Photographing larger couples?

Foques

Hey folks,

i have a wedding coming up. Both - bride and groom are on a heavier side; I love them both to death, but am not sure if there are any tricks to shooting that body type as I usually deal with fit folk. :dunno

any posing/lighting etc advice is more than welcome.

the wedding itself is going to be held at a church; portraits are going to be done not even 10 minutes from there; there is a run down farm with barns and silos..

i'm all ears.

Qarik

try to avoid full on front shots, more angles. Shoot slightly from above when you can. Use longest focal length you can get away with (for example if you are using 24-70mm and you have space..shoot at 70mm) More head and shoulder shots when possible. But honestly..outside of controlled studio environment where you have complete control of the light, not a heck of a lot you can do. Just roll with it..assumably your customers don't have unreasonable expectations.

Andy

Qarik wrote: »

Shoot slightly from above when you can.

Blurmore

I photograph a lot of larger couples, I have 3 basic rules.

1. If the bride is wearing a dress that makes her look like a tent, don't be afraid to shoot her full length and use the large dress to make her look smaller.

2. Don't photograph from below nose level, down if possible, all tight shots down.

3. Don't get to posey with the hands and arms, make sure the flowers are low to get good extension, and if they are both big, nix the real closeup cuddly stuff, don't be afraid to give them their own space.

Foques

thank you so much guys!
Blur, could you elaborate a bit more on the #1, please? How would I use her dress to make her look smaller?

Blurmore

Foques wrote: »

thank you so much guys!
Blur, could you elaborate a bit more on the #1, please? How would I use her dress to make her look smaller?

Nothing wrong with large well lit compositions and less emphasis on tight full lengths. Especially if you have a beautiful setting. Spread the dress out, use it.

Foques

fantastic! thank you!

Matthew Saville

Don't totally avoid close-ups, though. If you do nothing but full-length portraits, the delivered product will be noticeably incomplete.

Backlighting and blowing things out, when done VERY carefully, can be a nice little slimming trick too.

Foques

thank you!
Keep 'em coming!

3smiles

What if you have one large and one small in the couple I have one were the groom is large and bride is small and one that the guy is small and bride is large. How do I do this?

Matthew Saville

3smiles wrote: »

What if you have one large and one small in the couple I have one were the groom is large and bride is small and one that the guy is small and bride is large. How do I do this?

Have them trade spouses? :-P

LinusM

Nice answer Matthew - Probably the only one you can give in this situation ;-)