Planning your wedding is an exciting journey, but it can also feel a bit overwhelming at times. As you juggle florals, venues, and guest lists, there’s one perspective you won’t want to overlook—the wedding photographer. Beyond just snapping beautiful pictures, your photographer plays a crucial role in ensuring your day is captured in all its magic. To help make the most of your wedding day photography, we’ve asked the fabulous photography duo, Jenna and Carly of Jenna and Carly Photography for three essential tips on how to have the best photos on your wedding day!
Find a photographer that you really click with. A photographer will be with you all day through pretty much every moment. You want to make sure that you really connect with your photographer and that they give you the vibe you are looking for.
Carly and I try to be as easy going and fun as possible while still making everyone at the wedding comfortable. We are optimistic and positive in all situations. We are your hype women. I know that for most people, taking pictures isn’t a normal everyday thing. We help our couples (and honestly everyone who is pictured) with everything all day long. You will be candidly smiling the whole day through. And by the end of the night, we typically don’t want to leave because it feels like a day spent with our best friends.
Trust your photographer. A professional photographer has done a lot of work to get to where they are today. Lighting is something we specifically work on at length. Sometimes you may question why you are placed in a certain location, but we are looking at every part of the photo that will make you, the subject, look the best. Carly and I also took hours of posing courses. Some positions we put you in may feel unnatural. We give a huge variety of directions because something we may love, you may not. Just trust that we are flattering you in every way possible. Another HUGE thing we recommend is doing an engagement session with your photographer even if you had proposal pictures or engagement pictures done with someone else. We highly recommend this because it gives you a chance to get to know one another and you can see how your photographer works/poses you which makes your wedding day so much smoother.
Have fun! We will joke with you and make this unnatural process so comfortable! Many of our couples start their engagement session being extremely nervous but then they leave saying how much fun they had and how much more comfortable they will be on their wedding day. We promise to make every step of your photography journey a breeze.
Our why…Carly and I are sisters. I grew up with a camera constantly in my hand for every family vacation and event. I documented every single trip we took with my digital camera. I loved capturing everything. I went to college for teaching and became a teacher for a few years. Then, I had my first baby and my husband and I talked about how staying home would be better for us financially in terms of having to pay so much for daycare. Well, my grandfather’s Parkinson’s started to get worse during this time, and he needed 24/7 care. I took care of him very often and one day we were talking and he mentioned how much I loved capturing moments through photography. Then, it clicked. I needed to take classes and start my own photography business. And within a year, I did it!
I then asked Carly if she would join me and without hesitation, she was in! I run the business and do all of the editing while Carly comes to every wedding and whatever sessions she can! Carly is the best hype woman you could ever ask for! We make a great team! It’s funny because we are both extroverts, but we learned early on that if one of us leads with the talking and posing and the other focuses on the organization and picture taking, then it works the best. So, if you have worked with us, you may notice that I’m a bit more quiet because I am making sure everything gets done in a timely manner. Whereas Carly is making sure every hair is in place and that everyone is feeling good and looking just as good! We love what we do and are appreciative for everybody that trusts us to capture the biggest moments of their lives!
If people would like to get in touch with us, the best way to do so is through our email at JennaandCarlyPhotography@gmail.com. You may notice that you receive a response from someone named Kate who is our administrative assistant. She is my sister-in-law and often helps us with our emailing and contracts. She helps to make sure that our emails are responded to typically within 48 hours but usually sooner! We also have our website www.jennaandcarlyphotography.com. On our site, you can fill out an inquiry there as well!
Need help planning YOUR big day? Click HERE to schedule a free consultation with us!
Photography: Jenna and Carly Photography