I have prepared the below advice to help you get the best results from your wedding photographer, with advice taken directly from Vera Varley – one of our award-winning photographers at La V image. It contains several tips which should help you to get the best pictures possible to commemorate the event. After all, photography is the single most lasting investment in your wedding which preserve the beauty of your day and of you. It will tell the story of how your lives began a whole new chapter together.

Your wedding photos can be improved by keeping the photography in mind when scheduling your event and picking locations for your day. If you are having an outdoor ceremony or a daytime wedding you should be aware that the light for photography is best in late afternoon or early evening. During the middle of the day, the harsh sunlight  on your face causes unflattering shadows.

With that in mind it’s always best to try to schedule ceremonies and portraits during a time when the sun will not be too bright, one to two hours before sunset is usually the best time. If you are having your ceremony outdoors in the middle of the afternoon in summer then you should really try to make sure that you will be shaded by a canopy, tent or tree.

For indoor events it is important to have good lighting at the venue. Very dark venues can be difficult to shoot, so it is important to ask the venue coordinator if they can bring up the lighting levels. Also you can request them to do something creative with the lighting – such as throwing some colored lighting against the walls. This can make a huge difference in the quality of the final photos.

Good hair or makeup artists should have experience working in both weddings and fashion. Hair and makeup can make a huge difference to the way you look on your day.

Some specific tips regarding hair and makeup: some hairstylists basically do every brides hair the same way – they insist that you need an up-do for a wedding. This sort of hairstyle really doesn’t suit everybody’s face and a gifted hair stylist will give you a special look for the day that matches your facial features, the makeup and your dress – and this doesn’t necessarily have to be overly elaborate or a radically different style to how you normally wear your hair. With makeup, stay away from fake eyelashes if possible, since they hide the eyes and are likely to make you blink a lot.

If you can, avoid heavy “evening” makeup – your makeup should look natural and bring out the best in you. Overdone night-time makeup generally does not look good at a wedding and certainly will not suit the earlier parts of the day. I also advise you to try to stay away from glitter or makeup that is too shiny – these can be distracting and can take away from your natural look, preventing you from getting the best results from your wedding photographer.

People always look their best when relaxed and being their natural selves. You don’t have to spend the whole day smiling or posing for the camera – in fact the pictures will be better if you don’t. Of course if you’d like to pose from time to time that’s fine, but don’t forget to just relax and interact with your loved ones and guests.

Having said that, one thing you can do is try to face towards the camera during the ceremony. During the planning stages of your wedding you should pay attention to where you are standing during the ceremony and try to set things up so that you are not facing away from the photographer and your guests at this time.

Some of the nicest photos are often gotten during the ‘getting ready’ phase when you are hanging out with your friends and family. If possible it helps if you can pick a visually interesting room to get ready in with good available light from windows (preferably south facing). It helps if the room is not too cluttered with materials and objects that will distract from the photos. If you’d like to have photos taken of the dress, shoes, ring , invite or anything else please have them ready. If time is short, Vera generally prefers to spend the time taking photos of you instead, as these are the most interesting shots!

Again, there is no need to pose for the camera but during important parts of the day; it does help if you cheat a little to make the photos better. Models know all the tricks to help themselves look their best on camera, and the two most important things are to keep your head up so that the photographer can see your face and to keep your eyes wide open. Everybody looks better in photos when their eyes can be seen, so try not to look down. You will vastly improve the way you look in your pictures by just following these two simple pointers.

Keep your eyes out for Part Two in the next couple of weeks!