You’ve planned everything for the last [insert length of your engagement] months or years! You’ve even narrowed down every aspect of your bridal style. This careful planning is why capturing bridal details photos is so important. Every piece you’ve chosen to complement your final look deserves its own spot in your gallery! It is a great way to remember as well as honor the special items that made you feel your most confident on your wedding day.

I love budgeting time at the very begin of my coverage toward capturing these details for you. My second shooter may also do the same with your groom’s special details! Not only does it create photo momentos of your special items, it helps fuel my creativity early in the day. It also gives me a sense of your wedding’s theme and color palette, so I can be looking for continuity for the rest of your photos to flow beautifully together. For example, if your details note that you planned a romantic, garden-inspired wedding, but your venue has a mix of garden landscaping and rustic farm elements, I might ask you if you’d like me to favor the garden backdrops to match your vision.

So what kind of bridal details photos can you expect in your final gallery? Believe it or not, capturing bridal details is more involved than just one pretty flat-lay. When I receive your box of details, I start by going through each item to see what you’ve given me. Then I go through a checklist of three types of photos to feature each one. (By the way, here’s a helpful packing list for what to include in your box of bridal details for me to photograph!)

The Classic Flat-Lay

Flat-lay photos are usually centered around one key element of your bridal details. Typically, I center details around your invitation suite if you’ve provided an extra copy to me. This is a great way to remember what you sent out to guests when first inviting them to your big day. It’s also a beautiful representation of your stationer’s hard work to craft your custom suite, if you went that route.

But flat-lays don’t have to be centered on invitation suites. If your suite doesn’t particularly match your wedding theme or you opted for digital invites and don’t have a paper one available, I’ll usually choose a different focal point. Sometimes it’s your shoes, ring box, or perfume. It really just depends on what sticks out the most as a central element.

The “Gathered” Bridal Details Photos

It took me a while to understand this was its own category (and what to call it). But I find myself doing this at almost every wedding in some way. I especially prioritize this type of shot when a flat lay is challenging or there aren’t many details to fill a whole frame of flat-laid elements.

The “gathered” details photo is usually taken at an angle that focuses on one element, with other elements closely gathered around it. When styling this shot, I try to imagine what it might look like if your details were so beautifully gathered on a dresser together before being put on. I try to arrange them in a way that looks organic, almost candid, but not messy. There’s a lot of compositional thought that goes into this one to make it work.

The “gathered” photo can be done on tiny elements like earrings, perfume, and makeup. Or it can be done with larger items like your bouquet, veil, and shoes.

Close-Up Bridal Details Photos

Finally, once the flat-lay and “gathered” shots are finished, I make sure to give each element special attention. After all, you chose each item for a reason! I’ll sometimes dress it up with a soft ribbon within your color palette or laying it on a tray, your veil, your dress, or a bridesmaid’s dress.

These shots are pretty simple, but nevertheless important. They make for great pairing photos for your album or blog post, too!

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More wedding planning tips like this:

• Snapshot: Cocktail Hour
• 9 Classy Bridesmaid Gift Ideas They’ll Actually Want to Keep
• How to Choose a Photo-Worthy Invitation Suite
• The Ultimate Maid of Honors Duties List
• Tips for Buying Your Dream Wedding Dress (Without Regrets!)
• How to Safely Store Your Digital Wedding Photos

Looking for a wedding photographer for your DC, Virginia, Maryland or Georgia wedding? Inquire with me today to check our availability! We’d love to chat about making your wedding photo dreams come true, magnifying the beauty of your marriage through intimate, effortless and artful images.