How to get the best wedding pictures

We dare to bet that Elinoor Veldman has attended more weddings than all of you lot put together. For Elinoor is a wedding photographer. Imagine you’re getting married or about to be a wedding guest somewhere. How do you then make perfect photos?

The most, but then absolutely most important thing is that the photos look relaxed. No poses. Poses are cliché. And don’t we always say that spontaneous photos are the most appealing? That also applies to wedding photos. Make sure the photographer doesn’t just record the typical run of the day, but also the chatty exchanges between friends of the bride or the emotional reactions of parents. To Elinoor it’s important that the bride pair doesn’t pose, but just enjoys the moment. She lets it all happen and chooses the most beautiful light and angles.

Mood determines everything. So it’s vital to build a good relationship between bridal pair and photographer. Elinoor achieves this by getting to know the bridal couple beforehand. Over a glass of wine, chatting about each other’s lives and what moved them to marry. Trust must be created on both sides, as the photographer is actually a guest at your wedding and will be sharing intimate moments.

We asked Elinoor what she thought improper when making wedding photos. She replied that she was open to everything. And if a bridal pair felt the need to indulge in hefty French kissing? No problem. The more unconventional, the better. For instance, she was recently commissioned to make pictures at a wedding in Italy. She would be staying over and so was at the reception until very late in the night. Of course everyone gradually became tipsier and the guests along, with Elinoor, ended up in the pool, clothes and all.

Elinoor has won an award with a photo depicting a bridal pair on the beach with their children. One of the kids needed to ‘go’ and it was this photo that won the prize.

Weddings are less traditional these days, a trend that Elinoor has seen develop. Stay down-to-earth and close to yourself. Elinoor has experienced festival-like weddings where there were fun activities for children and food stalls. Informal, relaxed and sometimes a bit alternative. It’s a trend that suites Elinoor just fine, and so us too.

One thing that has a big impact on photos is the bride’s dress. Elinoor finds white dresses the easiest to capture. This works especially beautifully in black and white. But everything else is fine, except for the strapless dress. Why? In portraits it can sometimes look as if the bride is not wearing anything at all.

Everyone grabs their telephone whenever something exciting, funny, grave or whatever happens. This would also be the case at weddings. Going to be taking wedding photos? Make sure that you avoid including mobiles. Not a good look in a photo. Getting married? Then you can certainly ask your guests not to take photographs at critical moments (do indicate which ones). Must be allowed, don’t you think?

Photos are memories that you want to gladly look back on, or show to others. On a laptop at work for your colleagues is of course all right, but a photo album gives the ultimate experience for viewing wedding photos. This is why Elinoor offers the chance to choose an album. Compiling the photos is an enjoyable and creative process for her. Then the delivery of the photos has to fit the image. So make sure you don’t go around with a cheapo memory stick, but with stick and album in the same style. Elinoor supplies a stick of walnut wood complete with her logo. She supplies the album in a box showing her logo.

The question burning on our lips was naturally whether Elinoor herself is married. And as we could expect, Elinoor is not the marrying type. With all the places seen through her lens, she does know very well what she would like. A beautiful chateau in France. Everything at a single location with a whole bunch of intimate friends. Heaps to eat and great partying. The photographer? She has an idea, but then she has to start saving right now.

About to get married? Go to www.elinoorveldman.com