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5 Tips To Achieve Perfect Wedding Photos Without A Photographer

5 Tips To Achieve Perfect Wedding Photos Without A Photographer 

Planning a wedding is perhaps one of the most exciting journeys in one’s life. The joy of sharing such a milestone with the person you want to spend the rest of your days with is quite an experience you wish to intimately remember in more ways than one. However, a wedding is also a bed of roses that consists of challenges you need to overcome as a couple. 

Among these challenges would be the financial burden that a wedding can painstakingly take its toll on you. Even if you want the best for your special day, the budget can restrict you from having the best and the most expensive things. But of course, there’s no way you’re letting the burden get the best of you. Instead, you have to think of ways to achieve the wedding of your dreams on a budget. 

Wedding Photography 101: Sans The Photographer 

Naturally, your instinct would be to make a list of wedding preps and effects that you can downgrade or possibly get rid of so you can save more money. For sure, not hiring a professional photographer has crossed your mind, especially after knowing the typical rates of such services nowadays.  Capturing wedding photos without a photographer is sure to save a chunk of money!

Personally as a professional photographer myself, I’d always advise against foregoing such an expense, as the photography you receive as a result of your wedding often represents the only memories you will retain going forward with your life. For professional help, see our Adelaide wedding photographers. However I am also realistic with the notion that photographs are not always the most important items on people’s checklists. Hence this blog post! This may also help you realise how valuable having someone who has the experience is!

If you’re wondering if you could make it work, here are some tips you can try to achieve the perfect wedding photos without a photographer: 

  • Invest In A Good Camera 

You may think that this isn’t a practical tip since you still have to shell out money to purchase your first camera. However, if you think about it, investing in a good one won’t only mean having the ability to take beautiful and high-quality photos for your big day. Even when the day is over, the camera stays with you, and you can use it for other special memories you want to capture as you embark on your married life.  

Moreover, there are several digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras in the market that you can consider based on your budget. They’re fairly easy to use and won’t even require professional skills to operate them. Alternatively, you can consider buying a second-hand camera that can serve the same purpose.

  • Know What Accessories You Need 

To make sure your camera will work as expected, you might want to consider purchasing additional gear and accessories for an ultimate setup. A tripod, for one, can greatly help in stabilizing the camera. Hence, you won’t need to worry about blurry or out-of-focus shots.  

Having a tripod also makes it possible to get photos of you and your spouse together, mainly if no one else knows how to use the gear. Group shots are also achievable because of this incredible accessory.

Just make sure you learn how to assemble and attach the timer so you won’t have a hard time navigating it when the day of the wedding comes. Also, find out how to set the camera’s timer, which will be greatly useful when you’re taking group and couple shots. 

  • Make Use Of Beautiful And Natural Backdrops 

If you’re having an outdoor wedding, you won’t run out of beautiful and creative ideas for a backdrop. Trees and flowering plants will suffice if you want to capture candid and romantic photos of yourself and your partner. If you can’t find such options, you can also take pictures in the venue with a stunning view or setting. 

If you know you won’t have enough natural backdrops to utilize, you can prepare a dedicated corner in the venue where you can set up a photo booth of some sort. You can then adorn it with artificial or fresh flowers, depending on your budget. 

  • Ask Your Guests And Friends 

Although you can try, it’s nearly impossible to do all the picture taking yourself. There’ll be times when you need to entertain your wedding guests, so it’s also a good idea to ask your friends if they can hold the camera for a few minutes and start snapping away when you’re too occupied to do it. 

If you have friends who are good with cameras, try to ask for their help. Just be sure not to burden them entirely because, of course, they also want to enjoy the day as much as everyone else does. 

You could also host a bit of a ‘photo hunt‘ with your guests using a QR code based photo collection app like Selfbooth. This gives your guests a bit of a gamified reason to head out and take photos for you during your day, and with everyone with a smart phoone on them these days should result in a lot of photos.

  • Seize The Lighting 

If you don’t know it yet, certain times of the day are considered the best times to take amazing photos. The golden hour, for example, is when the sunlight is less squinting and can look naturally beautiful when taken at a good angle. To achieve perfect wedding photos, it’s recommended you start your pictorial at least an hour before sunset.  

You can use the camera’s flash to avoid getting annoying shadows on faces, especially if you’re doing the shoot outdoors. Additionally, pay extra attention to everything around your image. Eyesores can easily get captured in your photos, such as garbage cans or a tree branch obscuring your face.

Final Thoughts 

Wedding photos don’t have to be expensively taken for them to be beautiful. Sometimes, all it takes is a good eye and enough preparation on your end. If you want to save chunks of money on your wedding day, consider taking your own photos. Just be sure to consider some of the tips above so you can have perfect photos.

I’m not going to lie, being your own photographer and shooting wedding photos without a photographer is going to be tricky, but it probably can be done!

 

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Quince Brook Wedding – Verity & Jake

bride and groom checking out the cow

bride and groom checking out the cow

Quince Brook Wedding – Verity & Jake

Verity and Jake’s Quince Brook wedding took place on an absolutely sunning day in late August. The wedding venue being the fortunate backup to another nearby, and what a spot it is!

Quince Brook boasts rolling green hills over farmland that goes on for as far as the eye can see, and suited Verity and Jake’s care free personalities to a ‘tee’.

 

Preparation

I started out the day just up the road from the Quince Brook wedding venue, at a delightful bed and breakfast where Verity and her entouage were being prepared. The Evansdale Villas are perched right at the top of the rolling hills that surround Strathalbyn, and are surrounded by farmland, complete with cows and wonderful looking trees that are great to hang dresses in!

verity and her bridesmaids were jovial all throughout the preparation process, and had little flower girls and page boys to run about to have a bit of fun.

It ‘s always nice to see the reaction of the father of the bride when he first walks in and shees his little girl done up in her wedding dress!

Quince Brook Wedding Ceremony

Verity and Jake’s Quince Brook wedding ceremony took place under a large gum tree, behind the large shed that serves as a rustic hall suitable for receptions. Their guests sat and stood around them on the lush, green grass as they witnessed these two beautiful people come together.

Verity and Jake’s little dog got special mentions during their ceremony, and included numerous heartfelt tidbits from their relationship.

Glamour Photos

Walking about and taking glamour photos at Quince Brook was an absolute breeze. My affinity for the natural surroundings really helped out with what was available surrounding the property!

After a short time of mingling with guests and enjoying themselves, Verity, Jake and I went for a little walk out over the rolling hills to take some intimate photos together in amongst the gum trees, before calling on the bridal party to come with us in the opposite direction to make use of the driveway and the setting sun.

I big fun part of a Quince Brook wedding is the fact that there are rather tame cows just wandering around the property, which allowed us to get a few different shots featuring these bovine friends! A really sweet aspect of the day was that a calf was born on the morning of Verity and Jake’s wedding, and the owners named the newborn Verity – after the bride!

Very cute.

Quince Brook Wedding Reception

Verity and Jake’s wedding reception which look place in the large shed, just behind where their held their ceremony was full of heartfelt speeches, plenty of food and a bunch of people there to really have a great time!

Verity and Jake’s beautiful personalities shone through with the way their speech makers talked about them, and in the way they went about celebrating their big night! From the first dance, to the cutting of the cake, it was all just a joy to be a part of!

I’d like to thank Verity and Jake for having me as their wedding photographer! I had an absolute blast shooting your wedding, and I hope you enjoy your photos! You guys are absolute gems, and I wish you all the best in your married life!

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Mount Torrens Hotel Wedding – Clare & Craig

  • Clare & Craig

    Mount Torrens Hotel Wedding

    bride and groom amongst young trees

Clare and Craig’s Mount Torren’s Hotel wedding took place in lieu of a larger wedding they had planned right back before all this COVID stuff happened. Instead of having dozens of friends and family members in attendance, they opted to hold a tiny little ceremony at the delightful new Mount Torrens Hotel wedding venue in late August, with the plan of holding a large reception once everyone is able to travel again.

Mount Torrens Hotel Wedding Ceremony

The Mount Torrens Hotel wedding spot is an old, rustic little barn which according to Craig they had only just emptied of trash ready for their wedding ceremony! The Hotel boasts a delightful rustic vibe with old-world charm within and without the hotel itself, while also being surrounded by a beautiful little town, and a grassy area that would be suited for a large marquee – should the need arise.

Clare and Craig were drawn to this simple little corner of the world as they said they enjoy seeking out the simple beauty in smaller locations like this – which I felt made this wedding that much more intimate.

Around 10 witnesses were in attendance, those which could not attend made use of my 360 virtual reality recording I produce for all the weddings I cover, which makes the fact that not being able to attend that much more bareable.

Clare walked down the aisle to some very untraditional heavy metal, while the area was also decorated with fluffy dinosaurs and other things which made the space uniquely theirs.

Glamour Photos

After the group photos which we took in front of the barn’s brick wall behind the Mount Torrens Hotel wedding venue, we head off to a nearby farm which Clare and Craig had found online after a bit of a shout out on social media, simply looking for someplace nice to take photos in.

The farmstead boasted a lovely curated garden, somplete with walkways and little wooden brides and huts which we made use of, before also making use of the natural Australian bush land in the dying sun of the day. I really enjoyed myself here as the sun was shining through the foliage in the most delightful way!

Clare and Craig told me that they had chosen me as their wedding photographer as they liked the way I managed to capture not only a bridal couple, but also the simple elegance of the landscape around them without drawing too much attention away from the subject of the image.

Getting comments like this is really what being a photographer was all about and it really made me smile! Not only because these lovely people enjoyed my work, but also the fact that I was with them on such a delightful day in which it was super easy to produce such wonderful work!

I had an absolute blast photographing Clare and Craig’s wedding day, doubly so as I wanted to help them out as much as possible as Clare is a member of the CFS, who battled the huge fires at the beginning of 2019 – and are just lovely people all round. I wanted to do my part in putting some smiles on Clare and Craig’s faces and I hope they weren’t too dissapointed in not holding their large wedding, and having to postpone to a later date!

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Mount Lofty House Wedding – Katrina & Lucas

Katrina and Lucas timed their destination Mount Lofty House wedding incredibly well – considering the unfortunate events due to COVID that started to kick off only days after their big day, and the fact that the majority of their guests, and themselves had travelled from Victoria to make use of this amazing wedding venue.

Despite the weather not being perfect, and some guests not being able to make it, the day was certainly not short of fun filled love, family moments and beautiful people celebrating the coming together of this lovely couple![/av_one_half]

Preparation

I arrived early in the morning to set up the photobooth so it was ready for their reception, and also to fly around the grounds a bit with the drone for some speccy footage for their highlight video from the air. As I arrived I met Lucas and his groomsmen enjoying their breakfast and they all seemd to be in very good spirits – despite having to make the call of holding the ceremony indoors rather than on the tiered lawns as originally planned.

Lucas and his entourage were prepared together in a room overlooking the pool, while Lucas was putting the finishing touches on his speech, which the boys were giving him greif about as it was supposed to have been done days, or weeks prior!

Katrina and her bridal party were being prepared in the Pinot Cottage. One of the many small, cute cottage residences you can take advantage of when being prepared for a Mount Lofty House wedding.

It was super lucky to have had Katrina’s parents in attendance on the day due to the SA border being closed soon after they had corssed, so it was delightful to see them with Katrina as she was prepared!

The atmosphere was very laid back until the last 15 minues or so before we all had to leave for the cermeony – then it got a little chaotic!

 

Mount Lofty House Wedding Ceremony

As mentioned before, Katrina and Lucas’ Mount Lofty House wedding ceremony took place using the back up indoor option, within what usually is used as the restaurant of the hotel, or the dancing area during wedding receptions. It’s a beautifully lit area, with wall to wall windows and a delightful live fireplace at it’s centre. The only issue with the space is that it makes it tricky to get shots of the groom looking at his bride during the ceremony.

The ceremony itself was a lovely, simple affair with readings from members of Katrina and Lucas’ family, and the odd interruption by the little ones getting comfortable at the front of the congregation. 🙂

Glamour Photos

The weather cleared long enough for us to take the group shots out on the lawns withe drone, then broke off for smaller group shots in the garden. The weather was quite chilly so most were very keen not to have to stay outside for longer than absolutely needed! This included the bridal party.

My plan was not to stay outside for too long, with Katrina keen to not make a mess of her bridal gown and to avoid any rain as much as possible. So directly after the group shots we made a quick lap around the gardens, making use of the grenery on site, before heading inside to make use of the grand architecture on display within the historic Mount Lofty House.

Mount Lofty House Wedding Reception

Katrina and Lucas’ Mount Lofty House wedding reception was a fun affair, with my photobooth set up, and plenty of activities planned throughout the evening – from speeches to the shoe game, the fact that we could not use the dancefloor outside of the bridal party was barely missed!

Thanks so much to Katrina and Lucas for having my wife and myself with you to celebrate and capture your big day!

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