Pre-wedding shoot is all about creating an album of memorable moments to cherish forever. We bring you a bagful of tips, suggestions and ideas to design some awe-inspiring pre-wedding snapshots.
Depicting a funny spoof from one of the chapters of Fifty Shades of Grey on lush, green grass or simply holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes on a bustling street of Mumbai… The lights are on, camera goes click click click and the couple is in action without sound clap. Well, you guessed by now that this isn’t a film shoot! It’s in fact a real life pre-wedding shoot of a couple soon to be married.
Pre-wedding shoot is a good way for the couple to engage with the camera as a precursor to the marathon photography sessions for sangeet, wedding and reception. Besides, it’s also the best occasion for the photographer to understand the couple and their expectations. And the end result of this process of engagement is a bouquet of lovable images which will make their way into the album of your memories.
Plan Your Wedding brings you a bagful of tips, suggestions and ideas to design some awe-inspiring pre-wedding snapshots.
Selecting Your Kinda Photographer
In the first place, select and book the services of a photographer who is right for you and your budget. Research and go through the body of work of different photographers before zeroing in on one. As a couple, discuss and understand among yourselves about the kind of images you want to create. Go through the photographer’s work and see if you can imagine yourself in. If you can, then you have arrived at the right choice. Engage the same photographer for other ceremonies as well. Having established a rapport, it makes sense for the same photographer to shoot your entire gamut of nuptial festivities.
“It’s considered very fanciful these days to do a pre-wedding shoot. Couples don’t know why they are doing it. I would suggest you have a complete clarity of what you want, get familiar with your costumes, make-up artists and photographers rather than ending up with surprises. Communicate your theme to photographer. Try to get as candid as possible because these are the photos you enjoy many years on,” advices Dhruva, a Bangalore-based photographer.
Working Out the Logistics
Decide on a list of locations, dates, timing, theme and the overall look and feel you desire to create. Talk to your photographer and discuss your ideas. Be clear if you want it to be only a couple shoot or would like family and friends to join in. Also confide your apprehensions and concerns, if any. Some of the locations may require taking necessary permissions. After brainstorming sessions with the photographer, make note of the clothes, footwear, accessories and props for the shoot. You got to keep some margin for extra expenditure, if required. Keep an alternative plan in place for sudden weather changes.
“A couple wanted an image of a starry night sky and them sitting in car all combined in the same frame. For this, we drove out of city only to end up with cloudy sky. Finally, we had to drop that idea and I took a night shot in a nearby temple,” reveals Dhruva.
He also narrates an instance where they started the shoot much later than the scheduled early morning shoot owing to which he had to improvise and use a reflector to create shadows.
Location – Jab We Met or Dream Come True
Some couples have a deep sentimental connect with the place where they met or dated for the first time. It could be a café, lakeside, garden, office or even an auto rickshaw! Why not make it a visual memorabilia? For others, the idea of romancing by the beach, hillock, wilderness or against the backdrop of a deserted monument is like a dream come true! Here is the chance to live your dream. Whatever be the choice of your location, let your photographer recce the place well in advance to get a fair understanding of the lighting and the other aspects of the shoot. The photographers may also come up their suggestions of locations and you can choose if you like them.
Warm up Takes Time
Well, the chemistry between the couple may be perfect but it may not reflect in the images in the very first go. Engaging with camera takes time; and it also takes a little while for the photographer to get his/her compositions right. Be prepared for umpteen retakes. But once things get going, the two of you will get confident and effortless while you are posing.
“One may have the greatest possible location, but nothing works unless there’s good chemistry between bride and groom. On one of the shoots, we had the bride and groom meeting out for the first time. We really had a tough time as the basic comfort level between the two was lacking,” he narrates.
Some Run-of-the-mill is Fine when Experimenting
You may have seen and unseen enough of sunset silhouettes, splashing of water and rose petals or lifting the bride, the kisses and twirls… Perhaps you always wanted to do it differently when it’s your turn. Sure, go out-of-the-box but don’t ditch the clichés completely. It’s always better to have some “happily ever after” ones when you look back and turn the pages of your album.
For instance, you may have caught fancy for the idea of picturing yourselves slurping your favourite ice creams messily. Do it. But no harm in letting your photographer click the “regular holding hands” shots as well.
Keep an Eye on Unscripted Ops
While it’s the photographer’s job to look for all opportunities of making everlasting frames, the couple can also contribute interesting ideas that pop up impromptu. For instance, spotting an abandoned garage, junkyard or a chaat vendor more than willing to pose are opportunities you should lap up. If photographed skilfully, these bring out awesome results in ways you may never have imagined!
Ease Out & have fun: At the end of the day, you are not only creating an album of photographs to show the world but creating memorable moments to cherish forever.
The article was originally published in Plan Your Wedding magazine.
