A lot of couples tell me how much they love candid wedding photos.  They love images that show emotion and personality, and they look natural and relaxed.

As a photographer, I love those images, too.  I love it when the emotion in your face just jumps out of an image, or when a particular photo floods me with memories.  But even though the most moving images look completely natural, beautiful emotional images don’t just happen on their own.  For our most beautiful images we are behind the scenes working to adjust the lighting and the setting to create the stage for a beautiful image, and then working all day to make you feel comfortable and relaxed so that you can enjoy your day as much as possible.  A beautiful setting and a comfortable, relaxed couple leads to beautiful candid images.

In this image, Sarah’s killer smile and the way Mike is looking at her really make the image.  But we carefully chose this location in front of a large bank of beautiful windows and positioned them so that the light would be as flattering as possible.

Likewise, these are two images that I adore.  On the left, you can see how we carefully chose the location for our bride to show off her beautiful figure, her dress, and her venue.  The image on the right looks very natural, but believe it or not Kamran is standing to the left of the camera diffusing the light so that it is not too harsh on their faces.  As for their smiles, that’s all them. 🙂  We just set it up and stepped back.

And of course sometimes, for us, it’s just about being ready for emotional moments to happen and knowing where to look.  It’s up to you to relax and let yourselves experience the emotions of the day.

Ann Oleinik is a Chicago Wedding Photographer who serves Chicago, Illinois, Wisconsin, and beyond.  Check us out on our website or facebook, and Contact us to learn more about having us shoot your event.