Dreamy Elk Photography & Design: Austin Wedding Photographer

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the time of day {how to have a light & airy wedding}

There are three factors that go into achieving a ‘light & airy’ wedding: the wardrobe; the background; & the time of day.

Part 1 // The Wardrobe

Part 2 // The Background

Part 3 // The Time of Day

The Time of Day

You’ve probably read this in wedding magazines, but the Golden Hour is absolutely the best time of day for photographs.

The lower the sun is in the sky, the better.

This type of light eliminates weird dark shadows on your face, or distracting hot spots. Hello, glowing skin!

Usually I’m working in the late afternoon/early evening Golden Hour, but there does exist a MORNING Golden Hour that happens with sunrise. That one is a bit trickier for those of us who aren’t morning people, or if like me, you have very puffy eyes in the morning.

What does this mean for wedding days?

If you have your venue for an afternoon/evening time slot, I recommend timing your husband & wife portraits around sunset especially if you are not doing a first look. Then, work backwards with your order of events (that may include more than what I have listed, or less) making sure to give an appropriate amount of time for each event. Work with your photographer & coordinator/planner to come up with the perfect timeline.

For portrait sessions, this is easier to schedule since these shoots are shorter.

What about weddings earlier in the day?

Shade is my best friend & I make sure to keep you there as much as possible, especially if the sun is still high. The photo below was taken at 2pm with no clouds present!

Too shady

Be careful of going too far in the opposite direction, however. Too shady can be a bad thing. If you’ve chosen a shady grove that never sees the sun, your photos may be a little ‘muddy’ or grainy. (I’m trying to not get too technical on the why behind this. If you’re curious, shoot me an email!)

mountains & tall trees

On a similar note, mountains or tall buildings or trees can affect what time is ‘perfect’ for your location. Open fields with no shade are usually best done at actual sunset & right after. Shooting in a city with tall buildings may be better at 2pm. Actual sunset may be too dark!

What to consider when venue hunting:

Sunset times & what time we’re aloud to shoot on location (if a portrait session)

If possible, visit your venue or site around sunset to see the space.

Which direction is the sun setting?


Read the other posts in this series:

Part 1 // The Wardrobe

Part 2 // The Background

Part 3 // The Time of Day