Tips for Bright & Airy Wedding Photos (from a Wedding Photographer)
Do you LOVE the look of light, bright & airy wedding photos? Did you know that there’s actually things you can do while planning your wedding to achieve this look? And surprisingly, choosing a bright and airy wedding photographer is only one of those things!
5 Tips for Planning a Light & Airy Wedding
1. For Bright and Airy Wedding Photos, Consider Your Environment
If you love light and airy wedding photography, the environments you choose for your wedding day have the biggest impact on how dark your pictures turn out.
Think about everywhere you will have photos taken on your wedding day: the bridal suite, the ceremony space, and the reception area, for example. Whether inside or outside, you’ll want to look for bright, white, or light-neutral colored walls. These walls may seem uninteresting, but they are perfect for achieving a bright and airy look!
For outdoor portraits, look for large, mature trees that provide ample open shade. These trees create the shade needed for even light, but aren’t so dense that they create dark, heavy backgrounds like woods might.
2. Look for Natural Light
Another tip for bright and airy wedding photos is to ensure plenty of natural light. Natural light is light from the sun, and it is the favorite light source for most bright and airy wedding photographers – myself included!
Try to find wedding venues and bridal suites that offer LOTS of natural light. Multiple windows, windows on different walls, and glass doors are great for letting in tons of light.
This might seem obvious, but it’s easy to overlook: the time of day effects the quality and quantity of the light. Depending on the direction of the sunlight and the windows in the venue, you might have more or less light.
3. Choose a Lighter Color Palette
The colors you choose for your groomsmens’ suits, bridesmaids’ dresses, and wedding décor also play a role in the lightness and brightness of your wedding photos, though to a lesser degree. Choosing a light, bright venue and a bright and airy wedding photographer are more important, but a light, neutral color palette contributes to an over all lighter vibe.
4. Time it Right
Gorgeous glowy wedding portraits don’t happen by accident – you have to plan for it. If you want to catch the best light, time your wedding portrait session for 1-2 hours before the sun sets. This is “golden hour” as we photographers call it, and that what makes for those dreamy portraits we all love. To catch the golden hour, plan on starting your ceremony at the following times:
Spring Ceremony 3:30pm-4:30pm
Summer Ceremony 5:30pm-6:30pm
Fall Ceremony 4:30pm-5:30pm
Winter Ceremony 2:30pm-3:30pm
5. Choose a Bright and Airy Wedding Photographer
Choosing the right wedding photographer is important. For the most part, wedding photographers fall into one of two camps: “dark and moody” or “bright and airy.” If you want bright and airy wedding photos, it’s essential to hire a wedding photographer who knows how to achieve that look, since these two styles require different shooting and editing techniques. A dark and moody photographer is trained to look for different things.
The best thing to do is look through the galleries of local wedding photographers to find the photographer with the style you like the best. Look for consistency and quality. This will ensure you get the best possible wedding photographer for your wedding day!
WANT TO CHAT ABOUT Your WEDDING?
Are you looking for a bright and airy wedding photographer in the Rhode Island area? Schedule a no-obligation phone call with me!