Getting Ready Wedding Photography Guide

Getting ready photos set the emotional foundation for your entire wedding gallery. They're the opening chapter of the story. The nervous excitement. The deep breaths. The moment your best friend zips up your dress and you both lock eyes in the mirror. These aren't posed moments. They're real, and they happen whether a camera is there or not. Your photographer's job is to be there and catch them without disrupting them.

When I deliver a final gallery, the getting ready photos are often the ones that make couples most emotional. Not the portraits, which they expected to love. Not the ceremony, which they remember clearly. The getting ready images capture a version of the day they couldn't fully experience because they were living it. Your mom's face while she watched you get your makeup done. Your dad standing in the doorway trying not to cry. Your bridesmaids pretending to be calm while secretly panicking about the zipper. These moments fly by in real time, and without photos, they're gone.

One thing I always tell couples during our timeline planning: don't shortchange getting ready coverage. It's tempting to push the photographer's start time later to save an hour of coverage cost. But the getting ready hour is one of the most valuable hours in your entire package. You can always cut a cocktail hour short. You can't recreate the moment your partner reads your letter for the first time.

I've shot over 400 weddings, and the single biggest source of stress on a wedding morning is a timeline that's too tight. Hair and makeup always runs behind. Always. Every makeup artist in the world says "I need 45 minutes per person" and every single time it takes 60-75 minutes per person. Build that reality into your schedule or you'll spend the morning watching the clock instead of enjoying it.

Here's the schedule I recommend. Your ceremony is at 4:00 PM. Work backward from there. You need to leave for the venue by 2:30 PM for a first look, or by 3:15 PM if you're not doing one. Your dress goes on about 30-45 minutes before departure, so around 2:00 PM. Your photographer should arrive 90 minutes before the dress goes on, so around 12:30 PM. That gives time for detail shots, candid coverage of the final hair and makeup touches, and the dress-up moment without rushing.

If you have five bridesmaids all getting hair and makeup done by one artist, start that process at 7:00 or 8:00 AM. The bride typically goes last so her look is freshest. Your photographer doesn't need to be there for all of that. The first three hours of hair and makeup are repetitive and don't produce meaningfully different photos. The sweet spot starts when the bride sits down in the chair, when the final touches are happening, and when the energy in the room shifts from "morning routine" to "this is really happening."

For groom coverage, 45-60 minutes is sufficient. Most grooms are dressed and ready in 20 minutes, but the moments around that process are what we're after. The best man helping with cufflinks. The father adjusting the boutonniere. The quiet moment alone by the window before heading to the ceremony. If the groom is getting ready at a separate location, you'll need a second photographer or to split the primary photographer's time between locations.

Not every bride gets ready in a gorgeous bridal suite with floor-to-ceiling windows. Most get ready in hotel rooms. Some get ready in childhood bedrooms. I've photographed getting ready in an Airbnb kitchen, a church basement, and the back of an SUV (long story). The principles are the same regardless of the space.

Window light is everything. The single most important thing you can do for your getting ready photos is position yourself near the biggest window in the room. Turn off every overhead light, especially fluorescent ones. Overhead fluorescents cast downward shadows under eyes and create a green color cast that makes skin look sickly. Even the warmest tungsten overhead light mixes poorly with window daylight. Off. All of them.

A north-facing window gives you soft, even light that's perfect for portraits. An east-facing window is ideal for morning preparations, with warm directional light that creates beautiful shadows. A south-facing window can be too harsh in direct sun; if that's your situation, sheer curtains become your best friend. West-facing windows are rarely relevant for morning getting-ready coverage unless you're doing an evening ceremony.

For the room itself, spend 10 minutes clearing surfaces before the photographer arrives. Make the bed. Stash personal items in a closet. Move suitcases out of sight. A clear, clean background makes a dramatic difference. You don't need to redecorate. Just remove the chaos. If there's a nice armchair, position it near the window. If there's a full-length mirror, make sure it's accessible. If the bathroom has a large mirror with good lighting, that becomes the makeup station.

When window light isn't enough, an experienced photographer will use a small bounce flash to supplement. Bouncing a speedlight off a white ceiling at 1/4 power fills shadows without overpowering the natural light. This should look invisible in the final images. If you can tell flash was used, the photographer did it wrong. The technical setup for a good bounce fill: TTL mode, -2 stop flash exposure compensation, pointed at the ceiling about two feet in front of the subject. The result should feel like slightly brighter window light, not "flash photography." For more on these techniques, our lighting guide goes deeper.

Detail photography during getting ready isn't about documenting objects. It's about telling a story. The dress isn't just a dress. It's the thing she tried on six times before deciding. The cufflinks aren't just accessories. They belonged to his grandfather. Every object in the getting ready space has meaning, and good detail photography communicates that meaning through composition and light.

I shoot detail flat lays on two types of surfaces: the hotel bed with clean white sheets, or a piece of marble or wood tile I carry in my bag. The surface matters because it provides a neutral, clean backdrop that doesn't compete with the items. Shoot straight down from above at f/2.8 to f/4.0 so you have enough depth of field to keep most items sharp while still getting some background separation. ISO 400-800 near a window. Use a 50mm or 35mm for this, not an 85mm, because you need to be close enough to control the layout without standing on a chair.

The dress shot is the one clients notice most. Don't photograph it still in the garment bag or draped over a doorknob. Hang it on a quality hanger (ask the bride to bring one or bring your own) in a doorframe with good light behind it, or against a plain wall with side window light. Shoot at f/2.0 with an 85mm from about 8-10 feet back. The dress should fill most of the frame with the hanger and a bit of the surroundings providing context. If the dress has a dramatic train, let it pool on the floor.

Rings are the detail shot that gets shared on Instagram more than almost anything else. I use an 85mm or 100mm macro for ring shots. Place the rings on something meaningful: the invitation suite, a page from a book of vows, a piece of fabric from the dress, or the bouquet. Avoid generic surfaces like marble countertops that look like stock photography. Shoot at f/2.0 to f/2.8 with the rings at a slight angle. Backlighting from a window creates beautiful sparkle in diamonds.

The shoes, perfume bottle, jewelry, and invitation suite round out the core details. I photograph each individually and then create one composed flat lay that includes all of them. This flat lay often becomes the opening image of the gallery or the first page of the wedding album. It sets the visual tone for everything that follows.

Ask your couple ahead of time about sentimental items. A grandmother's ring pinned inside the dress. A father's handkerchief. A piece of a departed parent's clothing sewn into the hem. These are the details that carry the most emotional weight, and I won't know they exist unless someone tells me. I always send a questionnaire asking "are there any special items or heirlooms being incorporated into your wedding day?" The answer to this question has produced some of my most meaningful images.

Groom's getting ready coverage is where some of my most natural images come from. You know why? Because nobody's performing. The bride knows she's being photographed. The bridesmaids know they're being photographed. Everyone's aware of the camera and acting at least a little bit for it. The guys? They forget the camera exists within five minutes.

The moments I'm watching for: the groom alone at the window, looking out, processing what's about to happen. A father helping with a tie or adjusting a jacket. The best man handing over the rings. The group of groomsmen sharing a toast. The groom reading a letter from his partner and trying not to cry in front of his friends. That last one happens more often than you'd think, and it's always gold.

Technically, groom getting ready presents similar challenges to the bride's suite. Hotel rooms, mediocre light, cluttered spaces. The same rules apply. Window light. Overhead lights off. Clean surfaces. But grooms' preparation spaces tend to be smaller and darker because groomsmen aren't as thoughtful about booking rooms with good natural light. I've shot groom preparations in rooms where the only window was a narrow slit next to the bathroom. You make it work. ISO 3200, f/1.4, and you find the light.

Groom's details are underappreciated. The watch, cufflinks, tie clip, boutonniere, shoes, cologne, and the ring box all deserve the same careful attention as bridal details. I shoot these at the same settings I use for bridal details: f/2.0 to f/2.8 on an 85mm near window light. If the groom has a sentimental item like a family pocket watch or a military pin, that goes front and center in the detail arrangement.

If both partners are getting ready at the same hotel but in different rooms, I'll start with the groom (or the partner who needs less preparation time), spend 30-40 minutes there, then move to the bride's room for the remaining 60-90 minutes. If they're at separate locations, a second photographer is really the only way to cover both properly. Trying to drive between two locations during the getting ready window wastes time and risks missing key moments. Check the equipment guide for what a good second shooter should be carrying.

After hundreds of weddings, I've seen every possible getting ready scenario. Here are the mistakes that consistently produce weaker photos, and they're all avoidable.

The number one mistake is a cramped room with too many people. If you have eight bridesmaids and your hotel room fits four people comfortably, the photographer physically can't move. You need space between yourself and the subject. At a minimum, 5-6 feet. When I'm pressed against a wall shooting at 35mm because there's nowhere to stand, the photos show it. Consider booking a separate hotel suite for getting ready even if it costs an extra $200-$300. The photos will be dramatically better. Some venues and hotels have dedicated bridal suites with good light and space. Ask about these during your venue selection process.

Messy backgrounds are the second biggest issue. I can't tell you how many times I've been setting up a beautiful dress shot and there's a Dasani bottle, an iPhone charger, and a random shoe visible in the background. I move what I can, but I'm not your housekeeper, and some things get missed when I'm also trying to capture real moments happening in real time. Take five minutes to tidy before I arrive.

Running behind schedule is the third killer. When hair and makeup is 45 minutes late and the bride is stressed about time, it shows in her face. That tension replaces the excitement that should be there. Build buffer time into your wedding timeline. If your makeup artist says she'll be done by 1:00, plan for 1:30. If she actually finishes at 1:00, great. You have 30 minutes to relax and enjoy the anticipation. That calm anticipation photographs beautifully.

Ignoring the men's preparation is a mistake that happens at the planning level. Couples don't think to tell their photographer about groom getting ready until the week before the wedding. By then, the timeline doesn't allow for it. Discuss both getting ready locations during your initial photographer consultation so it's built into the coverage from the start.

Finally, don't get fully dressed before the photographer arrives. This happens more than you'd think. The bride puts on her dress to "see how it looks" and then wants to redo the moment when the photographer gets there. Recreated moments never look as good as real ones. Your photographer misses the genuine reaction of seeing yourself in the dress for the first time because it already happened 20 minutes ago. Wait. It's worth it.