Lena Hyde - The Design Aglow Posing Guide for Wedding Photography: 100 Modern Ideas for Photographing Engagements, Brides, Wedding Couples, and Wedding Parties

Copyright 2013 by Lena Hyde

Photograph on by Tanja Lippert

Photograph on by Heidi Geldhauser with Our Labor of Love Photography

Photograph on by Anna Kuperberg

Photograph on by bobbi+mike

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Amphoto Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hyde, Lena.
The Design Aglow posing guide for wedding photography : 100 modern ideas for photographing engagements, brides, wedding couples, and wedding parties / Lena Hyde.First edition.
pages cm
Includes index.
1. Wedding photography. 2. Portrait photographyPosing. I. Title. II. Title: Posing guide to wedding photography.
TR819.H93 2013
778.993925dc23

2012042972

eBook ISBN: 978-0-385-34479-1
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-385-34478-4

Text design by La Tricia Watford

Photographs by Kat Braman, Mike Belschner, Jesse and Whitney Chamberlin, Heidi Geldhauser, Jen Huang, Paul and Mecheal Johnson, Anna Kuperberg, Lisa Lefkowitz, Tanja Lippert, Jessica Lorren, KT Merry, Elizabeth Messina, Bobbi and Mike Sheridan, and Caroline Winata

Cover design by La Tricia Watford

Cover photograph by Elizabeth Messina Photography

v3.1

To the hardworking men and women in the photography industry who maintain the standard of excellence we believe in, promote, and stand by.

Your dedication to capturing and preserving moments of joy, growth, and union aids in cataloguing a visual narrative of the worlds love stories that will live well beyond this lifetime.

We are here with you, to grow, learn, and advance the pursuit of the fine art of wedding photography.

Thank you for helping to keep photography a prestigious and admirable art form.

Thank you for believing in the beauty of love.

Thank you for continuing to inspire us.

All our best,
Design Aglow

Photo by KT Merry

Married couples who love each other tell each other a thousand things without ever talking.

Chinese proverb

At Design Aglow, we have dedicated ourselves to providing tools for flawless presentation, maximum efficiency, and professional success in a visually stunning format since 2006. Our goals: to enhance your wedding and portrait photography, to save you time, to help you increase your sales, and to take your success to a higher level.

This book of beautiful portrait poses for weddings features four chapters of innovative, inspiring, and natural posing ideas for photographing engagements, brides, brides and grooms, and wedding parties at their best. In each chapter you will also find tips for directing your subjects into the poses, helpful lighting information, important technical facts, and additional portrait ideas from the same setupsall from the best photographers in the industry, all presented in a light, conversational tone.

We recommend you use this helpful book in two ways: first, as an easy-to-transport visual guide for inspiration at your sessions; and second, in the studio or at home as a study guide for concepts and techniques to create more innovative portraits.

By following the techniques and tips covered here, you will soon discover how to add emotion and style to your portraits, leading to stunning results you will enjoy right away and that clients will value forever.

We invite you to explore, to expand your creativity, and, most of all, to become inspired by this wide range of simple yet exciting ideas.

Come create fresh, modern, and extraordinary portraiture with us.

Design Aglow

Photo by KT Merry

Engagement photos are an opportunity for your betrothed clients to become more comfortable in front of your camera. This premarital session gives you the chance to showcase the couples romance in a more casual setting while also creating images for their wedding sign-in book, thank-you cards, and wall portraits (as well as save-the-date cards and invitations, when captured early enough). These portraits also add another dimension to wedding albums, chronicling the couples story from their engagement to the big day. Best of all, couples will always remember these special, quiet moments away from the throngs of loved ones and friends.

When photographing couples in love, embrace your multipurpose role as not only artist and documentarian but also location scout and fashion coach. Recommend professional hair and makeup before the session for flawless, lens-ready looks that also allow these vendors prewedding experience with their clients. When scouting locations, think about posing your subjects in front of their future wedding venue, where they first met, or where he proposed.

Encourage the couple to interact with each other to find a natural, camera-worthy rapport. When something they do looks perfect, ask them to hold still or do it again. Throughout the session, keep the mood light and positive, and with a little direction, your couple will look (and feel) their best!

To create natural-looking photographs, put couples in motion and encourage them to take a walk while also interacting with each other. This is a great way to take environmental portraits that include your location in the background, which is especially important when the engagement session is at the couples wedding venue. Crouch down for a lower perspective; then ask the groom-to-be to put his hands in his pockets and the bride to hold on to his arm as they stroll. For a sweet second take, have her lay her head on his shoulder.

TIP Encourage couples to dress fashionably but also comfortably, since engagement shoots can last upward of ninety minutes and may include a lot of walking, depending on the location.

Golden-hour lighting adds to this dreamy prewedding stroll just before sunset.

85mm F1.4 lens, f/2 for 1/400 sec., ISO 200

Photo by Paul Johnson Photography

When you see a natural event unfolding, like an impromptu kiss between sweethearts, dont be afraid to play a little camera cupid. If your couple looks adorable, go with it. Ask for slow kisses, and dont be afraid to ask for as many kisses as you need to capture some with laughter, too. If possible, place your couple in a spot with lovely backlighting to accentuate the warmth between them. For a second capture of a kiss, zoom wider and move behind the groom to show just a little bit of his face peeking out from behind hers.