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Capturing Emotion on a Wedding Day

Can we get emotional?

By Ashleigh Cropper

February 20^th, 2018

I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to hear from an incredible panel of industry leaders in the wedding industry. The panel consisted of the editor of BRIDES Magazine (specifically the real weddings side of her work), marketing and sales for Rocky Mountain Bride, co-founder of Couture Colorado, and the owner of Colorado Expressions/Confetti Magazine. The focus of the panel was to discuss how to get published online and in print. But, I got something very different from the panel. It stuck out to me instantly and it's a trend I have been noticing for the last year or two.

What do these wedding platforms / websites / blogs / magazines really want? From what I heard and gathered, they want the real and emotional moments from a wedding day!

I get it! Those are the moments that pull an audience in. You feel as though you are their living that moment! They're what take a photo from iPhone level to DSLR, from beginner to professional, from shared on Instagram to being hung on the mantle. You see a behind-the-scenes that you want to hear the story about. It's the REAL wedding, and sincere moments...crying, laughing, being human! It's not the stiff posing, the fake big smile, the stand-here-hold-your-hands-like-so images. One of my images was just named by BRIDES as a "50 Favorite Real Wedding Photos from 2017." First off, that was a huge honor! Secondly, I have been working HARD to hone in on my skills of capturing emotion throughout a wedding day. So I'm sharing with you my three tips to capturing those emotional moments.

Three Tips to CApturing Emotional Moments

1) Anticipate and prepare: Before an emotional moments happens, you should already be ready to go. Do you know when they are coming? If not, I would recommend looking through your timeline you have ready for the wedding day. Will there be an exchange of gifts in the morning from the bride to the groom, and vise versa? Will there be a first look? Are there any surprises during the day (that always allows for emotion to arise.) I truly believe this is part of being a wedding photographer that can set themselves apart from others. It's counter-intuitive, but emotional moments are sometimes quite predictable.

2) Have the gear that can capture the emotion: A wedding is naturally an emotional day, but you can miss the moments if you don't have the proper gear to capture it well. There is a big difference between capturing an emotional moment with a wide angled lens, or one that allows for noise (i.e. if there is clutter in the background, you might not notice the tear), compared to a lens that can focus in on the tear, or the expression on their face. You're going to want either a lens that can capture that from a distance, or you need to get closer. Expressing emotions are intimate, and if you're not close enough, you might miss it.

3) You set the atmosphere: As a photographer, you are with the couple all day long. You are by their side for almost the entire wedding day, so you need to be aware of your attitude and behavior. Even though there is so much going on, you are busy, tired, hungry, trying to remember a million things, you also need to focus on how you present yourself, and yes the "vibe" you are giving off. If you are stressed out, it will make your couple feel stressed. It will mute sincere emotions. If you're calm, then that will allow for room to draw out emotion. Again, expressing emotions is an intimate thing, and if your couple is uncomfortable in front of you, they're not going to express those emotions.

My challenge to you: apply these three tips! If you are already doing some of them, then take it to the next level. Could you find new ways to anticipate the emotional moments that may happen? Things you can do to come across as more calm? I have found that the more I am in-tune with my couple, the easier it is to be ready for these amazing, sometimes split-second, events throughout the wedding day. Get out there are get those emotions!