Church in San Diego showing sign as an establishing photo.
It’s pretty much like making a movie; you have an establishing shot of a scene and then you move into the scene itself. With wedding photography, it should be an automatic response to capture the “establishing shot” – where the wedding is taking place. The point of this photo is perhaps an obvious one; you want to create an image of where the couple was married. In addition, this image can be added to the wedding album, whether a traditional one or flush mount/magazine style album. Aside from photographing the actual wedding venue, another establishing photo can be of the reception site.
There are several options that a photographer can exercise when
Zosa Gardens, San Diego County
it comes to capturing the establishing photo of a wedding, however, my focus for this post is the use of signs (since this is part of my signs in your wedding photography series).
Perhaps the most common image is one where you have the bride and groom posed in front of the sign as in the image to the right. Here we have the couple standing in front of the gates to their wedding venue – Zosa Gardens in Valley Center (San Diego County). However, you may want to capture a more creative pose as seen in the photo of the couple kissing as the exit the church. Visible, is the name of the church where the couple where married; another good example of an establishing shot.
Handlery Hotel in San Diego
Finally, you may not have access to the couple or prefer an image without them visible (left). I suggest taking a photo of the couple in front of the sign and one without. This gives both the photographer and couple an option when design their wedding album.
You don’t necessarily have to make the establishing photo as blatant as having the couple stand in front of the sign or the sign of the wedding venue by itself, but it is nice to capture such an image as an alternative to show the couple.
Some ideas for capturing establishing photos of the couples wedding and reception venue:
- The wedding/reception venue sign by itself
- The building/structure of the wedding venue
- A photo of the overall site, including the building
- The invitation (if it has the name of the location – as most do)
- An image of the couple walking away with the venue sign in the background
- A photo of the couple in the background (out of focus) with the wedding venue sign in the foreground
- The wedding party in front of the name of the wedding/reception location
- The limo driving in to the wedding site with a shot of the building in the background and name of the site in the foreground
This by no means is a complete list. Actually, there is perhaps an endless amount of ideas; you’re only limited by your imagination. If you have any of your own suggestions, whether you are a photographer, bride, or groom…or anyone for that matter, plesae do leave a comment.
In part 1 of this blog series, I introduced you to using signs in your wedding photography to communicate special messages. In part 2, I take a look at the use of signs in wedding photography as humor and defiance.
Wedding Photography
At practically every wedding venue, you will find your standard directional or street signs. You can use these signs to communicate a variety of meanings in your photographs. For example, if you’re a wedding photographer, I’m almost certain you haven’t escaped a wedding where the groomsmen have cajoled the groom by stating, “it’s not to late to back out”. Having fun with this statement, I put an exit sign to use to capture this fun image of the groom fleeing the groomsmen. It basically, visually represents the groom trying to flee from his wedding day and the groomsmen reaching out to keep him from running off. The result was a humorous photo that captured a common thought on the grooms wedding day.
Couple kiss.
In the next photograph, I utilized a “wrong way” sign to capture the defiance of getting married. How often do you hear people ask, “Are you sure you are ready to be married?” Or, “I think you are too young to be married.” The photograph is a great example of contrast and defiance. The young couple show their love and commitment as they kiss, just beyond the sign that reads, “Wrong Way”.
There are a variety of other useful road signs a photographer can use to create a memorable image. Think of the uses with a “Stop” or “Yield” sign. Or better yet, a sign that reads, “Road Closed”. Just use your creativity.
Photo Notes: The photograph of the groom fleeing was taken at Zosa Gardens in Valley Center. And the photograph of the “Wrong Way” couple was taken at Faulkner Winery in Temecula.
A couple embrace in a Private Moment
I think this is an interesting post in that I don’t see too many wedding photos that use signs to help communicate an idea, or tell a wedding story. I personally find it a challenge to seek out signs at a wedding location that I can use in a photo to tell a story of the couple or just the bride or groom. I’m not talking about a sign for the name of the wedding venue (I’ll cover that in part 4 of this series). I’m talking about signs that are just ordinary signs that can help enhance the photo and really tell a story.
Whether you are a photographer, bride, or groom, take notice of the signs around the wedding venue. See what’s available and how you can use them to your advantage to tell a story.
One of my favorite photos is the one in this post. The couple in the background embrace in a kiss, slightly out of focus, with a sign in the forground that reads “Private”. I couldn’t have asked for a better picture that day. The sign, carved in stone, allowed me to create an image that not only communicated romance, but illustrated a “private moment” between the bride and groom after their wedding ceremony. In addition, the photo created the illusion that the couple where the only two people in the world at that moment. It’s these types of photos that create an everlasting memory of the couples wedding day.
Photograph was taken at Moortens Botanical Gardens in Palm Springs, California. (I’ll feature this wedding location in a future post).
