Original wedding photos capture the unique moments and genuine emotions of a couple's special day in a creative and personal way.

In this article, we have gathered original wedding photo ideas from the best European wedding photographers. We discuss experimental and creative wedding photography, new takes on classic wedding shots and what makes wedding photos memorable.

Also, they share some fun moments that have occurred while trying to be creative. Wedding photography should be creative and curious, so let’s explore!

Creative wedding photo ideas from renowned wedding photographers

We’ll start by discovering ideas for unique and romantic couple shots.

Teresa Hirschel shares a few of her creative wedding photo ideas:

• Double exposure can be done in camera (sadly not for Sony users) or post-editing.
• Shadow play to create interesting and artistic compositions. This can involve using sunlight streaming through trees or architectural elements to cast captivating shadows on the couple.
• Instead of traditional studio portraits, take the couple into environments that reflect their personalities or interests. This could be their favourite bookstore, a vintage arcade, or an art gallery.
• Utilize mirrors in creative ways to capture reflections of the couple from various angles. This can lead to visually intriguing compositions and add a touch of magic to the photos.

Daniel from People TrueLove Tellers shares that, to add a creative touch, they transform the delivery of wedding photographs into a narrative experience. They present the images as a slideshow, meticulously crafting the narrative to tell the couple's story.

This approach includes not only photographs but also audio from the day, selected music and ambient sounds. This creates an immersive and emotional experience, allowing couples to relive their special day more richly and deeply, almost as if they were watching a film of the most cherished moments of their lives.

Nayara Venancio admits that her creativity often sparks during the shoot. Weddings are unpredictable, with many uncontrollable elements, so being present is crucial for creative photography.

In short, trust your photographer, and be open to experimenting with poses and unconventional environments. Destination wedding photography is especially suitable for this. Consider having themed wedding photo sessions or play with vintage wedding photo concepts.

Finding a new take on the classic wedding shots

Every wedding photographer’s ongoing challenge is finding new ways and inspirations for classic wedding shots and balancing them with candid wedding moments.

Maria Salgueiro from Mulher Photography thinks the day belongs to the bride and groom and should be truly captured with each couple. Some couples make a point of not wanting classic wedding photographs, they want everything documented in a more journalistic, modern and irreverent way.

But some couples care about having classic photographs of their day, and what inspires them the most to take them are the images we find in classic paintings or even generic series and album covers, for example.

Magda and Marcel from Wedding Voyagers aim to photograph weddings as individually as possible. That's why they draw a lot of inspiration from the people in front of their lenses. Since they encourage their couples to be themselves, this inspiration naturally arises. Additionally, they enjoy expanding their knowledge in various areas and gathering new ideas from travel, art, and nature.

For weddings, fashion photography and prominent fashion photographers are particularly inspiring. They love the timeless style and effortless elegance in these images. Furthermore, communication is crucial for Magda and Marcel. This way, they discover what their couples particularly like and what's most important to them and present ideas accordingly.

Approaching classic wedding shots, especially family portraits, Simone Werr from Selene Adores infuses creativity inspired by group shots from publications like Vanity Fair or fashion magazines. She goes beyond the official poses, continuing to photograph when the group relaxes. It's in those candid wedding moments that the true personalities emerge, allowing her to capture authentic and memorable images that go beyond the traditional.

Sam Ponsford also believes that classic moments need to be shot; the challenge is to make them feel unique. His way of doing this is to keep moving all the time, searching different angles, trying to tell the story from various perspectives, but always remembering to shoot the angles that the couple want to see in twenty years.

Nayara Venancio agrees that classic wedding shots are vital for storytelling in a wedding album. She’s inspired by movies and storytelling wedding pictures to find new ways of capturing these moments, aiming to convey the couple’s story and emotions through the images.

In the quest to give a fresh twist to the classic wedding group shot, Daniel from People TrueLove Tellers has focused on reinventing them with a style reminiscent of indie album covers and Vanity Fair.

This inspiration allows him to infuse an atmosphere of sophistication and originality into these traditional shots. By looking through the lens, he seeks to capture not only the posed smiles but the essence and dynamics of relationships, creating images that are elegant and emotive, images that look ready to grace a magazine or music album, capturing the collective essence of the moment.

Teresa Hirschel also takes inspiration from other people's work. It doesn't necessarily have to be the work of another wedding photographer. It can be through magazines, books, films as well as social media.

Claudia Klassen from Klassen Weddings reveals that her couples have trust in her and book her for the individuality of her work, not for a list of shots. Of course, she discusses their wishes and inspirations. But they know that their photos will be different and unique. And this is what creates art out of the classic shots.

They trust that she will do something similar and personalized for them. Claudia always watches amazing wedding blogs from all over the world and amazing artists who inspire her. The way different people see the world.

Gione da Silva adds that classic is good and photographers don't have to reinvent the wheel. His clients hire him for the value he brings as well as the certainty of quality, artistry and the knowledge that they know what they are getting. Elaborating further, photographers need to be true to themselves but also understand they are there to serve and provide luxury service to their clients.

So, part of what he does is to understand their wishes and vision and materialise that through his creative vision and approach. Approaching events this way, he frees himself from the pressure to look for experimental ideas that, in their majority, only feed the photographer’s ego. Trends go and pass all the time! What stays is simple and clean photographs portraying people how they are.

When it comes to classics, Gione da Silva makes sure the background is nice, the light is flattering, and the couple feels good about it all (as that will show in the photographs). That being said, more and more clients lean on fashion and design, so he always takes inspiration from fashion magazines such as Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar, amongst others, as well as from the work of fashion photographer legends such as Peter Lindberg and Mario Testino.

Experimental wedding photography ideas

Diving deeper into the realm of creative wedding photography, Magda and Marcel from Wedding Voyagers reveal that typically, they experiment with new ideas in styled shootings and projects, allowing us to showcase them in their portfolio. Other photographers we interviewed also have some ongoing experimental projects they agreed to share.

Teresa Hirschel is currently experimenting with film photography and Super 8 Movies as an additional wedding service. She is absolutely in love with the nostalgia this art brings. The feeling that you only have this one shot and the patience and excitement you get when developing your films. She is working on her first wedding movie shot on Super 8 and is excited to see the final result.

Some additional ideas that Teresa would like to put into practice are conceptual sessions in which certain environments could enter, like water, in the sea, even in a swimming pool, or during a rainy day. She plays with the idea of simply being able to have a session with the couple at the end of the day to capture a smash cake that could be quite irreverent and elegant at the same time.

Simone Werr from Selene Adores is also eager to explore film photography at weddings. While it poses challenges working alone, the richness of film is unparalleled. Having a second shooter would enable her to capture more moments on film.

In developing new ideas, she draws inspiration from high fashion photography icons like Tim Walker, Paolo Roversi, and Kristian Schuller, as well as classic artists like Rembrandt and Caravaggio. She aims to incorporate techniques from these influences into wedding photography, adding a fashion, artistic and timeless dimension.

One experimental idea that excites Daniel from People TrueLove Tellers is to approach wedding photography with the vision of a film director, specifically, taking inspiration from Denis Villeneuve.

His cinematic approach, known for its emotional depth and stunning visuals, could bring a new dimension to the wedding narrative. Imagine capturing every moment with the same dramatic intensity and attention to detail that Villeneuve brings to his films, transforming a couple's love story into a visually captivating epic.

But Nayara Venancio has been considering incorporating a smoke machine in my wedding shoots. She has only used it in styled shoots so far, and she’s excited to see how it can enhance a wedding setting.

Sam Ponsford admits that he would love the opportunity to try some more experimental wedding photography, however, in his opinion, the needs of the event always come first, and so this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have all of your loved ones in one place, it can be difficult to prioritise taking time away to get creative with the photography.

That said, if the timeline allows it, he’s always keen to create more conceptual work in an editorial wedding photo style, perhaps involving some of the florals from the day, unique lighting that the venue offers, etc.

Wedding photography curiosities

To create new ideas, one has to experiment and try many things. In the process, some mistakes and curiosities are inevitable. But that’s not bad, that’s the fun and inspiring part of the job. Our interviewed wedding photographers kindly agreed to share some of these moments.

Maria Salgueiro from Mulher Photography shares that sometimes she has ideas that she would like to put into practice, and they don't work on that specific day, and has to have the patience to wait for the best moment and environment to carry them out.

Also, if the couple has some specific ideas that don’t work right away, she explains that the idea can be magnificent, and she understands that they would like to have that memory in the way they imagined but, due to certain conditions, it won't work. Couples usually understand easily, and, when they hire her because they like her work and trust her, it becomes very easy.

Teresa Hirschel has had some of the strangest posing ideas from couple’s relatives at weddings. In these situations, she’s always polite and does what they want, but always gives some sort of warning that they shouldn't expect the pictures to be what they want.

Simone Werr from Selene Adores also has experienced instances where couples had specific ideas that didn't work seamlessly in practice. However, she never outright says no to any of their ideas. Her role is to ensure they have a wonderful experience, so she adapts and adjusts during the process. As long as they feel great, heard, and safe, she can always capture fantastic photographs that reflect their vision.

Claudia Klassen from Klassen Weddings had a couple who wished for some stylish editorial shots, but they planned no time for a photoshoot. She explains that it is still possible to get photos in an editorial/storytelling style even if the couple doesn’t want a dedicated couple shooting time. But she notes that if you wish for that and have inspirational photos, you have to plan time for that.

These kinds of shots inspired by wedding magazines are usually planned and take some time. It’s important to understand that they are not unplanned, no matter if they look unplanned.

Regarding ideas that couples share with her, she talks honestly with them, and if she thinks that maybe this will not look good, however, she will try it, and when she sees it’s not working, she will tell them to not waste the time. But she never misses something out of the thought that it’s not worth it. Maybe you will be surprised!

Gione da Silva shares that he has done all sorts of weddings and tried a lot of different stuff! Some are super weird, and some are quite nice. His approach, however is to always say yes! He is there for his clients, and whatever they want to try, he would be happy to try and execute it. They will receive that photo, edited and treated with care.

However, if that doesn't align with his brand, nobody will see that in social media or collateral. For example, he has done smoke bombs before, and the couple thought it would be a great idea, but they chose red smoke; the bride was wearing a white dress, and by the end of the session, she had red patches all over her dress! It was not a great idea at all.

And in terms of trends, he doesn’t see the point of all this recent blurry image thing. When done to show movement and transition from one scene to the other, when motivated and well executed, it works fine. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of sheep following a flock. And that is not his thing!

Sam Ponsford reveals that most things he has tried have always worked well, as he tends to stay away from gimmicky trends. Things he would recommend avoiding are anything that feels like a cookie-cutter version of someone else's idea.

Recent examples are a tunnel of people with the couple kissing at the end, videos of everyone changing sunglasses through the day, the shot of a couple at night in the rain with an umbrella and a flash backlighting them. He finds it hard to imagine how these shots can be made to feel unique enough to tell a story relevant to the couple.

Memorable wedding photos

At last, we asked the photographers what makes wedding photos stand out. They shared some meaningful points.

For Maria Salgueiro from Mulher Photography, the love and complicity, not only between the couple but also between the guests, are what makes the vibe of the day contagious and, consequently, the event memorable.

When the day is lived in true, and you feel that each person behaves as they are and everyone is in a vibration of love and celebration, the wedding will certainly be memorable and will show in the photographic work. In her opinion, art, creativity and innovation alone do not result in a memorable photograph, the true emotions of that moment need to shine through to make it eternal.

Teresa Hirschel can think of three things a picture should have to make it memorable. The first is emotion. This is often achieved by taking candid shots during the day. The second is having a unique location and using it to embrace the couple. The third is technique. Whether you use an interesting angle, a special light source or deliberately break some of the rules of photography, you can make a wedding photo memorable.

For Magda and Marcel from Wedding Voyagers, wedding photos are particularly outstanding when there’s a perfect symbiosis of authenticity and the art of photography. When couples are themselves, magic happens. This doesn't mean that one should not bring in ideas or give instructions, but rather, it's a perfectly harmonious blend of freedom and creativity.

What makes images special and stand out is different for everyone, and that's precisely the beauty of photography. Everyone sees the world from a different perspective. Magda and Marcel find that very inspiring.

Simone Werr from Selene Adores agrees that the essence of a memorable wedding photo is highly individual. What stands out to her might not be the couple's favourite, but she strives to create something special for them. A truly memorable photograph, in her view, evokes emotion, draws you in, and holds your attention.

It could be a still life, capturing delicate and stunning bridal details like shoes or jewellery, or moments of genuine emotion between the couple or with loved ones—a fleeting touch, a shared glance, or a joyful stroll.

Nayara Venancio also says that memorable wedding photos may mean different things to the couple, their family, or the photographer. However, the key is capturing genuine emotion, where a single image can convey a profound story.

Claudia Klassen from Klassen Weddings summarizes that the perspective, the emotions and the movement make a photo stand out. When the photo speaks about the moment. Sam Ponsford adds that a special moment, well-composed and with beautiful light, are the three key elements that make really special photos.

Gione da Silva says that the experience and feelings of the subject and photographer in the moment of creation add to photos being memorable. Anything else is superfluous! But Daniel from People TrueLove Tellers concludes that what makes a wedding photo truly stand out and memorable is the combination of timeless style and capturing genuine emotions. A photo that transcends trends and reflects the deep emotions of the moment can resonate with couples and their loved ones for years to come, becoming a cherished memory that transcends time.

Author: Renāte Berga

Wedding photographers: Mulher Photography, Teresa Hirschel, Wedding Voyagers, Selene Adores by Simone Werr, Claudia Klassen , Sam Ponsford Bodas, Nayara Venancio, Gione da Silva, People TrueLove Tellers