As an Atlanta, Georgia Wedding Photographer, I’ve learned the importance of getting great shots of the wedding guests. Everyone’s in the spirit of celebrating and feeling extra lovey so it’s the perfect time to capture truly great photos of friends and family! My own experiences have also influenced how and why I focus on getting great shots of wedding guests.

I was raised in a large, tight-knit, amazing family that I love more than life. One of the main driving forces behind my photography journey was the unexpected loss of my uncle in 2007.

After he passed away, my family and I were looking for photos of him. We came to a picture that I had taken of him one year on Thanksgiving. He was mid-laugh and it stopped me in my tracks. My mind went right back to the moment I snapped the photo, and still does today.

I knew then how important it was to capture those seemingly insignificant moments that pass in the blink of an eye, and that i’d spend my life doing it. Although that was 11 years ago now, I never lose sight of that feeling when I’m photographing other people’s family members.

In May of 2018, I lost an aunt unexpectedly. As we did when we lost our uncle, we looked for every image of our aunt we could find. I knew we had several beautiful pictures of her from our wedding that would now mean even more to us. There are two specific photos that are seared into my brain. She’s mid-laugh and I can hear her contagious giggle every time I see those pictures. I’m SO grateful our photographer was there, paying attention to those little moments that mean so much to me, Chase, and to our family.

It may be super cliche but it’s 100% true. Life and people change, the photographs never do. Inspired by this, I decided to put together a blog post with some of my favorite guest images.

Wedding Guests: Ceremony

The ceremony is a great time to snap photos of the guests. Your guests are all dolled up for your special night and ready for their photo to be taken! It’s one of my favorite times to get in some good guest shots!

Cocktail Hour

While the bride and groom are taking photos as newlyweds, guests head off to enjoy cocktail hour. This is a great opportunity to capture candid shots of guests in the moment.

 

Reception

Because the reception is much longer than the ceremony and cocktail hour, this is prime time to capture some truly memorable moments for the bride and groom (and guests, too!) 

Check out these other great articles from Heather Dettore Photography!