Announcement Photo Ideas

Candids

• Most people announcing engagement tend to use straightforward posed snapshots or studio portraits of the couple. Neither of these is bad, but they are not that interesting because most people do it that way. Candid engagement photos not only can announce the coming marriage, but also can convey the personalities of the couple. If you already have good candids that show the couple in the light they'd like, use one of those. If not, a way to get some is to have a friend or family member follow the couple with a camera at one of their favorite spots such as a park or amusement facility. The photographer should keep her distance and allow the couple to wander around, doing what they like. Use a telephoto lens to keep the distance, but also to get good close-ups without the couple's knowing that they are being photographed.
  
  

Going for the Joke

• Weddings tend to be somber affairs, usually put on by the bride's family, so traditional announcements are the norm. If you want a different take, however---and the couple has a sense of humor---try shooting photos for humorous effect. One possibility is to have the soon-to-be wed couple standing in a pose facing the camera as if they were at the altar. Then have a male friend stand behind and to the side of the groom and a female friend stand on the other side of the bride, both with toy shotguns pointed at the featured couple. This both evokes a wedding and a "shotgun wedding" for humorous effect.
  
  

Timelines

• One tradition for announcements of wedding anniversaries is to have a modern photo of the couple alongside a photo of the couple on their wedding day. This works, but it can be better. Select a variety of photos of the couple from over the years they have been married, starting with the wedding photo, but working through the years. If they were married in the 1950s, for example, the timeline of photos will show them in the clothing of the time with different modes throughout the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and so on up to the date of the anniversary. If they have children, use several photos of them with their kids from infancy to adulthood, but keep in mind the focus should be on the couple.