A Rambling Blog.....That's what this is... a hodgepodge collection of thoughts connected with the business of taking outdoor wedding pictures.  If you get bored you can wander away.  If you want to read it later you can download the whole rambling dissertation as a PDF file, print it ( but without the pretty pictures) and read it whenever the time sounds right.

The information on this page is intended to help bridal couples planning their weddings to understand a bit of the technical stuff and non-technical stuff that goes into taking outdoor wedding photos.  There are many things to consider when planning a wedding, whether indoors or outdoors, and planning for pictures is just one of them.   But I'm a photographer, pictures is what I know,  so the tips I share here are strictly with outdoor wedding photos in mind.  If you have a good professional photographer, he or she should be able to guide you in planning your outdoor wedding so that you maximize the potential for photos.

A couple of years ago I met with a bride who was planning a beach wedding along the Snake River here in Idaho.  She came to me with some pictures from a bridal magazine of a wedding couple taken on the California coast.  The photos showed a beautiful couple bathed in glorious soft warm light,  walking hand in hand, surf in the background, with the bride's veil blowing every so gently in the breeze.  I took one look at the shot and I could see how it was created.  Off to the sides of this perfect photo there were perhaps a dozen assistants, positioning sun shades, gold reflectors, lights, and at least one person controlling the fan that was creating the perfect breeze.  They probably shot for four hours and out of that effort the editors chose this one picture. 

It is very rare that a photographer will just happen to encounter perfect conditions like this.  And very few weddings will have the budget or the time to stage their wedding pictures in this manner,   But with a little effort in planning your wedding you can get excellent outdoor shots that will make you proud.

First, the most important thing - Relax!    It's your wedding day!  

You will be beautiful.  Your guests will be happy.  Remember that any "great wedding photo" is going to be 90% about the expression on your face..  If get too nervous about your wedding, it will show on your face, and even though you and your groom are perched on the very edge of the Grand Canyon, golden sun in your face, with the sky ablaze with the color of the setting sun, the photo will always look kind of FLAT.  The human face is the most important landscape; feel happy - be happy - look happy!

YOU have questions??  Maybe I have answers - send me an email and I'll see if I can help. 

So now some technical stuff......

Photography is all about light.  Light can be hard or soft and light always has a color to it.  Hard light ( like direct sunlight) makes for very distinct shadows and is not usually very flattering for portraits.  But it can make for dramatic photos and is sometimes desirable.  Soft light, like the light on a cloudy day or under a tree, makes for soft shadows and generally better portraits.   Wedding photographers will generally prefer soft light.  To the extent that it is possible, it will be best to have a location that offers some shade.

Light is generally a little softer towards the end of the day because the sun is lower and the light will be dispersed  a bit off as it reflects from tiny particles in the air.  This light will also have a warm glow to it.  The hour before sunset is referred to as the "golden hour" because of the golden quality of the light.   If you are having your wedding ceremony at a location where the sun can be intense; like on a beach or the green of a golf course, it will often work best if you schedule it during this golden hour.  The other "golden hour" is at sunrise and it works just as well for photography, but probably not so well for wedding guests.

It is more difficult to take good pictures if a part of the picture is very bright and a part is very dark.  An example of this would be a wedding ceremony with the sun directly behind the bride and groom..  The camera is not nearly as versatile as the human eye and it will expose for either the very bright part (the sky -  which will make the couple look very dark) or for the dark part (the couple -  which totally blows out the sky and it looses all color and texture.)   There are many ways to deal with backlight, one of which is to take silhouette shots, another is to use lots of flash for the foreground, but these things will take some preparation to get just right.

The photographer can add light to the dark part of an image by using flash or positioning reflectors to bounce sunlight into the scene.  In reality however, wedding photography is so fast paced, that the photographer will not have the time to do very much with reflectors and will probably rely more on flash, something that is referred to as 'fill flash" because the photographer will fill in the shadows with the light from his flash.  The downside of using flash is that it can create 'flat light' which can make the photo look a bit unnatural; like it was taken with a flash.  It takes a bit of experience to get it right with fill flash; but it can be used very effectively.

Speckled light is a tough one.  Speckled light is the kind of light that you get when a strong sun penetrates through light tree cover.  With speckled light some parts of the face will be in shadow but there will be bright patches of light here and there.  Not much you can do other than to move the subjects to an area that is more evenly lit, turn them so that their back gets most of the speckled light ( if you can do that),  or use a filter screen to block the sun. Screens will require an assistant.

Strong light, right in the face is never good.  For starters it makes people squint and there is no way you can tell someone to "stop squinting!"  It won't work.  If you are forced to photograph people in strong hard light, it can best be accomplished by having the sun to their back and the side ( like a 45 degree angle behind them) and then use fill flash.

The photographer can also remove light by positioning screens to create shade in speckled light.    Small shades ( sheets of foam board work very well) can sometimes be used if there is an assistant. 

Backgrounds fall into two categories; backgrounds that add something to the picture and backgrounds that detract from the picture.  A beautiful river canyon would be a background that would add to the picture.   A park maintenance truck parked on the lawn is something that would detract from a picture.   The proper use or elimination of backgrounds can be achieved by positioning the action,  the subjects, or the photographer in such a way that the background is either seen or not seen.  To some degree it can also be controlled by the settings on the camera.   By adjusting the opening on the lens the photographer can keep the background in focus or blur the background and keep the focus on the subjects alone.  The photographer also has the ability to take shots wide angle or more narrow when that is best.

Good locations make for good pictures.  You will probably say "duh....no kidding on that one"  But there are good locations hidden away in almost any wedding setting.  If you don't happen to have the north rim of the grand canyon as your wedding backdrop then you need to find some very nice small settings and have shots taken much more closely.  Some tree branches, some colorful shrubbery, stonework, natural wood, or interesting architecture all provide great backdrops for wedding photos.  Interesting angles combined with some very small backdrops can make for very interesting closely shot photos.

When things start to get really dark - like one half hour after sunset - a photographer will need to use flash.  This will lighten up the subjects but not the background.  The photographer can adjust the ISO [ film speed ] of his camera to compensate somewhat, but there will be a point at which it will get too dark and this will no longer work.  In very dark night time conditions, if you are stumbling around because you can see very well, that's a clear sign that it will be very hard to get anything by 'deer in the headlights" kind of shots. 

Black and white can be used very effectively outdoors.  Some of the problems associated with lighting problems will be accentuated by the color in an image.  By stripping away the color and going to a black and white photo you can sometimes create interesting images.

Anything outdoors is pretty much at the whim of mama nature and you never know for sure what you will get until the actual minute arrives.  These include things like rain, snow, wind, dust, bugs, extreme heat, unexpected cold, etc.   The camera will catch even small amounts of rain or snow.  Drops of rain will show as little hash marks across the picture.  A little of this can actually make for interesting pictures but you don't want it in every picture.  If there are a lot of bugs ( little gnats are particularly a problem) they will show up in the pictures as little out-of-focus gray blobs.  Not very appealing.   Finally, anything that makes people uncomfortable, like extreme heat, cold, or wind, will show in the expressions on their face. 

Planning      The single most important thing to consider with an outdoor wedding is to have a bad weather plan.  There is no way that your perfect wedding will take place exactly as you envision it if the rain is pouring down.  You can arrange to have tents, choose a park location with a covered pavilion available, or have a plan to move the wedding to your reception location if the weather is really bad. 

Actually it's reasonable to just make a plan about everything.  If you are nervous, the chances are pretty good that part of the reason is that you keep going over all the details in your head. Make a plan, write it down, and then forget about it until your wedding day.   "What to do if it rains?" is just one item on that list.

Don't be obsessed with listing each and every shot you want to have taken.  As a photographer it is helpful when a bridal couple has a list of the various people to be photographed in group settings.  But I am certainly not a photographer who works well with long lists of shots to be taken.  I feel like if I don't SEE those things as the wedding unfolds then I'm not much of a photographer.

What about Makeup?      Now, I'm a guy and I would never claim to know very much about the whole makeup thing but it is certainly fascinating to me that a whole 50% of humankind more or less accepts the concept of putting colored lotions and creams on their face so they look beautiful.   And please believe me when I say that most guys think you already look beautiful!   As a photographer I tend to prefer less makeup on the women I photograph than more makeup.   Heavy makeup can reflect light and create changes in skin color.  The final word on makeup, at least from this photographer, is to wear what makes you feel comfortable but don't go to excess on the day of your wedding so you look 'beautiful' in the pictures.  If you have a few blemishes or a skin color issue you might use some light makeup.  I am going to notice blemishes and things of that sort, with or without the makeup and I can clear them up so fast in photo editing that you would be amazed.    I once had a bride look at some "before" and "after" pictures on the computer and she told me "Bottle that and you'll make a fortune!

Almost Done.....

If you have actually make it this far down the page you are probably thinking  "How in the world can I possibly arrange my outdoor wedding and get good pictures?!!"   Do a little planning but don't worry about it.  If pictures are really important to you then I suggest you find a good wedding photography ( and that certainly DOES NOT MEAN the most expensive wedding photographer) and sit down with him or her to discuss what you want and where you will be.  If the photographer seems aggravated at all your questions then you have found the wrong photographer.  If the person seems capable and interested in helping you to get the pictures that you want, then hire that person and contact him or her whenever you have a picture related question.