Musical magic and why picking the right option is so important for your wedding pictures!
From your first dance as newly weds through to loch lommond at the end of the last night, the top priorities are usually a busy dance floor and everyone dancing. And guess what? your photographer wants the exact same thing! Your photos might not show what was playing but you can often get a sense of the music from the number of people dancing, their reactions and the animation of their movements.
As a photographer, a busy dance floor doesn’t just make for a more interesting evening, it massively increases the number of interesting and varied images from your evening reception. It’s usually a given that the younger gusts will make the most of the dance floor but how do you encourage the adults to join in?
From photographers who have photographed over 100 weddings (and love going to gigs) here are our top tips:
Actively encourage people to join in from the start, it can be daunting to dance to a full song by yourselves so ask the DJ or band leader to encourage guests to join you on the dance floor. It’s a lovely opportunity to ask immediate family or the wedding party to join your first and we will always make a point of capturing as many pictures as possible of parents, grandparents and other important guests.
Check out your DJ/band beforehand, it’s always a good sign when couples tell us that they picked a band because they enjoyed hearing them live. While you might get a feel for them by listening to them play on you tube, nothing compares to the live experience, how they interact with the crowd, and how they actually sound live compared to a recording studio.
Do they accept requests? If you are having a ceilidh for example they may only offer certain dances or a limited range of options, as photographers there are certain dances like the gay gordons which always photograph well but some lesser know options such as the riverside jig which creates some really fun images.
How do they get the party started? A lot of photographers may only stay for one or two dances but we offer several options which include up to 5 dances or the option to stay until the evening buffet is served (we can even stay all night if you really want us to!) there is sometimes a lull after the first few dances but we find that the best DJs and bands have some fun tricks to encourage the dancing to continue.
For those on a smaller budget or relying on a pre-made playlist, make sure you have tested everything out beforehand, especially if you are using the venues sound equipment, it can also help to put someone in charge of the music rather than leaving it to the bar staff who might not be familiar with your device.
Lastly, check out our Instagram post for some of favorite options, there really is an option for every type of wedding!
