Best 5 minutes which you’ll ever spend

So, you’re looking for a Manchester wedding photographer and need to know about pre-wedding photo shoot? Good news…

All my packages include a pre-wedding photo shoot because I regard this as a vital part of the process. What do I mean by this? Well, if you are in the Greater Manchester area and looking for a wedding photographer, the next couple of minutes are important. May I take you on a short, guided tour of what I think the Pre-wedding shoot should look like and why I have come to regard it as an essential part of the process….

The magic ingredient – Rapport

I think rapport is like a secret sauce that makes everything delicious. Rapport is a sense of trust and respect that opens our hearts and Wikipedia defines it as “a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned are “in sync” with each other, understand each other’s feelings or ideas, and communicate smoothly.”

Hopefully, for your future happiness, this is a big part of the reason you chose your beloved to begin with. Additionally, rapport is important for all kinds of relationships to work well, including between us – the team involved in your big day. When you book me to photograph your wedding, and hopefully bring me chocolates, I already understand that you like my work. (check out my portfolio here). This rapport is the magic ingredient that helps us achieve great results on the big day, whatever else happens.

The fact is, I will probably spend more time with the bride than even the groom on the wedding day. As much as twelve hours or even more is normal, so getting along is essential. The pre-shoot is our chance to really build this working relationship. That way you know what to expect when the time comes so you can just relax and enjoy it. Plus, you get a box filled with even more gorgeous prints from this incredible time in your life, to keep forever.

So, what does the pre-shoot entail?

The pre-wedding photo shoot involves us meeting at a location of your choosing. We will take photographs of the two of you and anyone else you would like to be involved before the wedding. This may ideally be your chosen wedding venue, or another place in the Manchester area, that is special to you as a couple. This could be the place you first met or a beautiful waterfall, for example.

If we visit the wedding venue during the pre-shoot, we will scout all the best angles for great shots and go over the plan, ahead of time. You wouldn’t believe how much time and stress this will save you on the actual day. If you don’t have a wedding planner on your team then my experience can really help you get the schedule right. This could prove very useful to you in making your dream day become reality.

We will look at your chosen colour scheme, as well as the styles and tones that I tend to use and discuss how these will work together. I will help you to learn what you should and shouldn’t do when having posed wedding photographs taken. Then it will be easy to get it right when the time comes. This way you will avoid awkward or unnatural looking pictures. This may be the subject of a future article that I will link to, but practice really is the best way to get this right and I will be on hand to guide you the whole way.

Who can join the pre-shoot?

Firstly, this is your day, not mine, so really this is up to you. I can whisk you two away to somewhere romantic and intimate, so you can learn to relax together in front of the camera. Or we can include as many of the wedding party as you like. Let them bring their children, and even their dog, if you want them there. That way I will learn what you want, and they can learn to do as they are told. 😉

Other people will often have ideas and opinions, which may be frustrating for your plans, but this is YOUR day. I will try to encourage and protect your dreams, as a friend should. Some things will be useful for me to know ahead of time. For example, a bridesmaid who only likes pictures from one side, or your mother-in-law’s feelings about how unkind time and gravity can be. She probably still looks great anyway and I can reassure her that my camera is a kind and gentle friend.

More reasons?

Maybe someone in your party is disabled? I can arrange any group poses to include them properly in advance, probably your dad really doesn’t want me to photograph his tears. Again, I will comfort and reassure him. He will know that he is free to let them fall, as tokens of his love and pride, that you will treasure like diamonds in years to come. Or I will discreetly pass him tissues and ask the bridesmaid next to him to show me her best side. These are all benefits from the pre-shoot that will just make the wedding day better.

Finally, it was a wise person who said that if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail. If you can see by now how much I care about the success of your wedding then get in touch.

Wedding photographer in Manchester covering Cheshire, Yorkshire and UK