Ok so you locked down your venue, vendors and all the beautiful details. All that’s left is to have fun, get married and take some AMAZING images! But where are those spots at my venue? Some venue offer one or two areas for their ” hero image ” but do you really want those to be the only settings? My guess is probably not SO lets talk about 5 places to find INCREDIBLE image settings for your wedding day! 

Hidden areas around the venue ( refer to image above ).

      When I arrive to a wedding I make sure to do so pretty early. This way I can walk around, explore and find little hidden gems that would be awesome and creative. Sometimes these places are in the unlikeliest of areas. For the above image this was off to the side of the church FCCLA, down a dark staircase and probably used by maintenance workers going into the storage area. You would never be able to find this area by simply walking by. I LOVE the setting for this and it offers an entirely different look to their wedding story!

 

        Areas that play into your passions. 

Wedding photography doesn’t need to be so damn cookie cutter. If we stumble on an area that plays into what you LOVE about life then HELL YEAH we’re going to incorporate it. For the above image there happened to be a pick up game going on across the street from their church, they both love basketball and are athletic so BOOM a quick 2 minute one on one session happened. AND IT WAS AWESOME! Not only did it help loosen everyone up a bit but they were able to actually have FUN and this is huge! Don’t be afraid to take risks and go kick ass. It was Wayne Gretzky that said ” You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take ” so when you pass by something around you and think to yourself ” no I can’t do that because wedding “….that’s the wrong mindset. You CAN do it because it IS your wedding day.

 

            Your prep room.

If you have a dope prep room then easy peasy. We’re going to rock n roll in there. Some foreground lights and natural light from a window is all I needed for this and it took about 10 seconds if that. Now naturally your room has to play into this and in MOST cases if your prep is at your apartment or parents house it won’t lend itself to this type of image. I highly encourage spending the extra money and treating yourself to an AMAZING room for bridal prep. I could literally go on and on about this but I’m saving that for another post. Get yourself a dope room and you’ll be happy.

 

 

        Open shade.

You can find this at 95% of any venue. Utilize it and own it. There are SO many reasons to use this. It looks rad, you can nail wedding party pics / family pics / and some BG pics with ease and efficiency AND it’s usually not far away so it’s quick and give you more time for some creative images. USE the sun for your rim light and have some greenery behind you if possible and BAMM!

 

 

        The night shot. 

At EVERY wedding I try to do at least one night shot and sometimes it can be difficult to find the right area during the daytime. Normally there is a little downtime around dinner so I run off and find a couple spots. My favorites are twinkly lights around trees, city lights and the oh so elusive killer bar hahaha! Above you’ll see this badass night shot and that area behind them is the bar…yes a messy bar. It worked out perfect, took about 3 minutes ( for a few different looks ) and the colors are out of this world. I want to do these right as open dancing starts. The first reason is it gives you a nice break from the long day ( every BG has thanked me for taking them out for this reason ) and secondly because your guests won’t be missing you because they are too busy getting nuts on the dance floor haha! We need about 15 minutes for this session and it adds an INCREDIBLE aspect to your wedding story.

 

In closing I want to remind you, NEVER settle for basic and don’t be afraid to get those RAD images. There are always at least  5 places to find incredible images for your wedding day . Some are hidden and some in plane view but they are there!

 

 

While you’re here feel free to check out some of the other incredible weddings I’ve been a part of as well as advice you’ll need when debating that First Look!

May + Mike | FCC Los Angeles Wedding

First Looks. Traditional VS Modern and why you should always choose the latter.

Leslie + Vlad | El Encanto Santa Barbara Wedding

Ryan + Trent | El Matador Malibu Engagement

Emily + Joseph | Hacienda Heights Country Club Wedding

Gail + Brian | Figueroa Mountain Wedding

I want to tell YOUR story and be you’re VENTURA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER! Chat with me today to see if your date is still available!