This guide will give you some tips for how to pose for wedding photos, and some ways to make sure you don’t look awkward!
“We’re super awkward in front of the camera… help!”
We hear this a lot! The truth is that there are very few couples who feel comfortable being in front of a big ol’ lens – and that’s totally normal. You likely don’t have a ton of experience having your photo taken, so it’s normal to be nervous about it. To help ease those nerves, this guide will give you some tips for how to pose for wedding photos, and some ways to make sure you don’t look (and more importantly, feel!) awkward in front of the camera on your wedding day.
How to Pose for Wedding Photos
There are a few tips that you can keep in mind on the big day that will help you avoid those awkward forced-smile photos, and some ways that you can make everything feel a little more natural! We’ll talk about some tips for how to pose for wedding photos.
Don’t Hold It!
A lot of couples think of posing as holding a position for a few seconds, so when we ask you to kiss, a lot of couples lean in and plant a smooch… and then just hold it, pressing their lips together. While you might think this is the best way to get photos of you kissing, the truth is that this often ends up looking pretty awkward!
Instead, kiss the way you usually do – go in for the kiss, then move your heads back when you’re done. This is much more natural, so it feels less silly, and it also looks more realistic in photos! We will snap the shutter the whole time, so you’ll get those lovely going-in-for-the-kiss photos.
Move Around
It’s also really helpful to avoid completely posing – instead, you can walk, cuddle, and move! Adding some action to the photos helps things look more natural, so instead of standing there and smiling at the camera, you’ll be doing something that takes your mind off of posing and allows you to feel a little more comfortable.
We’ll will give you some prompts, but don’t be afraid to do your own thing a little, if it feels right! If you’re gazing into your partner’s eyes and you feel like giving them a smooch, go for it – you don’t have to wait for our direction! Your photos will be more natural and authentic if you let yourself be yourself.
Don’t Look
This may not always apply to couple’s photos when it’s just you two and us, but when it comes to events during the day, like cutting the cake or dancing together, you don’t have to look at the camera! Doing so for a few seconds, or when we ask you to, is definitely good, but overall it’s better to stay present in the moment and do your thing. For example, your cake cutting photos will look a lot more natural if you’re looking down at the cake while you cut it, and if you’re dancing with your partner, look at each other!
Looking at each other is always a good rule of thumb – it’s hard to pretend the camera isn’t there, but look at your partner instead of at us!
How to Not Look Awkward in Wedding Photos
We gave you some specific posing tips, but this section is actually the most important part! When it comes to how to not look awkward in your wedding photos, the truth is that it’s all about how you feel – and there are a few things you can do to make sure you feel like you’re having the best time ever, and not like you’re posing for some stuffy wedding photos.
Book an Engagement Session
One of the best ways to ease your nerves and get you ready for your wedding photos is to book an engagement session. We know, we know, you’re already nervous about being in front of the camera – doing more being in front of the camera might not sound super appealing.
But, trust us, it will help! It gives you an opportunity to practice having your photo taken (and we think you’ll realize that it’s not so scary after all), and more importantly, it gives you an opportunity to get to know us, and for them to get to know you.
Every couple is different, so when we do engagement photos, it allows us, as your photographers, to learn what makes you giggle, how the two of you interact with each other, what makes you feel confident, and how we can make sure that you have a blast!
If you do engagement photos, your wedding day won’t be your first time in front of the camera, and it won’t be your first time working with us, so you’ll feel like a pro and have the confidence to know that we’ve got you, and you’ve got this!
Have a Good Time!
This might be easier said than done, but really, one of the best ways to make sure you don’t look awkward in your wedding photos is to relax. The way you feel definitely translates to how you look in your photos, so do your best to have a good time, don’t worry about the camera, and be yourselves. It’ll probably feel awkward for a minute or two at first, but we’ll help you relax!
Hire Kick Ass Wedding Photographers
This is the most important tip – it’ll help you not look awkward, and it’ll help you pose for wedding photos perfectly. Your wedding photographer is the key!
Feeling comfortable with the person behind the camera is essential, and it makes everything easier. That’s why when we show up on your wedding day, we want to be your new best mates who encourage you to have fun and be your silly selves! As your photographers, we’ll help you with how to pose for wedding photos – so feel free to browse Pinterest for some inspiration, but rest assured that we’ll tell you where to put your hands and when to smooch, but mostly, we’re all about candid photos that capture your story the way it really happened. So you’ll do a lot less posing on your wedding day, and a lot more having fun!
Sound good? Contact us!
