Amazing Couple Captures You Need to Have On Your Shot List

^{Photo Credit: @peytonrbyford}

So, as I was doing my general Wedding Chicks Insta trolling (and when I say trolling, I mean stalking happily) this morning, I was wildly inspired by a few pics that just took my breath away. And not in the way that one typically imagines when they say that a wedding photo took their breath away. Nope! Instead, these shots had me shook because they were sooo fun, relaxed, intimate, and downright delicious (literally). They got all the likes, and it’s easy to see why. #goals.

Now, as you’re preparing your own wedding day shot list, try to think out of the box. The formal shots are certainly a necessary part of the picture, but the personality of your wedding really shines through in the photos that either aren’t necessarily planned/serendipitous or are carefully considered by the couple and their photographer and captured in ways that feel natural and infinitely in-the-moment.

^{Photo Credit: @dawn_photo}

Putting together a shot list can seem like such torture, especially when you’re doing it in the final weeks before the wedding and already have 12000 things on your to-do list. But, it’s sooo important, and not just for proper vendor protocol; it’s so that you can align, once again, with one of the biggest players in your big day. Your photographer has his or her aesthetic and signature shooting style - the reason you probably booked them in the first place - and will come prepared to snap anything and everything that looks 🙌🙌🙌, but when they get some direction and inspiration from you, they’ll feel even more energized and ready to shoot TF out of your wedding day. Team work makes the dream work, arewerite?

You’ll see, too, that a lot of times, photographers post their favorite pictures from recent weddings on their feed and reference the magic of the shot / where it came from / how the couple played into it. It’s often the photos that brides and grooms specifically request that get photographers excited about what they do every day.

Take this one, for example, by one of our all-time favorite photographer crushes: Jordan Voth. Everyone is used to that basic “from the guest perspective” first kiss shot, it’s cute and sweet and… expected. But for this wedding, the couple explicitly asked him to take the picture from an alternate point of view.

^{Photo Credit: @jordanvoth}

To quote him, and his caption, he shared “Before the wedding, Emily requested photographing their first kiss from behind which I thought was super rad because it’s something I’ve never done before. It’s easy to take the safe shots but it’s really cool to see this moment from a different perspective.”

Yes, yes, yessss. Safe shots work, and they almost always translate well, but the risky or reimagined shots are the coolest. And it doesn’t even require crazy creativity, either, usually turning up the edge, the sweetness, or the excitement just means taking the traditional shot and tweaking it. First look shoulder tap versus first look butt grab. Butt grab FTW! Arm-linked cake tasting versus cake face smashing? Face smashing ALWAYS.

Scroll down to check out some of the snaps you need to have on your list. (If they apply, of course).

^{Photo Credit: @willkhouryphotography}