How would you photograph this bride and groom?

Question

I am doing a wedding shoot for a friend tomorrow. Until now, I've only photographed children and babies professionally. But she asked me and I said I would do it as my gift to her. I've been researching poses and ideas etc. But the problem is this:

The Bride is quite a bit taller than the groom. She is a plus size woman about 5'9" and the groom is a heavy set man about 5'7". With her wedding shoes, she will be even taller.

What poses can I do to minimize the size difference between them in the shot?

Thanks!

Answer 1

For head shots, have him stand on a stair or something elevated, make sure the feet are out of frame. Try keeping the shots in landscape instead of portrait.

Also, are you sure the bride is comfortable with you trying to mask their height difference? As a tall woman, who has dated shorter men, neither of us have ever minded the difference and I wouldn't want our wedding pictures to be a lie.  

Answer 2

Super wide angle lens.  Sigma 10-20mm should suffice

Answer 3

Here's a general easy to remember tip:

Keep them on different planes deliberately to avoid people noticing that she is taller.  For example, you can use an area with steps -- have him on  a lower step, holding the bride's hand as she walks down the steps.  It will make him look gentlemanly & viewers will pass off any height differences to the steps.  You can also have a shot with him kneeling, holding her hand, looking up at her.  Once again, this is a nice pose that hides the height difference.  One person standing & one person sitting is another common one.  Usually it is the guy that is sitting, as the bride usually prefers to have their dress showcased.  For the guy sitting, you can have the bride behind him with a hand on his shoulder (or kneeling with her arms around his neck -- like a hug from behind).  Near-Far compositions also work well (Bride in foreground & Groom in bkgd).  They offer both interesting viewpoints, as well as skew height comparison.  Bottom-line, you want to keep side-by-side comparisons

of Bride & Groom to a minimal.  By you choosing to have height differences in your poses -- the fact that the Bride is taller can slip under the viewer's radar, simply as attributable to the posing.

Of course, there is going to be a lot of photos that will not be able to hide this fact -- & you should make sure that you ALSO get these basic "textbook" wedding shots.  

On a final note, if some of the shooting will be done with relatively few people around, you may also suggest to the Bride to remove her heels for a good portion of the shots.  However, approach with care -- just in case the Groom is sensitive.  

Good luck!

Answer 4

As far as shooting plus size people, there are a number of photographers that specialize in that. Maybe you can look at their sites and get ideas for poses and angles?

http://plusmodelmag.com/General/plus-mod...

Good Luck :D