Getting ready photos

 

 

01. Find a room that’s well-lit, and has neutral walls

One of the most important tips for your getting ready room is to find a space that is well, and evenly, lit. You don’t want one small window bringing in the only natural light in the room. Why? Because the more natural light you have in a room, the more soft, glowy, and even skin tones you’ll have in your photos, and your photos overall will look a lot more even and beautiful. Natural light is definitely the most flattering type of light that exists, which is why most of my wedding portraits were all taken in natural light.

 

While natural light may be self-explanatory, why should you look for neutral colored walls? If you’re considering getting ready in a hotel room, keep an eye out for patterned wallpaper or large patterned curtains – these are going to be visually distracting as a backdrop for your getting ready photos, and while we can figure out a way to shoot around them, getting consistently clean and beautiful images means finding a space with neutral walls. Taking it one step further, I recommend light and bright walls – dark walls give your room an immediately moody feel, and a bright red wall is going to take all of the attention from your getting ready photos! I actually have photographed a bride getting ready in a room with red walls before, and my solution for her was to just turn all of her getting ready photos black and white. While they ended up gorgeous, I would have loved to be able to get some color photos for her, but they were all covered in a reddish light and incredibly loud.

 

To summarize it simply – keep your room bright, well and evenly lit, and with light colored neutral walls!

 

   

 

02. Keep it Roomy

Ideally, you’ll have plenty of space to move around in your wedding day getting ready room, so that we can take sweet group portraits, candid photos, and easily get full-body photos of you getting into your wedding dress. For this reason, I recommend either renting an Air BnB or looking into a suite at a hotel (as long as it has good light and neutral walls!). A lot of newer wedding venues will have amazing getting ready spaces that are well-lit and roomy, but if your venue doesn’t, these are excellent alternatives.

 

 

03. Keep it Simple

When it comes to getting ready rooms, less is more – seriously. Aim for a place without too much decor (clearly I’m a big fan of simple!), and try to only keep things in your getting ready room that will be usable in photos. A few things I do recommend trying to have in your room:

A beautiful chair or small sofa, for you to sit in and put your shoes on

A unique mirror

A dress hook, or a creative place to hang your dress for a few photos

A neutral bed, if you’re wanting fun bridesmaids photos toasting on a bed

Champagne and pretty glasses, for all of the toasts

 

 

04. Keep it Clean

This one is huge! I know you and your bridesmaids will be bringing bags full of clothes, accessories, and everything else under the sun… but try to find an out-of-the way place to store all of that once the getting ready photos start. If you’re getting ready in a hotel room or an Air BnB, you can neatly tuck away the extras in a closet

 

05. Wardrobe Matters

I love the trend of matching robes for getting ready photos – it keeps everything clean, cohesive, and beautiful. If you’re not opting for matching outfits, just be sure to keep your getting ready outfits classy and simple!