Sunset portraits are one of the top requests I get from couples. Even if they don’t request it, I’ll often try to sneak out with them at sunset anyway! Philadelphia wedding photography is all about seeing that tiny window of opportunity for a great photo, and taking it.
If you’d like to have a few sunset shots in your wedding album, there are a couple of things you’ll need to make sure those portraits happen. There are also a few challenges involved, on both my end and yours. I’ll discuss those in this post, too!
Leaving the Party
Unless you plan your wedding reception super late or super early, you’ll need to leave it at some point for your sunset portraits. That might be a dealbreaker for some couples, and that’s okay! Your wedding day is yours, and you should stay with your friends and family if you want to. However, some couples see the ten or fifteen minutes we’d spend outside as a welcome break from the party.
Timing
Sunsets only last for about twenty minutes, sometimes less, so we need to act fast! Have a location picked out beforehand for your photos, so we know exactly where we’re going. If you’re not sure, I usually have a few ideas.
We also need to catch the sunset at exactly the right time, when the colors are at their brightest. Too early and we’ll be stuck waiting around. Too late, and we’ll miss it! You can track the sunset time on the day of your wedding in lots of places, but I prefer to use timeanddate.com. It’s really simple–just put in the location of your venue, and you can see sunrise, sunset, and moonrise times a full month in advance. Just make sure you check as your date nears to see if the time changes.
Lighting
Sunsets present some tricky lighting challenges. The subjects’ back will be to the sun, so there’s not much in the way of ambient lighting on them. This can be used to our advantage, though. Silhouettes against the sunset look really cool!
In order to capture your lovely faces, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. The first is my trusty ice light, although I don’t often use that when I have sunlight at my disposal. Instead, I’ll use a reflector to beam the sunlight back at you, or I’ll use my flash.
Were you thinking of trying to include some sunset portraits in your Philadelphia wedding photography? Let me know what your plans are when we discuss your timeline for the big day!
