Most of couple want to make a unique pre-wedding photos, but sometimes there are some things to be forgotten so that the photo doesn’t look nice. Here are some basic tips for pre-wedding photography.

1. Some questions for the couple
A photographer should have a discuss with the couple before photo shooting. What they want, you can begin to ask about their favorite so that you might be able to get some unique pre wedding photo theme ideas. This Q & A session can be very meaningful input.

2. Selecting theme and concept
The selection of appropriate themes will support your work very much. You need to find a theme that create a strong impression and of course unique, for example, the love story of the couple when they met at first time. Creative theme shows that they are a couple with a unique bustle can also be used. Preferably a photo theme is determined by the couple because they usually already have a clue about what is to be prepared and do. The task of a photographer is to give technical feedback.

Here are some basic prewedding photographythemes:

Old school
Imagination
Formal, can be outdoor and indoor
Nature
Casual
Vintage
Urban
Glamour
Silhouette
Infrared
Amazing Bokeh (Isolation with blur)
Tell Your Story with Property
Panorama
Expressive
Continuous scene
Romantic
Unique

A common unique pre wedding photos have a strong concept and a different look (horror, funny and so on)

3. Time of photo session
The timing of the shooting is also one of the most important thing to make a unique pre-wedding photos. It will be difficult to make a nice photo with a bad timing.

Here are some advice for timing
Don’t do the pre-wedding photo session with a narrow interval from the wedding day. 1-2 months prior the wedding will be ideal.

Remember the golden hour for outdoor portrait photography. 6-9am in the morning and afternoon at 4pm till 1 hour before the sun goes down. This is to get a soft natural light.

4. Location
There are many photos looks beautiful due to its location. Although in reality that location is not so special, if the concept and location are supporting each other, then you can create a unique pre-wedding photo. It is better to choose a location adapted to the agreed concept, not just because that location looks beautiful. Don’t forget to adjust the costume.

Here are some nice locations:
Beach
Park
Old buildings
Historic places
Museum, café / restaurant
Rental housing, offices,
Highway

Had a little urgent and need to save time, pre wedding photos can be done in the studio by using abstract background that can be adapted to many costumes.

5. Make-up
Make-up is another important element in pre-wedding photos. In addition to be looks more attractive, make-up can also be used to reinforce certain concepts.

A photographer who was specifically for pre-wedding photos should know exactly what make-up is most suitable for certain concept. Therefore it’s good to work with make up artist in this case.

6. Costume
Using the right costume can give more interesting results on a photograph. There are so many things that affect a person in dressing such as idols, the environment, even to the music genre. But it should be according to the theme, the location and physic of the model.

7. Property or supporting Element
Don’t ignore the property, because property has an important role in generating unique pre-wedding photos. For example using some food on a picnic-themed photo. Chairs and sofa gives the impression of casual and elegant. Property used in a photo session should be considered carefully when developing the concept and theme of the photo. You can use some simple stuffs to save your cost.

8. Directing poses
You can search the internet for some poses guide for pre-wedding photography.

9. Retouching / Digital Imaging
It’s quiet easy to make a unique photo in this digital era by using retouching software and of course this is one important thing that should be learned by photographer. With photo editing software like photoshop or lightroom, you can retouch the photos freely as creative as you want so that the photo looks more attractive.

by Duwi Mertiana, Feel free to visit my web about wedding & prewedding here: Bali wedding photographer