I photograph a lot of beach weddings. My company provides wedding photography for Perfect Florida Beach Wedding so I’m at the beach every week (or one of my team is at the beach, or I’m at one beach and they are at another beach…. you get the picture. It’s a lot of beach weddings.) It’s a great job because I get to do so many weddings. Few wedding photographers have the chance to photograph as many brides as I do in such a short amount of time (the other great gig for shooting a lot of brides? Disney weddings.)
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the years it’s that attitude is so very important when it comes to beach weddings. With any wedding there’s always a chance something can go wrong and beach weddings are no exception. It can get pretty windy at the beach (we always recommend an “up-do” with lots of hairspray), it can be overcast, it can rain, it can be hot… or cold… there’s a lot of variables. But the one thing that is completely under your control is your attitude.
For example, I recently photographed Mark and Beth’s wedding at Sunset Beach. It was just the two of them, no guests. Mark, Beth, the officiant and me.
It was a crappy day.
Or at least, it appeared to be a crappy day to the untrained eye. It was overcast and cloudy. It actually started to rain toward the end.. but that’s okay because photography is funny. What many people consider to be awful can actually work in a photographer’s favor. Overcast skies mean broad, soft light. It also means no one else is on the beach (or in your pictures). But none of this is as big a factor as the attitude of the bride and groom.
Mark and Beth had a great attitude. They didn’t seem to care one bit that it wasn’t as perfect that day at the beach as they might have imagined. They were just happy and in love and ready to be married. I can work with that. I can work with that all day. I’ll take a great attitude in awful surroundings over a bad attitude in a beautiful setting every time.
We had a great time and we got great images. If you give your photographer the attitude he needs he will give you something memorable every time. Remember that the most important part of any picture is you. If you want your pictures to be passionate, you have to bring passion.
Don’t get caught up in the weather on the day of your beach wedding. get caught up in each other. We’ll take care of the rest. :)
Wedding provided by Perfect Florida Beach Wedding