Wedding Portrait Photography

Portraits, often referred to as Altar Returns, are the formal portraits taken before or after the ceremony.  More typically taken after because the bride does not want the groom to see her until that moment she walks down the isle.  I like to begin with the bride to create portraits that range from close up to full dress with bouquet. Then add the groom and members of the wedding party in combinations of groups eventually building to the full wedding party and expanding to add immediate and extended families. We will have created a list before hand of the images you want for this section so we can move through it quite quickly.  I often distribute this well organized list at the wedding rehearsal the night before so most everyone will know who is needed and in what order they will be shot, so it helps to move along quickly when everyone knows what is expected ahead of time.  I bring a full portable studio strobe system with soft lights that are balanced with the natural location lights to create these Portraits.  This session can be broken up with some of the images shot before the ceremony, some after and some at the reception.  They can be shot back at the altar or at an outside location, though moving to a location often takes considerable time to coordinate with large groups.  The possibilities are limitless.  I tend to work though these fairly quickly and calculate about 2 to 3 minutes with each grouping; of course larger groups can take more time.