A lot of wedding photographers assume that their work is primarily for the bride, and I understand why. Usually, brides spend countless hours searching for the right person to capture the best day of her life, sometimes even years before the actual wedding. Of course, I’ve had men contact me many times, but eight out of ten times it was a letter from the bride to me. Every little detail has to be perfect, and brides-to-be are happy to start planning to make sure it’s just that. On the day of Vu Quy, it is the bride who receives the most attention and admiration. Not to say that the groom is secondary – oh no.
His admiration and attention were most important, he was his knight in shining armor, so to speak. And yet, she’s a princess. So if she’s happy, he’s happy, isn’t that how they say it? Oddly enough, I find that the bride is not the hardest person to impress with your work. After all, if she chooses you, she more or less knows what to expect. What about the groom? That’s a slightly different story.
Why Is It Different With The Groom?
Don’t Go In With DSLRs Blazing
While the bride expects her wedding photographer to capture every important moment that happens, the groom often hopes to avoid gentlemen or ladies holding a camera that could potentially make him look silly during the wedding. image. Of course, his friends would surely laugh then. Some will even spy on you suspiciously. The only real way to overcome his natural “instinct” to want to be somewhere you’re not is to win his trust. Real confidence, too. In fact, he’ll be just as comfortable in front of you as he is in front of his friends, sometimes even more.
So the first piece of advice I can give a new wedding photographer when working with a groom is not to shake hands with the man who is sticking the camera in your face. Since the first impression you make is so important, that’s where your social skills come into play and should come into play first. Raising the camera to eye level might show your dedication to the task at hand, but it’s certainly not very social.
When I go to see my future husband, my camera stays in my pocket. And it tends to stay there for quite some time. Working with the groom takes a little less photography at first, but no less a real effort – it’s just a different kind of effort. So while the camera is still in the bag, talk to him. Get to know each other by name, and talk about things that have nothing to do with weddings or photography. Don’t be a photographer, be who you are with your friends. Basically, hang around a bit. Then step out with your camera as soon as the most important man of the day feels comfortable with you.
To put him at ease, you can ask him dozens of questions, starting with his family, his upbringing, how he met his future wife, if he saw her dress, and Does he have a say in planning everything? The lighter the mood, the better! It’s not as easy as it looks, just talks to someone you’ve never even met as if they were your longtime friends. But if you feel uncomfortable, how can you expect him not? After all, you’re the one who’s likely to make him nervous because you’re carrying a camera. Social skills are crucial for any celebrity photographer, and at weddings, you may meet dozens of very different people who are simply crucial to the profession.
Explain Things
For a bride, all wedding photography is often about timing. It’s a very romantic experience – just two people falling in love and someone there to document it all. She is the most beautiful woman in the world and the happiest. He has to take responsibility for it. And then the person with the camera had them standing, looking at each other, kissing, laughing, and giving the very appropriate compliments at the best (or so I should hope) timing. They really love each other! And at the end of the day (plus a couple of weeks while you work on the image), they can see how much they fell in love. How can it not be romantic? Well, that can happen if you’re a man.
You see, if the bride is in “this moment”, admiring and admiring herself (she has every right to do that), for most of the clients I’ve worked with, rare guys when thinking “oh, he’s going to do great, I’m going to love these pictures.” “Let’s face it – most of them tend to think something like ‘why is he pointing the camera? into me?” I do not do anything. Do I have to do something? at least at first. And the photographer has only one choice: to work to make it a romantic and harmonious experience for both the groom and the groom.
How? Simple – just talk to him. I don’t mean to explain what aperture is and how f-stop affects depth of field, oh no. Just tell him why you put them the way you are, why he’s there, and what he should do and why. Plus, starting with the bride alone helps – she’ll find that the whole process is not only pretty straightforward and effortless, but it’s also actually very relaxing. More than that, posing elegantly for his wife under beautiful lights will take him out of his mind of how gorgeous you and she look, which is exactly what should happen. As soon as he becomes aware of your choices and the reasons behind them (even if they are not the main reason), he will feel more in control and confident about his actions, and thus will no longer worry about his appearance on these smartphone photos. His friends are arrested at work.
Keep It Simple
Did you know that most brides are willing to stand on their lashes during a photo shoot if they have to? Oh yes. So many of my clients are willing to do anything for their wives. I can almost imagine the horrible dreams they must have had about me and the photo session! So here’s the advice – never make the groom stand on his eyelashes. Not only is it a particularly quirky photo, but it doesn’t help him relax and feel comfortable in front of the camera, even a little. I’ll give you another example right now. I remember watching this couple dance. It wasn’t a wedding, it was really some kind of competition (believe it or not, I took dance lessons a decade ago!).
What amazes me so much is that the dance is unbelievably beautiful to watch, but if I pass the slow and elegant dance steps that are enchanting and focused, I will notice that the man does nothing. much. His partner – you can see the stress, the effort it took. Yet he just stood there, barely moving. They look so charming. That’s when I realized one thing – a man doesn’t have to do much to look good next to a woman. In other words, it is very important to keep it simple for non-models. If they feel better in front of the camera, they will also look better.
One thing I told this couple at some point during the photo session was don’t pose. To be fair. To relax. To forget that I have a camera in my hand and just be who they are. You’d think that wouldn’t help, but after all, I’ve done before, saying these simple things really puts my clients at ease, especially the groom. I then told him it would be one of the easiest things for him that day, and he had nothing to worry about, it was very painless. Then I try to do what I promised.
The first rule I always follow is never to turn them into puppets. They are people, and that means they move. Now, getting them into a particular pose is one thing, but they’re still allowed to breathe and get more comfortable, even adjusting something if they feel like it. Every pose I put them in, every gesture still belongs to them – my input is simply asking them to repeat. You see, I could never make them more beautiful than they are. But I can clearly see when they are at their best and help them get back there. So my part was not easy – I had to stay alert and focused. Their roles are pretty simple – not standing on eyelashes, just standing as usual for a fleeting moment as they look at each other and forget all about me.
Make It All About Her
This may seem counterintuitive, but paying more attention to the bride will also help the groom feel more comfortable. Wedding photos can be important to both, but they are more important to the bride (there are always exceptions!). It is important to take a few portraits of the groom, and it would be great if the man found the aforementioned portraits to his liking, because very few men seem to enjoy the appearance. their appearance in the photo. But in the end, even portraits of the groom are made for the bride.
Watch Those Compliments
Making sure your audience looks great is important, but more important is how you do it. This is where those social skills come in handy again. Don’t hold back compliments, but don’t lie either. If you tell the truth, they will trust you and feel even more comfortable. Also, once you get more involved in the shoot (I tend to give my couples at least some alone time where I just need to step back and let them have some fun), go keep-interact with them, talk to them, laugh with them, and listen to what they really have to say to you, whether it’s a story about how they got along or just a fun weekend event before.
It also helps them relax, forgets about the scary pose, and trust you more as a person above all else. Oh, and one more thing. If you’re a male photographer, don’t overdo compliments on the bride. After all, she is his. I’m sure you’ll never want to cross that line by accident, but if it happens, you’ll be hard-pressed to recover. Luckily, there are ways to compliment the bride politely without the groom frowning at you – just tell him his second half is gorgeous or ask him if he thinks she’s gorgeous. beautiful no. This way, the bride gets his compliments, you get his subtle, natural smile, and he doesn’t want to hit you for being inappropriate.
Final Words – What is Your Experience?
So I told you a little bit about how I work with clients and grooms in particular. This is never “advice for all occasions,” you remember. Some of the men I photographed appear very comfortable in front of the camera while others do their best to keep the simplest of conversations to a minimum. And yet, I find that overall, following these suggestions not only helps my couples feel comfortable and even makes the groom enjoy that nightmare photo session, but it also reduces a lot of stress.
little stress. I’m pretty sure few people interact with their clients the way I do, simply because we’re so different and there are so many methods. So I wonder, what is your experience working with groomers? It is especially interesting and helpful to hear from a female photographer, but everyone can share their story in the comments section below.
Note: If you want to make some adjustments to the photo just let me know. I can do it for you at a very low cost. You can hire me to edit your photo
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