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Proud pup mom, type A creative, lover of the outdoors, Top Chef fan girl, and wedding and portrait photographer. Welcome to the blog!
HI, I'M RACHEL!
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I’m excited to share my tips for getting a picture perfect wedding bouquet for your light and bright wedding photography!
You might think I’m getting super specific here – and that’s OK! haha I take my job seriously and I’m always trying to think of ways I can help people really make their wedding photos look amazing.
I know that your wedding bouquet is the heavy hitter (more on that here). It’s featured in every single part of your wedding day – details photos, bridal portraits, first look, the walk down the aisle, all your portraits (family, wedding party, newlyweds), and it ends up as featured decor at your reception. Having a picture perfect wedding bouquet will make a big impact on your wedding images.
The tips I’m sharing today are specifically for the type of photography I do – light and bright, with true colors. A photographer who does ‘dark and moody’, ‘light and airy’, or super warm/sepia photos might have different ideas for what makes a picture perfect wedding bouquet. If you love light and bright wedding photography (in a nutshell, that’s what you see on my website – lots of white or light hues featured, true colors, natural skin tones, with an overall bright feel), you will obviously want the details of the day to support that vibe.
Here are three tips to help you work with your florist to order a picture perfect wedding bouquet for your light and bright wedding images.
My number one tip for creating a picture perfect wedding bouquet for light and bright wedding photography is to eliminate what I call ‘black holes’. A black hole is a super dark spot. A dark spot will pull focus to that area of the photo. Your eye will naturally go there. A dark hole takes away from the light and bright feel you’re going for overall in your images.
Dark holes can be created in a number of ways. They can be created from a super dark flower, like purple Cala lilies, black dahlias, chocolate cosmos, black baccara roses, chocolate lilies, queen of the night tulips, or the center of a sunflower, etc. It’s very difficult to capture detail in dark flowers, so they end up looking like a black or dark clump(s). Not visually pleasing!
Obviously if your entire bouquet is dark, it’s going to create a heavy feel to your overall photos (especially if your fiancé is going to be wearing a dark suit). Even if there are a few dark flowers in your bouquet, it will still create the black hole.
(I’m using photos here that are not my own – these are Google images)
Even flowers that are darker shades will create a black hole when paired next to lighter hues or neutral colored flowers. (Images from Google.)
Another way dark holes are created is by having your flowers be loose/not tight together. If flowers are not pulled tight together and there are spaces between flowers, in photos those spaces will look like dark spots. It’s best to have a tight bouquet or at least to have the spaces filled in with light or sage greenery.
Another Google image…
Obviously, if I’m advocating for no dark flowers, I’m advocating for light and bright colored flowers. Flowers that have a light hue or are brightly colored look beautiful in light and bright photos, which creates a picture perfect wedding bouquet.
You can do a bouquet filled with light hued (think various hues of pink, peach, lavender, pale yellow) or neutral flowers (white or ivory).
Or a bouquet of mostly bright colors, like orange, pink, red, yellow, purple, blue, etc.
I also love bouquets that combine light hues, neutrals, and bright colors.
Now, this tip is where I get super nit-picky! Dark and even vibrant greenery (such as Israeli ruscus, pittosporum, cocculus, huck, ferns, etc.) tend to create black holes. It’s not as noticeable as is a dark flower(s), but it still can pull focus, especially for details photos. Dark and vibrant greenery photograph very heavy. When featured next to other light and bright details, it will definitely draw your eye to that area of the photo.
For a picture perfect wedding bouquet for your light and bright wedding photography, I suggest asking for light or sage colored greenery. Light or sage greenery will complement your flowers and not draw attention from them in your photos.
Some favorite light greens are silver queen pittosporum, bells of Ireland, bupleurum.
And favorite sages are dusty miller, any kind of eucalyptus, and olive branches.
Did this post get you excited to book your own wedding, elopement, or engagement session?! If yes, send me a note and we can chat about what you have in mind: contact me
Hi – I’m Rachel! A wedding, engagements, and headshots photographer in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and northern Virginia. I love taking photos of elegant people who love to laugh, as well as of much in-love couples. If you’re a dog owner, that’s a plus! I’m currently booking 2020 portrait sessions, as well as 2020 and 2021 weddings.
HELLO@RACHELEHPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
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Rachel is a wedding and portrait photographer
Serving brilliant, elegant couples in Washington D.C. + Beyond
Copyright 2022 Rachel E.H. Photography | Website by Alex Collier Design
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