Count in Threes Photo: Best Tips for Timeline, First Looks, Family Photos, and More!
Your wedding timeline can make the difference between feeling relaxed and feeling rushed! Chatting with your wedding photographer to decide whether or not to do first looks, how to best execute family portraits, and when to sneak away for golden hour photos can make a big difference.
We asked Kim Zebron with Count in Threes Photo to share her best tips and advice for creating your timeline and feeling most confident in front of the camera to get thosee swoon-worthy pictures you’ll love for years to come.
BUILDING A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY TIMELINE
When Kim builds her wedding timeline, she starts with when the couple wants to be done before the ceremony, and then works back from there. The beginning of the day sets the pace for everything to follow. If the day starts with being jam-packed, the day can feel rushed, and details can get missed. One important part that couples underestimate is how much buffer time matters! Hair and makeup regularly run late, people won’t arrive on time, and without those margins built in, you’ll be catching up the rest of the day!
“It’s not about having enough time for each thing, it’s about having the cushion around it”
The more people you have in your wedding also matters! If you have 5-6 people on each side, 30 minutes should be good for getting-ready portraits and first looks with your wedding party. However, if you have more people, additional time will be needed.
SHOULD YOU DO A FIRST LOOK?
The biggest pro for doing a first look is the emotional aspect. Getting to see your person sooner can ease so many nerves! Besides that, it’s also an opportunity to take more formal wedding photos before the ceremony. This can free up time to enjoy your cocktail hour, or to get additional couple photos and have a bit of alone time before your wedding reception starts.
The biggest con for a first look? Kim said this can create the expectation that everything can be done beforehand, and it doesn’t always work out that way. This all depends on how much time is set aside. If there isn’t enough time during the first look, something will have to give and be done after the ceremony. The whole day is a balancing act, especially if your coverage hours are tight and there is not enough buffer between events.
HOW TO TAKE WEDDING PHOTOS WITHOUT MISSING YOUR PARTY
Kim’s recommendation? Divide your photo list into two categories: Must-Have Photos and Nice-To-Have Photos.
The Must-Haves are photos handled formally and quickly right after the wedding ceremony, while the Nice-To-Haves can be woven into your cocktail hour. By separating your list this way, you get the photos you want, while still spending time at cocktail hour with the people that matter most.
Your Must-Have Photos include your formal family photos. The best way to organize this is to create a shot list of about 10-15 groupings ahead of time. Kim’s biggest tip is to order the list from largest group to smallest. Starting big and narrowing down is WAY easier than doing it the other way around. After the grouping is done, they can enjoy the rest of cocktail hour, and you won’t have to worry about tracking down anyone that wanders off to the bar.
Your Nice-To-Have Photos are photos like your cousins with their partners or your college friend group. These are photos that tend to happen naturally since everyone is mingling!
Want to see more of Kim’s work?
HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU NEED FOR GOLDEN HOUR WEDDING PHOTOS
Did you know? Golden Hour and Sunset are completely different. Sunset time is the tail end of golden hour. A true golden hour is the hour right before sunset – that’s when you’ll get that soft and warm glow that everyone is after!
20 minutes is a wonderful amount of time for golden hour photos, but 30 minutes is even better! That being said, Kim has been able to pull off great photos in 10 minutes or less – she’ll take what she can get!
The trick to golden hour is timing it perfectly with your reception so people don’t know you’re missing! The best time is right around dinner or very early in the reception. By working with your wedding planner and photographer, they can grab you at the right moment so it doesn’t feel like an interruption of your wedding reception.
HOW TO FEEL COMFORTABLE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA ON YOUR WEDDING DAY
Not everyone feels comfortable in front of the camera. In fact, “we’re awkward in photos” is probably one of the most common things wedding photographers hear from their couples!
Kim’s approach is to be a fly-on-the-wall when it comes to candids. She wants to capture the day as it unfolds without interruption. But she’ll step in and guide as needed! Rather than telling you the exact pose, Kim will give you something to do or feel while she gets that perfect shot! By doing this, your movements happen naturally, and the real, relaxed photos happen. The important part of Kim’s approach is that she keeps the couple and their personality front and center, rather than setting you up in a way that may feel unnatural.
“The goal is for you to look like the best version of you, not like you’re performing for a camera.”
5 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER ARRIVES
Most of the heavy lifting is done before the wedding day. Here are some small ways to prep ahead of time that can make a difference.
- Have Your Details Ready: Gather your rings, invitation suite, shoes, jewelry, vows, and heirlooms in one spot so the photographer can capture that photo without hunting things down.
- Finalize your family photo list: 10-15 groupings starting from biggest to smallest. Send this to your wedding photographer in advance.
- Hire a planner: Trust Kim on this!
- Build in buffer time: Trust the timeline that you build together and pad a little extra where you can.
- Trust your Vendors: You hired them for a reason.
Your only job on the day is to show up and enjoy it!
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY EDITING STYLE: TRUE-TO-COLOR
For couples who may not have thought about wedding photo editing before, there’s a spectrum.
One one side is light and airy. Think bright, soft, low-contract with a bit of fading and pastels.
The other end is dark and moody. Think deep shadows, heavy drama, with warm earthy tones!
Both sides are beautiful, but can err on the side of trend-driven, which can date a wedding gallery.
Kim’s style is true-to-color with a little bold punch.
True-to-color sits in the middle. The greens of the photos look like the greens of your day, the skin color is your skin, and the florals look just as beautiful as they did on your day. Her “bold punch” in editing creates a focal point that has extra richness and dimension, so your eye goes exactly where it should in each photo.
