Why Moodboarding for weddings is Important

How do you create work that pushes the boundaries? Or perform under pressure shooting huge weddings? It all comes down to preparation and moodboarding! As wedding photographers we often get just one chance to create something for your couples on the wedding day. Sometimes even just 5 minutes to shoot before your couple has to run off into their reception. So, we need to be prepared! We need to have some ideas in mind. We need to have a vision all ready to go. NO fluffing around, not umms and ahhhs.  We are talking about a creative vision. Moodboarding before the day helps us think through these ideas, create a strong vision and gives us confidence on a wedding day. And a little moodboarding bonus?? It shows your couple you mean business too and are willing to go above and beyond.

The problem is many photographers think they need to roll with a more 'natural' or 'organic' philosophy. Just turn up on the day and shoot whatever is in front of them because that it 'authentic and natural'. But keeping things natural and preparing your ideas are not mutually exclusive. We think it's hard to push the boundaries of what you are doing with your wedding photography without being prepared, without creating a vision and therefore, without moodboarding. At worst, keeping things 'natural' and 'organic' is sometimes just an excuse for lazy and unprepared.

So, some of us screenshot randomly. Some of us make pinterest boards. Some of us save a few social posts. But today we are talking about real mood boarding. Taking the time to find images and references and curating them together into a document. Just like what we saw our friends at Bottega 53 do for a recent wedding they captured in Egypt.

Moodboarding for a Billionaire's Wedding with Bottega 53

Destination wedding photographers Bottega 53 were tasked with capturing the eight day wedding celebrations of Erika Hammond and Ankur Jain. Events that spanned the entire continent of Africa. From safaris, to getting reading on planes, to an insane ceremony infront of the pyramids. It was huge. An in capturing such an iconic wedding, you would naturally want to do it in a way that push the boundries of wedding photography and did the events justice. So they set out to put together an extensive moodboard that planned out different vibes for the different locations and shoots. It includes some shot ideas, some framing ideas, some ideas for props. And it was the base of their creative vision for how they would capture the eight days. Of course , but they went in with a plan. And I think you will agree, they got the results! That red chair shot in front of the pyramids? Absolutely iconic.

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So how can we Moodboard better?

So here is a moodboarding process to consider...

• General/Specific - The golden rule of moodboarding is to be both general and specific. Curate the overall world you want to build, the vibe and feeling you want to create, but also get very specific with things you will actually shoot. (specific things below, which you can even save into different sections).
• Location - curate images shot at similar locations to yours. Don’t board hotel rooms when you are shooting a desert.
• Action and posing - save references of actions and movements you would want to use. Pose ideas. Take out your board and show couples too, they’ll love it and know exactly what the vision is.
• Angles and frames - ideas for the actual frames and perspectives you want to shoot. Wide 24mm. Close up. Through the crowd. Over the shoulder. Let the board prompt you to change up your natural framing.
• Things that build the world - this is not just couple photos, it’s the other things that help you build the vibe and feeling you are going for. Shooting in Tuscany? It’s the dry grass, the weathered stones of a building, the grapes on the vine.
• Light - don’t forget to save examples of the kind of light you want to use. Want to shoot moody window light? Save some. Soft flash? Save some.
• Edit - often overlooked is moodboarding for an edit. Consider a section of your board for the kind of edit you want to go for. Give yourself reference colours to edit from, shot in similar locations and light.

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