I had the opportunity to photograph a destination wedding at Dreams Tulum in Mexico in November and it was a beautiful experience! This was the second wedding I photographed and I was thankful the bride and groom put their confidence in me to capture their special day. I wanted to share some of my favorite images from the day and a little commentary/tips based on what I learned for anyone looking to do destination wedding photography in the future.
Here are some of my favorite moments of the day . . .
It’s hard to pick just a handful of photos to share because the whole day and location was so beautiful!
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Tips if you’re a photographer
Every time I do a shoot, whether it’s a small and quick family photoshoot or a 10-hour day of a wedding, I always learn something. If you’re a photographer and dreaming of venturing into wedding photography . . . here are some things that I learned or that helped me along the way.
-If you’re doing a destination wedding and do not have a second shooter flying with you, having a second camera on you is key. If you can’t afford a second camera, you can always rent the same model you have so you know your lenses work on both, and then you can switch back and forth throughout the day without reacclimating to a different type of camera. I kept a wide angle lens on one camera and a 35mm prime on the other and switched back and forth depending upon how close or far I was standing.
-Take back up batteries and memory cards. I started shooting around 11 a.m. and finished around 9:30 p.m. and my batteries and cards lasted me the full time. One card was full and one battery was ready for charging by the end, but I had back-ups of both in my bag.
-If you can have someone join to assist you after the ceremony during formal family photos, even just a family friend if you don’t have an assistant (or you can identify a wedding guest who is not a family member) to help gather the family — it will help tremendously. You will have a short window of time to get approximately 10-20 people together and looking in the same direction and everyone will be excited to get to the cocktail hour.
-If you’re shooting in a public place, you will need to constantly be aware of your surroundings. This particular wedding was at a resort where family photos were taken on a beach, which meant there was the occasional vacationer in the background. I either moved myself to get an angle where they weren’t in the shot by moving right or left, or at times I would squat down and shoot at an up angle. If you can’t move or really want the sun in that location, just remember to plan for plenty of time for edits on the backend.
-Plan for a change in lighting from the ceremony to the reception. Most receptions will be at night time or in a venue where it’s lower lighting provided by the DJ so you’ll want to consider adding a flash or positioning yourself by the best lighting if you have that option.
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Photographing this wedding was the highlight of my photography experiences thus far!
Brooke is a leader at a Fortune 100 company by day and an author, blogger, and talker by night. She has a love for writing, a habit for gabbing, and is currently celebrating the completion of her first book.