Choosing the best time of day for your wedding photographs
Drat.
The honeymoon's over, you get your wedding shots back and
you look, erm, a bit pale. What's more, the background is
completely dark. No sign of the beautiful garden you were
photographed in. And you have red eyes. Wanna wring the
photographer's neck? Sure, that's a start. But think back
about the time the pics were taken. Was it close to sunset?
Aha. Now there's a clue to the disaster in your wedding
album.
So
what went wrong?
The
wedding picture session probably started too late. Which
meant the photographer probably could not use the flattering
late afternoon light at the venue to show you to your best
effect. Quite simply because it was probably so dark he
had to resort to unflattering straight flash. Although unavoidable
at weddings, any good photographer would try and minimise
his use of this light source. Some careful planning, advice
from your photographer and the table of sunset times below
are a start to plan your wedding pics. Ideally, you want
to start your picture session at least 30 to 45 minutes
before the sun sets.
That
means you have to take the sunset time on the day of your
wedding, and subtract:
-
travelling
time from the church to the picture venue;
-
about
fifteen minutes for the family shots, and
-
about
half an hour for the pics of the couple.
This is the time you should be getting into the Rolls
after the wedding ceremony, driving off to the picture
venue.
Sound
simple?
Not so - getting into your car with droves of people wanting
to congratulate you is not easy without seeming rude. But
you'll have to be firm and push off. Because if you don't
allow your photographer enough time to use the best light
of day, you're wasting your money.
Choose
your wedding start time carefully. Allow yourself an hour
before sunset for pictures plus travelling time. You can
determine the start time by using this sunset time chart.
It is specific for Cape Town, but with a bit of arithmatic,
you can determine the best time for your area.
