Wedding shoot times | What time to start and finish

Reading Time 4 Minutes

Wedding shoot times | What time to start and finish

Reading Time 4 Minutes

Wedding photography

The wedding report

A wedding photo shoot is one of the few things you keep from your wedding day. This way, it lets you relive the moments but also see the events you may have missed.

In this article, I will give you some handy tips on how to start and end the wedding shoot at a good time. We will also go through which locations work well to the most beautiful wedding photos to make.

A bride and groom stand on the CONTACT of a house.

The best time to start a wedding shoot.

If you hesitate to start later or finish earlier remember that you can almost always book an extra hour on the day, but not the other way around.

1. One hour before the wedding dress goes on.

The best time to start photographing is one hour before the bride enters the wedding dress steps. That way you are neither too early nor too late, as it hair and make-up often takes around 1.5 to 2 hours which is a waste of time. In the hour before the dress is put on, the following things will be photographed:

  • The wedding dress, suit & shoes
  • Hair & make-up
  • Preparations
  • The atmosphere
  • Jewellery
  • Cards
  • Family & friends
  • All moments
  • Possibly First Look father

2. First Look

Although our preference is to start the reportage one hour before the wedding dress turns on. Is the First look also a good time to start shooting. That way, you won't have the preparation but a moment that feels like the start of the wedding day.

Starting at two locations

If you start in two different places then a second shooter is useful, but if you have one wedding photographer it is best for him or her to start at the groom's place first and move on to the bride. This is most convenient for both the first look at the bride and the ceremony.

Description : A bride and groom walk with wedding day.

The best time to end the wedding shoot.


Sunset

Depending on the season, sunset is a great time to finish. To see what time the sun sets, type "sunset 1 June 2022" into google and you will immediately see the sunset time.


Dinner

When everyone goes to the table and there are no further speeches, dinner is a good time to end the wedding shoot.

The opening dance

When you have a opening dance then that's a nice ending to the wedding reportage. So end the reportage with the start of the party.

The Party

You can also choose to finish when the party ends or have one hour of the party photographed so you also have the atmosphere.

A bride and groom at table during their wedding shoot in a warehouse.

Choosing a photo location

a good photo location

Searching for a good location can be challenging but with these tips, it is quite easy.

1. Go for a photo location with a lot of variety. For example, consider a location where the background is different such as a botanical garden or a farm. Even a forest can give many different backgrounds as long as there are different plants and trees.

2. Choose a location which is different from wedding location because on the wedding location themselves will already be taking pictures.

3. See what is on the route so that you are close to wedding location are at the end of the photo shoot. This saves unnecessary stress.

A bride and groom stand in front of an industrial building in Photo locations south holland.

Backup photo locations

Always have a plan B

It seems to be sunny all week and yet it starts raining exactly when you want to take the photos. What now?

If you haven't prepared anything at that point, you still have to find a venue at that point. The wedding photographer tries to help with that but the choices are often minimal.

It is most convenient to have too many photo locations for the wedding shoot so that on the day itself you can decide what best suits each weather. So plan at least one indoor location in case it rains. Think: a museum, greenhouse, theatre, factory, farm, ship, restaurant, Ikea, swimming pool, mill etc.

A bride and groom stand on the beach during a wedding shoot, with fireworks in the background.

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About the Author: Justin Manders

As wedding photographer Since 2013, I have had the privilege of constantly seeing the most beautiful sides of people. My role is to observe and direct people and moments so that they are remembered in the most enjoyable way. I am always open to a good conversation, so don't hesitate to contact me.

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