Wedding photographs are funny things.
You’ll probably spend more time looking at photographs of your wedding than you ever spend actually looking at yourself on the day.
And because of that, brides understandably worry about how they’re going to look in them.
Will my makeup show up?
Will I look shiny?
What if I hate my profile?
Does my hair look as good from the back as it does from the front?
But here’s the thing: I don’t think the answer is to spend your wedding day thinking about how you look in photographs.
Quite the opposite.
The less you’re thinking about the camera and the more you’re actually experiencing your wedding, the better your photographs are likely to feel.
Our job, as your hair and makeup team, is to take care of the other stuff.
Your hair and makeup needs to work from every angle
This is one of the biggest differences between getting ready for an ordinary day and getting ready for your wedding.
You don’t just need to look good in the mirror.
Your photographer may capture you from the front as you walk down the aisle, from the side during your ceremony, and from behind while you’re talking to somebody at the reception.
There will be close-ups and wide shots. Photographs while you’re sitting down, standing up, laughing, crying, hugging, and probably completely unaware that a camera is anywhere near you.
So when we’re creating your bridal hair and makeup, we’re looking at the whole picture.
I’ll turn your head and look at how the makeup sits from the side. I’ll check that contour and colour are properly blended, that eyeliner works from different angles, and that the foundation transitions naturally around the jaw and neck.
And with hair, the back matters just as much as the front.
You don’t necessarily need to see everything yourself
This comes up quite often with bridal hair accessories.
A bride will look in the mirror and say something along the lines of:
“Oh, I can’t really see it. Could we move it further forward?”
But you’re looking at yourself from one angle.
Everybody else – and your photographer – gets to see you from all of them.
A beautiful comb, pins, or another hair accessory sitting towards the back or side of an updo may barely be visible to you when you look straight into the mirror, but it can look absolutely gorgeous in photographs taken from behind or as you turn your head.
The same applies to the hairstyle itself.
We don’t just create the bit that you can see.
Bridal makeup doesn’t need to be heavy for photographs
This is something I’ve talked about elsewhere because it’s such a common misconception.
You do not need heavy makeup simply because you’re being photographed.
What you do need is enough definition for your features to carry.
In everyday life, you might happily put on mascara and leave your lips completely bare. In wedding photographs, a little extra definition around the eyes and some colour in the lips can prevent your features from disappearing.
Similarly, evening out the skin can prevent a patch of redness or a blemish becoming an unnecessary distraction.
But that doesn’t mean covering your face in foundation.
The aim is balance – nothing should jump out of the photograph before you do.
If you’re worried that camera-ready makeup means looking heavily made up, I’ve written more about how we create natural bridal makeup that still looks like you.
Shine is different from glow
We love beautiful, glowing skin.
We don’t necessarily love a large shiny patch in the middle of the forehead.
Photography can emphasise shine, which is one reason we’re quite strategic about where we powder and where we leave the skin looking fresher.
It’s also why I’m careful about putting too much highlighter across the front of the face.
A touch of light in the right place can look gorgeous.
Too much can become distracting — particularly once you’ve added a warm room, dancing, nerves, champagne and several hours of natural skin oils.
Your makeup should still look like skin. We’re just controlling where the light catches it.
Professional hair and makeup gives you another pair of eyes
One of the benefits of having somebody else do your hair and makeup is incredibly simple:
We can see things you can’t.
You can look straight ahead into a mirror.
I can walk around you.
I can spot the foundation that needs another little blend around the jaw, the flyaway at the back of your head, the piece of hair sitting strangely from one particular angle, or an area that’s catching too much light.
That’s part of the job.
And on photoshoots and filming jobs where we’re booked to remain on set, we’re constantly doing this — looking at how somebody appears on camera rather than relying purely on what we can see standing directly in front of them.
On your wedding morning, we’re applying that same awareness to you.
What if there’s something you hate about yourself in photographs?
Most of us have something.
Your nose. Your chin. Your forehead. Your teeth. Your profile. The shape of your face.
You know the thing.
And once you’ve decided you hate it, it can become the only thing you see in every photograph of yourself.
Tell us.
Not because I want to convince you that you shouldn’t feel self-conscious about it, but because there may be things we can do.
Makeup can subtly change the way light and shadow fall across a face. We can bring cheekbones forward, soften certain areas, adjust the balance of the face, and draw attention towards the features you love.
There are limits, obviously. Makeup isn’t Photoshop, and I don’t want it to be.
But understanding what makes you self-conscious means I can take it into account rather than unknowingly emphasising the very thing you don’t want emphasised.
That’s another reason your bridal hair and makeup preview is so useful.
We can have that conversation privately, try things, and work out what makes you feel most comfortable before the wedding day arrives.
Don’t spend your wedding day monitoring your face
Once we’ve finished your hair and makeup, I want you to forget about it.
Yes, take your lipstick with you.
Yes, blot a little shine if you need to.
I’ve also explained how we make wedding makeup last all day, and why you shouldn’t need to spend your wedding constantly touching it up.
But please don’t spend your wedding repeatedly checking your reflection or wondering what angle the photographer has just caught you from.
If a camera suddenly makes you self-conscious, try to stop thinking about what your face is doing.
Think about what you’re actually feeling.
Look at the person you’ve just married.
Talk to your friends.
Laugh properly.
If somebody is taking a formal portrait, your photographer can guide you. That’s their area of expertise.
For the rest of the day, you really don’t need to perform for the camera.
A real laugh beats a perfect smile
The minute somebody points a camera at us and says “smile”, many of us produce a facial expression that bears absolutely no resemblance to our normal smile.
Suddenly we’re thinking about our mouth, our teeth, our chin, where we’re looking, and what our face is doing.
And that’s generally when we start looking uncomfortable.
One little trick I’ve found useful is to actually laugh.
It can feel ridiculous, but even making a little ha ha ha sound can turn a fixed smile into something much more natural.
Better still, forget the camera is there and laugh because something is genuinely funny.
Those are often the photographs that feel most like you.
How you feel will show
This, for me, is the most important part.
Hair and makeup can do a lot.
We can even the skin, control shine, define your features, tame flyaways, and make sure your hairstyle looks beautiful from every angle.
But I don’t want you spending your wedding thinking:
Do I look good?
I’d much rather you were thinking:
I’m married.
Look at everyone who’s here.
This is bloody brilliant.
Because photographs capture more than foundation and lipstick.
They capture how you hold yourself. They capture expression. They capture energy. They capture those split seconds when you’ve forgotten anyone is taking a picture at all.
So yes, we’ll make sure your hair and makeup looks fabulous on camera.
Then your job is to forget about it and go and enjoy your day!
