5 Storytelling tips for Photographers

Every couple has a unique love story, and every photographer’s desire is to capture it. Have you ever seen this wonderful and true quote before? “A picture is worth a thousand words”. There is no better way to tell a wedding story than to visualise it.  One of a kind love stories told through the medium of photography is both a privilege and a skill. An experienced and successful photographer has learnt the art of authentically telling their bridal couples love story.  

First and foremost, there are two basic rules of thumb that are essential to the art of storytelling through photography. 

• Firstly, ensure you always earn the trust of those celebrating their life’s journey together. Once you have earnt the trust of the couple, their story will flow with a nice, natural feel to it.  Remember every detail matters, so ensure you spend quality time getting to know their personalities. Understanding and embracing their one of a kind love story will help them to feel comfortable in front of the lens. 

• Secondly, learn your camera settings to easily utilise creative techniques to match the personalities of the couple.  For example, some couples may really love romantic photos using motion blur or the classic timelessness of black and white. I will delve more into these two techniques later in this blog.

The following 5 tips are my go-to for story telling through photography.  

1. PROMPTS RATHER THAN POSES

Direct your couple like they are starring in their very own romantic movie.  Give prompts rather than suggesting poses.  Try to imagine you are filming several movie scenes in this romantic movie and encompass both the couple’s romance and their personalities. Once the couple is relaxed, they will come up with their own romantic poses and fun positions.  When shooting a wedding movie or video, the couple is moving about and telling a love story that is unique only to them.  To help them get this across, try to show them an entire prompt that allows them to interact and engage authentically.

An example could be something like this. “Hudson and Elizabeth, start over there by that bench. Hudson, try leading Elizabeth from where you are all the way over to that lamppost. When you get there, pick her up and show her how much you love her!”  Another example would be “I want the two of you to walk towards me. At some point Hudson, pull Elizabeth in and kiss her tightly. Then, run together towards the sunset and pause, soaking in the last minutes of sunlight.”

2. ‘FLY ON THE WALL’/DOCUMENTARY APPROACH

Taking the “fly on the wall” or documentary approach will allow the couple to feel as if you are not even there and they will naturally interact with each other.  Posing can interrupt beautiful moments and asking a couple to pose over and over again will feel stilted and unnatural.  Watch for the little moments that will happen.  

For example, the bridesmaids helping each other put on their shoes, or the moment the groom’s mom sees her son in his suit for the first time. The less orchestration of moments will allow you to capture natural poses as they occur. This can produce some of the most beautiful moments that are entirely unique to the couple you are photographing. 

3.  MOTION BLUR

Now onto some of the camera functions.  Slowing down time using the motion blur will not only produce romantic, mystical photos, but also will stop time.  Wedding days and photoshoots often fly by like a “blur”, so this specific type of photos allows the couple to relive those moments.  Whilst the larger part of my galleries are crisp and focused photos, there is something breathtaking about “blur” moments.  These favourite moments can help the couple relive the wedding day making it last forever.

4.  WORKING WITH BLACK AND WHITE

How timeless and classic are black and white photos.  They are like those moments straight out of an old, romantic movie, transporting you back in time to the happiest day of your life.  By removing the distraction of color, black and white photos impact the viewer with a textural, compositional and unique perspective.  There is something incredibly romantic about a black and white photo of a bride in her wedding attire and the groom in his.

5.  CROPPING

Cropping changes everything.  When you zoom in and focus on the different parts of an image you get an entirely different feel than if you were viewing the full image.  For example, a close up of the bride’s ring, nestling against the lace or her wedding dress surrounded by her long hair. The hands of a couple clasped together with a close-up view of their rings. OR a close-up of the look of love on their faces as they embrace, their hair flowing softly in the breeze.

Regardless of the type of photoshoot you are doing, if you follow these 5 simple tips you will capture the most intimate and timeless moments to be treasured forever.

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