Your Wedding Photographer Probably Hasn’t Told You this.

I’ve photographed over 100 weddings in my career, and there’s something I’ve realized about photographers (or actually, people in general). When you do something long enough, there are things you know that you kind of just assume everyone else knows. But in reality, the only reason you know these things is because you have done something dozens and dozens of times. Others haven’t. So they don’t know what you assume they know.

I’m here to bring one of those things to light. You ready?

Let’s dive in.

The simple truth: your venue’s colors become your wedding colors.

All photographers know it. Many never mention it. Most clients have never considered it.

Most couples choose a venue based on things like location, size, price, style, any number of things. But one thing couples usually don’t think about is this: the colors inside and outside the venue that you choose become your wedding colors. They show up in your photos, they reflect onto your skin, they are EVERYWHERE. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s simply important to understand that it does happen.

I’ll explain more.

Outdoor Locations

Look at an example. Let’s say you are getting married outside in the summer, at a historic estate, with a white tented reception in the evening. What color would be the dominant color outdoors, in Virginia, in the summer? Green. So in the background of all your ceremony photos and probably your portraits, there will be a lot of green. Then, let’s say you got married at that same estate, in November. What would the primary colors of your photos be then? Well….probably earth tones. Browns, rust, muted yellows and that gorgeous autumn palette.

Pretty simple right? But that’s not where most people get hung up. Let’s talk about indoor locations.

Indoor Locations

Back to the wedding at the estate. The reception tent is white. So what are the background of all your reception shots is going to be? You got it! White! (You’re pretty good at this.)

Let’s say it gets dark outside. Then what? Remember what I said about colors reflecting off your skin? When your wedding photographer pops on their flash when it gets dark, that white tent is basically like a reflector, and the light bounces off that white tent and back to your skin, no tint. (Ahhhhh. White. This wedding gives you a perfect idea of this type of venue and season.)

Now onto another example.

Let’s say you are getting married in a barn. The walls are orange wood. You step into the barn in your wedding dress and your photographer snaps a photo. What are the primary colors of that photo going to be? You got it-orange.

Not going to lie, most photographers don’t like shooting in barns with orange wood. Because of the way the light reflects orange tints from the wood onto their clients, it makes it very difficult to make skin tones look natural and not…orange.

Now this is not to say that you shouldn’t get married in a barn. The point here is, that you need to know beforehand what to expect. See, if you get married in a barn with orange wood and expect your photos to look like they were shot in a white tent, you’re going to be disappointed.

Similarly, you love those editorial photos you see on Pinterest in those beautiful, all white, natural light bridal suites, and get ready at a venue that has that space in a dark basement, your photos just won’t look like you were expecting.

Photographers can change almost anything in a photo and can create art basically out of nothing. But the one thing we cannot do, is change the colors and textures of your venue.

Here’s your homework if you are a bride or groom: visit your venue or look at photos of your venue in the season that you will be getting married. Look at the getting ready spaces, the reception area. Also, consider the colors of the walls and ceilings, the textures, the outdoor location colors. Remember, those colors will be everywhere. You could even plan your wedding colors around them (the result would be a beautifully cohesive wedding design!)

Here’s your homework if you are photographer: ask yourself if you could to do better at helping our clients understand the ins and outs of light and color casting, and how different venues look in different seasons. Helping our clients understand how THEIR photos will look at THEIR venue in THEIR wedding season, will keep expectations where they need to be. Satisfied clients = happy photographers.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

If you enjoy wedding tips, check out this post on creating the perfect veil shot!

Jessica Lapp is a film photographer serving clients all over the state of Virginia, including DC, Richmond, and Charlottesville. Elegant wedding photography on film and digital. For couples who want to remember the most beautiful day of their lives in an exquisite way. Learn more about the wedding experience here!

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