Authentic and Organic Wedding Detail Photos

Morning! Let’s start the week off chatting about wedding detail photos!

If you’re new around here, hey! My name is Lissa Chandler and I’m a wedding photographer based in Arkansas who travels all over the US to photograph colorful and creative weddings + portraits. My photography motto? It’s to take photographs your grandkids will fight over. And when it comes to those photos? It’s not just the gorgeous sunset ones – it’s the cozy and quiet photos, too!

Here’s a few tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years to help detail photos feel nostalgic, not stuffy!

Shooting Wedding Flat Lay Photographs

Flat lay photographs – the ones where everything is style perfectly on a mat or flower background – are really exhausting to shoot, especially if you’re lugging around a detail box. Let me be clear: I love a detail box. I’m constantly impressed by the types of items my photographer friends carry in their detail boxes and my detail box is one of my favorite things to buy for – girl is so full, she literally never wants to shut! But most of the time?

I use venue details, not details from my box!

There’s a couple reasons for this but the main one is this: I want to use details that represent the wedding day. I can shoot fun little details at my house whenever I want with my stuff. For my couples, though, I want to create flat lay wedding details that represent their wedding day – and that goes all the way down to the texture of the carpet or floor. When I use a chair, the carpet, a tablecloth from the reception, or even a bridesmaid’s dress, those textures will pop up again throughout the day. This ties all the vibes together! I also love the way it starts the scene of the wedding gallery – we’re getting a sneak peek into the feel of the wedding not just with the details, but with the environment the wedding details are in.

These patterns and textures will not always be as pretty as the backdrop you can paint at home or the fabric you can find at the fabric store. And that’s okay! We’re photographing vibes, not a magazine spread.

Detail Photographs of the Flowers

Ah! My absolute fave!

When I was a new photographer, I backed into a bride’s bouquet on a short coffee table and the whole vase tumbled to the floor. The year was 2012, the bouquet was deep red roses in a circle with pearls on the stem, and I was mortified. Heck, I’m still mortified! But it was totally fine! The bouquet was fine, the bride was fine, and, after we got it back on the table, everyone chuckled and we moved on. This taught me two things!

One: Always, always, always check what’s on the coffee table.

Two: I didn’t want to mess up flowers (lol). In fact, I wanted to keep the bouquet as pristine as possible until the bride took it down the aisle.

I really like to utilize the bouquet for detail photos but, when I use it for a flat lay, I usually just keep it in the vase. I get those pristine details and then I move on, knowing that I’m going to photograph the bouquet more throughout the day. This definitely varies by wedding – I like to shoot my weddings very organically – but, if I have a wedding that’s a massive party, I’m probably going to shoot the bouquet in the dark during the reception. And at every wedding? I’m going to get closeup photos of the bride holding the bouquet. It’s meant to be held! Think of it almost as a zoom in, zoom out approach: safely photograph the bouquet in a simple detail setup, then focus on the movement and feeling of the bouquet throughout the day.

Photographing Wedding Reception Details

Y’all might laugh at me but, for the longest time, the big reception photo used to haunt me. Like, I’d literally dream of creating them perfectly.

I wanted everything to be perfect, all the candles lit, and literally no one in the space. I’d even go so far to say that, as far as traditional wedding photography goes, this was the hardest thing for me to eventually adjust my perspective on. I love a big, empty reception photograph. So many people have worked so hard for the setup and it’s often years of planning all come together. But! Weddings are real life! Sometimes the big photo doesn’t work out with the timeline so, over the years, I’ve adjusted my perspective. The room is meant to be enjoyed! If I’m unable to get the large empty room photo, I get a photo of a small section with no people or I get a large photo of the mostly finished room (or both!) and, from there, I expand the gallery.

I’ve come to absolutely love (and honestly prefer) detail photos with people in them and unique detail photos with reception light or, like, a flower arrangement that shows the hint of a family member’s purse off to the side. It’s really easy to think that wedding photos should be styled like a magazine shoot to a magazine shoot is that: a magazine shoot. Weddings are full of life, full of joy, and so much personality. Embrace the day and your wedding detail photos will become so fun to create!

Looking for a colorful wedding photographer who talks nonstop? You know what to do!

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Opal and June Website | Etsy Shops: Tee Shirts + Sweatshirts | Mockup Photos

Based in Fayetteville, Arkansas Lissa Chandler is a portrait and wedding photographer who celebrates life one photograph at a time. Lissa is also the owner of Opal and June where she offers fun teacher shirts, bookish + history merch, and the absolute cutest tote bags. Additionally, Lissa is the host of the laid back, conversational podcasts Your Photographer Mom and Our Favorite Villes.

As a creative photographer in Northwest Arkansas, Lissa doesn’t niche down on a genre. She niches on a feeling instead! That feeling? The huge, happy feeling of hope and excitement that you feel as a kid opening up a huge box of 120 crayons. Sound like a feeling you remember? Let’s shoot!