In wedding photography scouting is important to select the exact locations you’re going to shoot, ensuring no time is wasted on the day looking for the perfect spot and lighting situations. I do this with each of my weddings (and elopements) for every one of my couples that books me.
There are so many things that are out of our control on a wedding day – punctuality, the weather, people’s emotions, etc – that at least I can be in control of some things and that includes doing my homework. It also helps any pre-wedding nerves knowing I already know my locations and have a backup weather/lighting plan prior to starting to shoot.
If I am shooting a wedding in Albury Wodonga, Melbourne or Victoria, I’ll go visit the locations ideally within a month of the wedding so that I am scouting at a similar season with the same lighting conditions etc as the wedding day. I also try and visit at the time of day that those photos will take place, i.e. first look scouting at first look timing, ceremony scouting at ceremony timing etc. This ensures that I will see the exact light that I will encounter on the wedding day.
If I’m shooting a wedding interstate/internationally I plan to arrive a couple days ahead of time to allow time to scout (this also accounts for any fly delays). Although, if you have opted for pre-wedding coverage and/or an engagement session with me then I’ll arrive even earlier to allow time for those aswell. This is also a great time for me to meet with the couple or/and the wedding planner to do a walk-through and meet prior to your wedding.
If scouting alone I will have my camera on hand too so I can photograph “B-roll” or “establishing shots” (landscape, venue, and detail shots) to help set the stage of the day within the gallery, especially because on the day I’m often too busy to capture these shots.
When there is a location I have been to before and am confident with the locations I won’t visit again unless its to walk through with the couple or wedding planner. If I haven’t been to a location before I will often reach out to the planner/coordinator, and photography community who are super helpful in recommending their favourite spots to shoot. Instagram, Google Earth and Pinterest are also very helpful when scoping out where to shoot!
I will also factor in if my couple in the rare occasion hasn’t booked an engagement session with me – if my couple is free to meet with them before and scout the locations regardless as this is usually our only chance to meet in person before the big day and spend time together. This aids in helping them feel a little bit more comfortable with in turn in the long run makes their wedding photographs shine.
There has only been one time I didn’t scout a wedding, where a photographer needed help extremely last minute and it was super lucky I was available. I immediately jumped on a call with the couple to officially/unofficially “meet them”. The ceremony and reception where in different locations in the middle of no-where and a lot of the guests (with myself included) didn’t have any phone reception. This was extremely stressful on the day, I was able to adjust the timeline on the day accordingly with some back up measures I had in place so no crucial moments were missed but this easily could’ve been prevented if I had scouted beforehand. In this instance, as I was at a wedding that day, I was requested and accepted on behalf of another photographer to fill in the night before the wedding day itself. This meant I had no time to scout. Emergencies happen, and I’m grateful that I could help the couple and their day still be documented. However, definitely serves as a warning, to be organised and scout your locations.
It’s also worth noting scouting your wedding locations lets you view locations if the weather is not ideal. If you have opted for photos in the gardens, is there a building near by you can use and duck into, a beautiful staircase, and so on.
If you’re looking for a wedding (or elopement) photographer to help you with your wedding planning, I have years of experience within the industry as an editorial wedding photographer and would love to help you ensure your day is no less than perfect. You can reach out here, I would love to hear from you!
