Confetti Shots Are An Absolute Joy!
Capturing great confetti moments has always been one of the most enjoyable parts of a wedding day, and I love photographing this moment. Couples love the fun, reactive, and spontaneous nature of the photos they receive but they don’t happen without some planning, so here are my 5 tips for getting those perfect shots.
1.Prepare In Advance
You want to be prepared, and so do I, so I always ask my couples in advance if and when they are planning to have confetti thrown.
Firstly, does your venue allow confetti? Ask in advance.
I believe outdoor paper confetti should always be biodegradable. Another really popular option, is to go with rose petal confetti. Either option can make for great photos, but try to avoid very small individual pieces, or heavy confetti. Go too small, and you’ll feel like you’re having crumbs thrown all over you (and that stuff gets in your hair, and down your dress, and and everywhere). Go too heavy, and you’ll miss out of that floating in the air effect (and it may even hurt).
Finally make sure you have more than you think you’ll need. You want loads of confetti, a proper shower. Not a light smattering. Get the idea?
2.Plan When To Throw The Confetti
Traditionally confetti is thrown immediately after the wedding ceremony. However, you’ll both be the first to leave the ceremony, and your guests will follow afterwards, so this takes a little ‘fixing’.
I advise couples to loop around, while guests leave and take a little cone of confetti or grab a handful from your bridesmaids or those you’ve asked to hand it out.
It’s part of my job to shepherd guests into lining the pathway you’re going to take. I’ll also advise they put away their phones (it just doesn’t work if half the guests are taking photos and not throwing confetti), and I’ll tell them to throw the confetti high in the air and keep watching you as you’ve gone past.
3.What The Couple Need To Do
This is your moment and you really need to milk it! For that reason I tell all my couples to walk slowly, don’t run, and enjoy every second. It may feel as if you’re being pelted in the face by floral hailstones, but try to look up or else the photos will mainly feature the top of your head! 🙂
I should also mention that I’m usually walking backwards while I shoot this, so if you don’t want to see your photographer end up flat on her back, legs akimbo, don’t go too fast.
Also, I’ll never tell you to stop half way and kiss, because I feel if you want to do that you should do it spontaneously, but it does add a lovely moment if you feel you want to in the moment.
Yes the shot is clearly set up, there has to be some thought and planning go into it, but the joy of the confetti shot is that every single person is caught in the moment, and the results are delightfully uninhibited and natural.
4.Other Confetti Options
Another option for your confetti moment is to have confetti cannons. You’ll need to check they’re ok to use with your venue, but then it’s up to you when you want them. In the following example, sparkly metallic cannons were fired during the entrance of the bride and groom. With no natural light and on camera flash, I love how the confetti shines. It’s a completely different look.
5.If Space Is Limited Or It Needs To be Later Due To Weather..
You can always have your guests gather around you and throw their confetti, it can make for a really cute shot.
For Photographers
If you’re just getting into wedding photography and looking for some tips, here’s my technique.
I shoot open at f2.8 and usually with a 24-70mm lens so I can get a variety of wide shots taking in all the guests, and zoom in to get a few sharp close ups (isolating the couple with guests in the bokeh).
I also set my camera to continuous shooting on ‘high’. I want a fast shutter speed and plenty of choice when selecting a range of images for my couple’s final collection.
In poor light, such as later winter weddings, consider using flash! You won’t regret it.
Well those are my confetti photo tips based on 15 years of photographing weddings. Thanks for visiting.
