How To Get Candid Photographs at Your Wedding: 7 Tips From a New England Documentary Wedding Photographer
“Candid photographs” has become one of the most requested things in wedding photography right now, and as a New England documentary-focused wedding photographer, I’m all for it! But there’s something most people don’t realize when they ask for them.
The candid photos you see online that stop you mid-scroll. The ones where everyone looks genuinely happy, nobody looks stiff or posed, and you can feel the emotion coming out of the photo – those don’t just happen because your photographer is walking around with a camera. They happen because the day was planned with intention and interaction in mind.
I’ve photographed weddings all over New England, and the days that produce the most incredible, frame-worthy candid photographs are the ones where the couple has deliberately built in time for connection. The ones that have enough breathing room between events to let real moments happen.
So instead of telling yourself “don’t look at the camera” over and over again, here are 7 things you can do to get the candid photographs of your dreams on your wedding day!
Tip One: Spend Time With Those You Want Candid Photographs With
This sounds obvious, but it’s probably the biggest factor in getting candid photographs that actually feel emotional and real. You need to spend significant time with the people you want photographed. Not just a quick wave and kiss on the cheek.
When you want candid photographs of you and your mom, you have to actually be with her. Sit with her while you’re getting ready, hug her for longer, let her button your dress, and help you put your shoes on.
The same goes for your partner. If you want those photos of them looking at you like you hung the moon, you have to intentionally interact with each other outside of the expected. Outside of your ceremony or first look. Talk during portraits or hold hands while you walk from one event to the next. Whisper to each other throughout cocktail hour and be by each other’s side as much as you can.
My favorite candid photographs happen during the parts of the day that couples think are insignificant. But honestly, nothing about your day is insignificant. There’s emotion everywhere, and as a documentary wedding photographer, it’s my job to find it and document it. Your only job is to experience those emotions and be present in those interactions.
Tip Two: Try Scheduling Time For Candid Photographs
I don’t mean to literally write “candids” in your wedding timeline. That kind of defeats the purpose. But I do mean building enough breathing room into your day for real interactions to happen.
When a wedding is packed from start to finish with no space to pause, people usually go into task mode. You’re rushing to the next thing, answering questions, checking the timeline. Guests get three seconds of you before you’re pulled somewhere else. And when that happens, it becomes really hard for candid moments to appear.
Some of the best candid photographs come from the in-between moments. Sitting together for a minute after the ceremony or talking with your best friends during cocktail hour. Your sister fixing your makeup in the bathroom mirror, or your partner reaching for your hand during dinner without even thinking about it.
Those moments need room to exist.
Tip Three: Don’t Schedule Photos Every Hour
Beyond your typical family portraits, posed portraits before and/or after your ceremony, and sunset photos later in the evening, I honestly wouldn’t schedule much more than that. The more your day gets interrupted for photos, the harder it becomes to stay present and the less time you have for the people you want to be with.
As a documentary wedding photographer, it’s my whole job to know when to direct, and when it’s better to simply step back and watch.
My favorite photos are always the ones of you laughing with your friends, hugging your grandparents, eating dinner with your spouse, and crying during speeches. Existing inside your wedding day instead of feeling like you’re having a photoshoot with a wedding happening in the background.
The less your day revolves around simply “taking photos,” the more your photographs will feel alive and as candid as possible.
Tip Four: Have Fun, Be Yourself, and Don’t Stress
The couples with my favorite galleries are never the ones whose weddings had to be perfect. They’re the ones who stayed flexible, let themselves really feel their emotions, and had so much fun on their wedding day.
Give yourself permission to have fun. Dance, run around with your friends, don’t take portraits too seriously, or tell funny stories with your aunts and cousins. Laugh if something feels awkward. Cry if you want to. Let yourself react honestly to what’s happening instead of trying to hold the perfect smile you practiced in the mirror for months.
The candid photos you’ll love the most will be the ones where you forgot the camera was even there.
Tip Five: Hire a Wedding Planner so You Can Focus on Being Present
One of the best things you can do to get candid photographs has absolutely nothing to do with photography.
Hire a wedding planner.
A wedding planner’s job is to handle every question, problem, hiccup, and last-minute change so you don’t have to. Because the second you become the person to ask, you risk being pulled out of your special moments.
Someone can’t find the seating chart, or the guest transportation isn’t going to arrive on time? There goes the moment. You can miss out on so much time if you’re constantly answering questions and dealing with logistics.
The couples who stay the most emotionally present throughout the day are the ones who have support. They trust their vendor team and know someone else is handling the details. Which means they can focus on the most important thing: getting married and spending time with those you love.
As a New England wedding photographer, I’ve worked closely with a handful of very talented wedding planners. Here are my recommendations:
- Mirth Events Co.
- Unique Melody Events
- Everlasting Affairs
- Defined Luxe Events
- The Traveling Tee Events
Tip Six: Choose a Venue With Space to Move, and a Dance Floor!
How your venue is laid out has a bigger impact on your photos than you’d expect.
Some of the best documentary-style moments happen when guests naturally move through the venue instead of staying planted in a seat all night. You want room for conversations, space for people to hug without bumping into chairs, areas where guests can step outside together, and a dance floor! A good dance floor is gold for candid photographs!
Movement creates interaction, and interaction creates candid photos. Some of my favorite reception photos happen when ties are around heads, shoes are abandoned under tables, your cousin is doing the worm, and everyone is screaming the lyrics to your favorite middle school jams.
Those moments are impossible to manufacture or pose.
If you need some inspiration, here are a few blogs I wrote about venues in New England that I love:
Tip Seven: Hire The Right Photographer
Candid, real, genuine photographs are everything to me. They hold my most precious memories, and I want you to experience the feeling of looking at a photograph that captured a true moment in time.
Documentary-style photographers like myself focus greatly on observation, interaction, and preserving real moments as they happen. I will always be ready to direct some posed photos; portraits, family formals, the moments that need a little direction. But the majority of the day is spent observing and documenting instead of orchestrating. And I love it like that.
When you look through a photographer’s portfolio, ask yourself:
- Do the couples look comfortable or stiff?
- Does the gallery show the entire day or just the pretty parts?
- Are there photos of quiet moments, or just the big ones?
- Does it feel like a real wedding or a styled shoot?
- Can I picture myself and my wedding inside moments like these?
A good documentary photographer isn’t just someone who doesn’t put the camera down between poses. They’re someone who notices the moments you didn’t even realize were happening, and makes sure you can remember them forever.
Hire a New England Documentary-Style Photographer for Candid Photographs on Your Wedding Day
Candid photographs aren’t about coaching yourself to ignore the camera for twelve hours straight.
They come from being present. Giving yourself enough space and time to laugh hard, cry openly, dance until your feet hurt, and actually experience your wedding day as it’s happening.
As a New England wedding photographer, my biggest goal isn’t to make your wedding day look beautiful (although it will!) I want your photographs to feel how you did on your wedding day. I want you to look back at them decades later and feel the same feelings you had the day of.
The unplanned moments usually end up being the ones you remember the most.
If you’re planning a wedding and want candid photographs that feel emotional and true to your relationship, I’d love to document it for you. Reach out here and let’s talk about what you’re planning!!
