Vintage Wedding Photo Tips

There's an art to creating vintage style wedding photos in modern times.

These tips are designed to help you capture those memorable wedding moments with a nostalgic feel.

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Set the Scene

You can create a vintage look from nearly any photo by using the right props. In the sample photograph below, you will see how a few accessories make all of the difference in taking this picture back a few years!

Choose props carefully to create the look you want. The props in the photo below suggest a romantic, Victorian style. The elegant masks were typical of society events known to the upper class, and they make a dramatic setting for a vintage wedding photo.

By using various props, you can make significant changes in the mood of nostalgic photos. Consider the effect of the 1940s gangster scene or a 1920s flapper setting – both are vintage looks with an entirely different feel about them. By using period-specific props which are recognizable to most folks as vintage, you'll avoid photographs that look dated rather than classic.

Stunning Bridal Portraits

Sometimes simple is better, and in the following example you'll discover a stunning portrait of the bride. The photos have a very basic setup yet they still manage to portray the vintage look. This is a great example of how, quite often, less is more.

To take a great vintage wedding photo of the bride, keep the background simple. You want her to shine, not get lost in the shuffle! The clean, crisp background in this example illustrates this well.

When you're working with few details, the details you use are all the more important to creating the look you want. The bride's striking black beaded necklace is elegant with the vintage black fan and her own mane of hair. Her makeup provides the majority of the color in this photo, making her look very much like a vintage movie star!

As a photographer, you may or may not have input on the bride's makeup and accessories. If you are fortunate enough to have a say in it, choose simple or vintage pieces that make a dramatic statement. If not, use background color to play up her features, much as you see the crisp background highlight her dark hair in the photo below.

The Vintage Look

There are many moments that a wedding photographer needs to capture, and there's a simple way to create a vintage look from any one of them. A lovely example is visible in this vintage wedding photo which shows the bride getting out of the car.

The background of this picture helps a great deal, without anything appearing modern by today's standards, but the factor which makes the most difference is the coloring of the photo.

When you edit your digital files, create a vintage wedding photo by reducing the color just enough to give that slightly faded, nostalgic look that comes with photos that have stood the test of time. A sepia tone or grayscale will mimic the look with a bit more drama.

Bold Backgrounds

If you can capture a romantic moment with a dramatic background, you have a vintage wedding photo in the making. In the example below, the massive columns bring to mind a historical context or an Old World setting for instant nostalgia.

The tenderness of the moment offers a nice contrast against the bold concrete columns. When you play hardscape against soft moments, your photo becomes an instant classic!

The basics of taking a vintage photograph are as easy as a good background and a creative editing process. Once you understand those simple concepts, you can take your subjects back to any time period for truly stunning wedding photos!

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