How To Frame Wedding Photographs

How can you frame your wedding pictures? Here we've put together some top tips on how to frame your wedding photos from somebody in the know; a wedding photographer. We also shed some light on the ever-evolving art of wedding photography (which deserves an article in itself!) and how you can immortalise the top moments from the special day.

Give the photographer the freedom to wander to get the best candid shots on the big day. CC Image courtesy of Phil Hearing on Flickr

A Changing Landscape

It's said that the brides (and grooms) of today often want to portray a unique story of their special day, a lot of the time through the form of creative wedding photography.

It takes much more innovation and flair from the wedding photographer than it used to take for more 'traditional' weddings. Things like understanding the client's needs are ever important, but so is creativity and 'instinctiveness' on the part of the photographer.

A sunset shot. CC Image courtesy of John Hope on Flickr

Snaps that actually get taken away from the wedding itself have also gone through the roof in terms of their popularity in recent years, and we think this is for good reason.

Capturing pictures that seem completely natural on the day itself is often challenging for photographers, as people usually change their behaviour and/or facial expressions when they see a camera coming towards them. This is of course sometimes a good thing, but not if you're trying to get a truly candid shot.

The first dance. CC Image courtesy of John Hope on Flickr

We also think that using pre-bridal or pre-wedding photography definitely helps reduce stress (which the couple surely already have enough of!) on the day itself. It does this by giving them the knowledge that they already have a collection of stunning, natural-looking photos already 'in the bank'. 

If you get married in somewhere like England, it definitely helps to have something to fall back on if the heavens open (which happens quite a lot). 

Pre-wedding shoots are also great if you've never actually had a professional photo taken before. They can take away the pressures of the big day by giving a little bit of practice beforehand. Let's face it, the average couple of a wedding day get their photo taken many many times so more preparation will generally mean even more beautiful shots!

Why is it so hard to pick which wedding photos you want to use?

Questions answered and comments made by professional wedding photographer John O'Connor.

Because, there is usually a huge choice of images.  Many will be of equal technical merit and may have captured the occasion just as well, but choices have to be made, for example, between a candid shot or perhaps a romantic shot. 

Another thing to consider is what size of prints to get, Best4Frames have a lovely selection of gallery frames where you can find ready made frames made for all the popular photo sizes. They also come with mounts made to fit your photograph size which is handy!

Simplicity is usually the best choice. Let your stunning wedding photos do the talking!

Do you get a lot of brides in need?

The photographer’s view is that the bride and groom generally rely heavily on the photographer to orchestrate the day as far this enables them to produce a fantastic record of the event and the people who were there.

What’s the biggest priority for them when they come to you for help?

To explain the options open to them. Do they, for example, want photography at the bride's house in the morning to show all the prep, hairdressing, make up etc or do they just want the actual traditional wedding? We will need to work out timings, and plan the event.  They may have priorities about extra images of certain relatives perhaps.

What would you say are the most important things to think about when choosing a wedding frame?

It's down to choice, so Best4frames' philosophy is to judge our customer.  Overall we would have thought that the framing style should be timeless. The the main “bride and groom” image is likely to be on the wall for a long time.

Most wedding photographers will offer a limited range of frames. They will have spent a lot of time already in choosing images – to prolong this process much further with a bewildering range of frames and mounts would be ill-advised. 

However, framers can offer a much wider choice. If a couple has clear ideas on which way to go then we will take a slightly more passive role.  It's their choice after all! We will normally confirm, unless we think they are way off track, which is hardly ever the case.

At the other end of the scale, some customers will want to contribute at a much higher level; making suggestions, being creative, and they can actually become really engaged in the process (so to speak). 

Any more tips for prospective newlyweds looking to capture their big day?

Signing frames are a great way to go. You can buy the mount and leave it out at your reception and then you've got a frame ready and waiting with lots of personal memories and well wishes on it ready to take pride of place on your wall.

Thanks to John O'Connor Photography for his expert advice!