Top 12 Tips for Creative Wedding Photos

I have to start this writing by stating that all people are creative. I argue that you are very likely at least as creative as I am. Honestly, I never felt creative until I started photographing. Creative wedding photo ideas can help capture unique and artistic wedding moments, even in challenging environments, while balancing them with classic wedding photographs that resonate with timeless emotions and storytelling.

I still clearly remember what it felt like to go out to photograph for the first time and how I had no idea what to photograph. Along the way, however, I have learned a few things, but most of these things have been intentional learning, not innate creativity.

I feel that creativity with a camera requires not only photographic experience but also a certain kind of mindset shift. Most of my experiments are still experiments. Often I don’t like the photos I’ve taken, and I never even show these photos to the wedding couples.

However, I analyze the reasons why I think a photo “doesn’t work” after the shoot and take the learned lessons with me.

What is creativity and how a wedding photographer can have it

August 23rd, 2024.

How to have creative photo ideas as a wedding photographer

Always familiarize yourself with the photo locations in advance and explain to the couple why the location you chose is the best, taking their wishes into account. As a wedding photographer, it's crucial to communicate and collaborate with the couple to understand the special details and moments they want to capture. If the shoot is in the city at noon or at the reception venue in the evening, familiarize yourself with these locations to ensure your time with the couple isn’t spent searching for photo spots.

I found this location the day before, and it was about a 5-minute drive by car. 2022.

3. Choose the Location Carefully


Start with the 80/20 tactic and then move to the 20/80 tactic. Initially, shoot 80% for the wedding couple and then 20% for yourself. This one-fifth that you shoot for yourself consists of photos that you like, regardless of the couple’s opinion.

Later, when you have a distinctive style, you can reverse the percentages because couples will likely want you precisely for the way you shoot, or despite it.

A gap in the fence through which I photographed the couple. I found the location the day before. 2018.

2. Remember to Take Wedding Photos in Your Own Style


Although I was interested in photography already in the early 2000s, it wasn't until 2015 that photography truly captivated me when I shot my second wedding gig. My first wedding photography took place in the winter of 2014, and to my surprise, the wedding couple wanted all the photos indoors.

The indoor locations were not particularly interesting, with natural light flooding in combined with artificial light, so I wasn't very satisfied with the final photos, even though the couple liked them.

On my second wedding gig, I decided to do things differently. The wedding couple wanted urban photos, so I found cool locations and ensured we had enough time. Here is a photo that won me an artist of the year award by Lookslikefilm. I scouted the location before the wedding and it made all the difference!

I liked the symmetrical background of this parking garage. 2015.

1. Plan the Portrait locations ahead

How to Have More Creative Wedding Photo Ideas?

Limit the amount of photography equipment or set other restrictions. You may have noticed that too many options ultimately make things more difficult. Wedding photo ideas can help you focus on creative concepts and themes to enhance your wedding photography.

Shoot portraits using only a 50 mm lens, shoot a moment with only an F8 aperture or with a slower than 1/40 shutter speed. However, remember the 80/20 rule in these cases.

Sometimes limitations allow for unique photos. I shot this wedding day portrait with a Leica M10 rangefinder camera that doesn’t have autofocus. 2021.

6. Limitations Are Good for Creativity



Set a goal for each shoot that you can write, for example, in your phone's notes. This can be as simple as "try the Brenizer method with an 85 mm lens," "compose creatively," or something more specific, like an inspirational photo you know is possible based on your previous scouting of locations.

However, it's good to be aware that not all couples are the same, and the same things can't always be done, even if conditions are similar.

Wedding portraits with a tilt-shift lens. 2020.

5. Make a List of Creative Goals


Choose photo locations primarily based on the quality of light and then consider the backgrounds. You can practically plan this by visiting the location at the same time of day you'll be photographing later or using an app like Sun Seeker, which shows the sun's direction virtually through your phone's camera.

I found this location for elopement weddings after a five-hour hike and I chose it because the sun was setting behind the mountains and I knew they were backlighted. Because the place appeared cloudy in the photos I showed the couple, I had to justify carefully why this location would be unique. 2023.

4. Remember The Importance of Light in Wedding Photos


Ask for feedback on your photos. Submit your photos for critique from other photographers or ask for feedback in various groups, for example, anonymously on Reddit or Facebook.

The openings in the observation tower created interesting lighting. What could have been done better in this photo?

9. Improving as a Photographer Requires Feedback


Shoot in lighting conditions that present challenges: shoot a moment of portraits in harsh light, i.e., in the direct midday sun or late after sunset, so that you have to use your creativity to capture the mood.

A photo of this couple's engagement session in Norway. The sun had already set when we were searching for a location, so I started shooting with a long shutter speed. 2019.

8. Focus on Capturing the Atmosphere



Get the wedding guests involved in making the photos. When I photographed a wedding for the first time at Valkosaari Dockyard, I was surprised at how dark the venue was in the evening. I came up with the idea to ask the guests to help light the first dance.

I thought the venue's lights were too dim, but the guests saved the first dance when I asked them for help. 2020.

7. Use Creative Lighting


Set an alarm or some other reminder during the shoot. This is a big tip, especially if you tend to forget exactly the photos you want to try and realize after the shoot that you forgot to experiment with new things.

I didn't forget to use the tilt-shift in this shoot because I had set an alarm for myself. 2018.

12. Use alarm so you Don’t Forget to Take More Creative Photos




Watch movies, look at artworks, and explore the portfolios of different photographers to get new ideas and perspectives.

I got the idea for this from the "window" on the bride's back and decided to try creating the photo in Photoshop. 2019.

10. Keep The Inspiration Alive


Read more about me

Hi, my name is Jaakko.

I have been a wedding photographer for 10 years, and photography has taken me from the fjords of Norway to the mountains of Switzerland and the small streets of London.

My work has been published in some of the world's largest publications. In 2019 and 2023, my photos were selected for the Junebug Best of the Best collection, the world's largest wedding photography competition. I was also named Artist of the Year by Lookslikefilm in 2015 and 2019.

I currently live in Jyväskylä's highest location with my wife Ida and my children Elsa and Eliel, but I travel regularly across Europe for work.

I'm incredibly excited that at this stage in my photography career, I finally have the time to guide and be a photography mentor for other photographers and entrepreneurs!

Wedding Photographer, Mentor, and Teacher

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