I had the opportunity to shoot this beautiful wedding outside of Cincinnati in June. Clearly, the bride and groom are stunning and I couldn’t wait to shoot their ceremony. As a photographer who loves natural light, I was thrilled to learn that the ceremony and majority of photo opportunities would be outside at the Aston Oaks Country Club and the surrounding area.
I predominantly use my two favorite “go-to” lenses when shooting a wedding: a prime 50mm/1.8 lens (because the clarity is beautiful and it creates soft, dreamy backgrounds when you need it to) and a 18-200mm zoom lens (because sometimes you need the versatility of a zoom lens when you’re trying to maneuver through a quiet ceremony without being disruptive:)
Nikon D610, f/2.8 @ 50mm, 1/320, ISO 800, No flash
For this shot, the couple wanted to utilize the view of the Ohio River. I found a spot where the trees were a bit cleared out and would frame them nicely. I then instructed the bride and groom to pretend as if they were dancing and he slowly “dip” her. This usually ends up with great facial expressions because the couple tends to laugh and look into each other’s eyes, allowing me to catch a great intimate shot.
I also used a small aperture so that the background would feel soft and that the viewer’s eyes would be drawn to the couple. I kept my ISO at 800 because the couple was moving and I was starting to lose some daylight.
Nikon D610, f/5 @ 50mm, 1/250, ISO 500, No flash
With the groom, I asked him to sit in a baseball catcher’s stance with his hands clasped. I try to always use the pose with a more outdoorsy, rugged background because I love the contrast of the hardness with the classiness of the dressed-up groom. Also, a downward angle is almost always flattering on everyone and these shots end up being some of my couples’ favorites.
Nikon D610, f/2.8 @ 50mm, 1/250, ISO 800, No flash
This one is one of my favorites from this wedding. The bride has the most stunning blue eyes and I wanted to try and focus in on that. I asked Kyle to look straight ahead and for Katherine to put her arms around his waist while gently laying her head against his back. It’s easy to get a “smooshed” face, so I try to remind my brides to just barely lean their heads on their partner’s shoulder. Sometimes, my brides will smile for this shot, but some brides can rock the sultry, serious face…clearly, Katherine can:) Again, I used the smaller aperture here because I wanted the soft, ambient background behind the couple.
Nikon D610, f/4.5 @ 50mm, 1/60, ISO 800, No flash & Nikon D610, f/3.5 @ 50mm, 1/20, ISO 800, No flash
At weddings, I try to incorporate the little things that the bride has planned out so thoroughly into her pictures. Many times, I will shoot with my macro lens to get table favors, cake and ring shots, etc. But sometimes they have really unique ideas that can provide some fun shots. Katherine had created programs that doubled as fans for her outside wedding. They were adorable and a great prop for me to use. I had them both hold the program out and angled slightly downward at my camera while I instructed them to “sneak” a kiss behind it.
Also, I took a similar approach as the bride was getting ready. She had this amazing, glittery gold “Mrs.” sign. I asked her to hold it up and do her best “selfie” face. This lightened her mood and really made her personality pop off the image.
Nikon D610, f/4.5 @ 50mm, 1/400, ISO 800, No flash
One thing I’m always looking for is leading lines. In both of these photos, we were able to find some unique leading lines that would lead the viewer’s eyes straight to the couple. In the bridge shot, I had Katherine and Kyle go about midway onto the bridge. I wanted her flowers to show for sure, so I instructed her to put them in the hand not facing the camera and then wrap her arm around her husband. This always ensures that the bouquet is facing the camera in a beautiful way that doesn’t look too posed. I love the groom’s hand on bride’s waist and her hand on his face; it creates an intimate, beautiful shot.
Nikon D610, f/5 @ 50mm, 1/1000, ISO 800, No flash
Likewise, I used the golf cart path (as weird as that sounds) and the rolling hills and lush landscape as leading lines for the second shot. At the beginning of this sequence of photos, I had the couple just stand with their arms around each other facing me. Then I instructed the groom to put his hand in his pocket while kissing his bride on the cheek or forehead. Sometimes my brides will smile and look at me, and other times my brides who can rock a serious romantic face give me shots like Katherine did here.
Nikon D610, f/3.2 @ 50mm, 1/1000, ISO 500, No flash
This shot was a spur of the moment, “let’s make the most of our time” shot. I was shooting just outside this gazebo when the rain started POURING! We rushed to the gazebo; but instead of just watching the rain and waiting for it to pass, I tried to utilize that time wisely. I got some fun shots of the bridesmaids as well as some detail shots like the one of the bride’s bouquet here. I had her rest her forearms on her hip bones and tilt her bouquet toward me. I used a small aperture to really reign in the focus on the flowers and give a soft, romantic look to the bride’s beaded gown in the background.
Nikon D610, f/5.6 @ 20mm, 1/500, ISO 640, No flash
Posing bridal parties, especially bridesmaids, requires a lot of attention to detail. Unless I’m going for a candid look where everyone needs to look different and unique, I try to give directions that result in the bridesmaids doing the same thing. A good rule of thumb for flowers is to have the bridesmaids rest their forearms on their hips. This allows for the bouquets to be relatively in the same place on every bridesmaid.
I also like to try and find backgrounds with texture or symmetry to really make the flowers and colors stand out. This was actually in someone’s driveway near the clubhouse, but the contrast of the green ivy and the stone wall provided some unique texture.
I’m Sarah. I own Happy Daisy Photography outside of Cincinnati. I am a wife to my firefighter husband, Ben, and the mother of two incredible toddlers, Ava & Finn. I also teach third grade in Butler County, Ohio.
I have been shooting professionally since 2009; and I’m always trying to expand and learn new things. I shoot families, weddings, seniors, children, and engagements. Ultimately, my goal is for my clients to be happy and capture memories that they will love. I love what I do and working with people.
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