Basically all physical elements of your wedding day will be there 24hrs. Your wedding photos will be what captures everything and lasts generations. No pressure, but choosing the right wedding photographer may just be the most important decision for your wedding day (aside from choosing the right partner!)

Aside from actually hiring your wedding photography and videography team, there are some steps that you as the wedding couple can take to ensure that everything you want captured, will be. We have compiled 10 essential wedding photography details from your wedding photographers standpoint to help fully capture your wedding day love story.

1. Find YOUR style of photography

The options are endless! Sometimes it’s great to have lots of choice, sometimes it can get a little tedious and overwhelming. The Cinestory style is clean, contemporary and creative. We also like to get moody with our lighting and capture plenty of great candid moments (those are our favorites!)

2. Give time to your photo and video team in your wedding Timeline

You’ve most likely never planned a wedding before. There are endless moving parts and details to account for. One that you should give priority to is wedding photography (and we’re not just saying this because it helps us!). For us to properly capture your day requires allotted time so we can fulfill the responsibility you have given us. If you would like to see what a videographer and a photographer’s ideal timeline looks like click here.

3. Hire your wedding photographers and videographers from the same company

Team work makes the dream work! It’s always great to have a team working together, rather than two different vendors who have their own different styles and visions. Getting a video

and photo team that have worked together for awhile allows the team to create wedding photos and wedding videos that match in style. When it comes to the allotted time for couples portraits, the team you get will have had enough experience with one another that the time will be spent wisely. The time will not be wasted on directing and redirecting shots since the team’s shooters will have similar directorial styles.

4. Vendors are very important for photography too!

Not only is it great to have a wedding videography and photography team that works well together but it’s also great when the entire wedding team works like a dream. Vendors are so important to how the final product comes out. From venues to florists, your wedding day is your vision and as videographers and photographers, we are there to document everything. Having vendors that are familiar with each other’s work is as important as having a photo and video team that shoots in the same style. Vendors are like needles in haystacks. It’s very hard to find great ones, let alone ones that have worked with your other vendors. To make things easier for yourself always check with your venue or your wedding coordinator if they have a preferred vendors list.

5. Include your wedding day prep

You may think “why do I need shots of my makeup artists putting blush on? Or shots of my fiancé hanging with their wedding party?” To a photographer, wedding preparation is a crucial element of storytelling. Not only is it where a lot of emotions occur (suspense, excitement, happiness), but also we also get more time to get establishing shots to show the environment of the wedding day. These shots allow us to tell the full story of your day. Photographers don’t need to be there the entire time you are getting your makeup done to get the prep shots we need. But an hour to an hour and a half would be an ideal amount of time.

6. Incorporate a first Look First Look- an intimate moment between you and your fiancé prior to the wedding ceremony. During the first look photographers have the ability to gather more footage of pure emotions coming from both you and your fiancé. The first look also allows you and your fiancé to see each other before the ceremony, thus lessening the pressure and stress the day has put on you both. Having time for a first look also makes it easier for photographers to get some of the wedding party photos done, so more time after the ceremony can be used just for the two of you.

7. The fewer locations – The better Narrowing down the list of locations you want to be shot in will allow the photographers to get numerous angles and shots from the best locations. Having many locations does not always mean the outcome of the video will be any better. Also, having a couple of locations means less time spent on shooting and more time enjoying your wedding day.

8. Personal mementos and meaningful tokens

Beyond the dress, shoes, veil and other more common elements, it’s also nice to have personal items that carry very special meaning to you. It an be a family heirloom, a little diy trinket, the ticket stub from your first date. These small details are that help shape the bigger story. It takes all small memories to create one big life!

9. Golden hour

Most people think golden hour is at sunset set. In fact, one hour before sunset

is the best time to shoot creative portraits, the sun is not as harsh and there are no shadows on your faces. More angles, more volume, better results.

10. Less us, more you

To get the most natural looking results it’s usually best not to look at the camera and imagine that it’s not there. Think of a memorable moment like the first kiss, or how you met.