This is how you get the best wedding pictures

We dare to bet that Elinoor Veldman has attended more weddings than all of you combined. Elinoor is a wedding photographer. Imagine, you are getting married or you are probably a guest at a wedding somewhere. How do we take the perfect photos?

The most important thing is that the photos are candid. No poses. Poses are cliché. And hey, we always say that spontaneous photos are the best, right? This also applies to wedding photos. Make sure the photographer doesn’t capture the typical things of the day, but for example, intimate moments between the bride's friends or the emotional reaction of parents. Elinoor finds it important that the couple doesn’t pose and just enjoys the moment. Let what happens happen, and she chooses the beautiful light and angles.

Atmosphere is everything. That’s why it’s very important that the atmosphere between the couple and the photographer is good. Elinoor does this by getting to know the couple beforehand. A glass of wine, talking about each other's lives and what moves the couple to get married. Trust needs to be created on both sides, because the photographer is really a guest at your wedding and will experience intimate moments.

We asked Elinoor what is really inappropriate when taking wedding photos. Her answer was that she was open to everything. If a couple feels the need to kiss passionately? Fine. The more inappropriate, the better. Recently, she got to take photos at a wedding in Italy. She stayed there and was present at the party until deep into the night. Of course, everyone started to get a bit tipsy, and guests, including Elinoor – fully clothed – ended up in the pool.

Elinoor won an award with a photo of a couple on the beach with their children. One of the kids needed to pee, and that very photo won the prize.

Nowadays, weddings are much less traditional. That’s a trend that Elinoor has seen emerge. Stay down to earth and be yourself. Elinoor has experienced many festival-like weddings where there were fun activities for children and food stalls. Relaxed, candid, and sometimes a bit alternative. It’s a trend, fits well with Elinoor, and now also with us.

One thing that also greatly influences the photos is the wedding dress. Elinoor finds white dresses the easiest to photograph. This works best in black and white. Everything else is fine, except for strapless dresses. Why? Because in portraits, it sometimes looks like the bride is not wearing anything.

When something exciting, funny, serious, or whatever happens, everyone immediately grabs their phone. This will also be the case at a wedding. Are you taking wedding photos? Make sure to avoid mobile phones. They just don’t look good in the photo. Are you getting married? Then you can also ask the guests if they can refrain from taking photos at important moments (just indicate which ones). It should be possible, right?

Photos are memories that you want to look back on or show. Looking at them on a laptop at the office with your colleagues is nice, but a photo album gives the ultimate experience of viewing wedding photos. That’s why Elinoor also offers the option to choose an album. For her, it’s a fun and creative process to gather the photos together. The delivery of the photos should fit the picture. So make sure you don’t show up with a memory stick from HEMA, but with a stick and album in the same style. Elinoor has a walnut wood stick with her logo on it. She delivers the album in a box with her logo on it.

The question that was on our lips was of course whether Elinoor herself was married. And as you will always see, Elinoor is not really the marrying type. From all the places she has seen, she knows very well how she would want it. A beautiful chateau in France. Everything at one location with many intimate friends. Lots of food and great partying. The photographer? She already has one in mind, but she needs to start saving now...

Wedding hungry? Look at www.elinoorveldman.com