea for a great group shot, the photographer shouldn’t start pulling people from different corners together just for a shot unless it feels absolutely necessary.

OMG an engagement ring

  • DO use natural light where possible

Authenticity comes through in a photo well when natural light is involved. There’s a lot of family and friends at these events, which leads to emotions running high. These are some of the best moments in the life of both the groom and the bride, so it’s best to make sure the day is captured accordingly and reflects as much. Even if you have a flash kit, only use it when absolutely necessary; nothing beats the magic of natural sunlight.

bride looking out window as she gets ready

  • DON’T get caught up in capturing everything

Aside from the key shots, there’s a lot of room for candid wedding photos. If the photographer finds themselves missing a moment by a few seconds, don’t dwell on it. There should be another candid moment worth capturing after all. The photographer shouldn’t attempt staging the shot either. It’s natural to miss some things, since it’s practically impossible to photograph every minute or instance during a wedding and reception.

If a bride asks for a specific photo though – it’s certainly best practice to go grab it! haha

Laughing and playing

Weddings are undoubtedly special for the couple getting married, which is one main reason why wedding photographers feel immense pressure. A good way to start a good working relationship between you and the photographer is a pre-wedding shoot. There are several wedding photography dos and don’ts, and it’s vital you choose a photographer where these comes naturally.

Looking for wedding photography services? Contact SvenStudios today! Allow us to craft the precious memories of your wedding day in a fun and relaxed way.