To ensure that you get the stunning engagement and wedding pictures you want, find a Washington DC wedding photographer who pays close attention to body language. Effective nonverbal communication is a critical component of a great photograph of two people in love. Without it, a picture is flat, lifeless and unlikely to have much emotional impact.
Photography is obviously an artistic medium that cannot rely on words to tell the world how much you love each other. Someone viewing the photos of your wedding for the first time has no idea what it was that led you to the altar to exchange you marriage vows. As their eye scans the photo, however, it is looking for visual clues that will tell them how to feel about the scene depicted. It is looking for subtle hints about who you are and what your relationship is. More specifically, it is studying and evaluating your body language. That is why the connection that brought you two together needs to be plainly visible for your pictures to effectively tell your love story.
For that to happen, your DC wedding photographers need to discover and highlight the ways your body language communicates how you feel about one another. They need to look at the way you hold each other. They need to be conscious of the small caresses you exchange. They need to be alert to the meaningful glances you share. And most importantly, they need to be ready to capture those on film. Because those are powerful ways of telling your love story in a wordless medium.
This image is a great example of how effective highlighting body language can be. One look at it, and you know that this future bride and groom are meant to spend a lifetime together. That is because the little things — those details that our brains register without realizing it, the small gestures and subtle positioning that create connection — do a great job of telling this couple’s love story without saying a word. For example, the way the groom-to-be is gently resting his chin on the shoulder of the woman who will be his wife. The way his nose is lightly pressed against her cheek. The look of quiet joy on the future groom’s face as he whispers words of love in the ear of his intended. The smile on her face as she hears about how much he cannot wait to marry her. Everything about how they are interacting speaks of their connection and compatibility.
Part of the effectiveness of this photo is due to the setting of the engagement photography session. It was perfect for highlighting the beautiful feelings that these spouses-to-be have for one another. On the day before their wedding, which took place at The Westin Georgetown, Washington D.C., we brought them to the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden in downtown Washington, DC. Located next to the National Mall and between the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the sculpture garden is home to a dozen fascinating art installations. It also has a beautiful central fountain that is frozen into lovely rink for ice skating during the winter.
More importantly from the perspective of engagement photography, it also has lots of great spots in which you can get the privacy you need to relax and feel at ease in front of the camera. Though there are usually a lot of visitors wandering around the garden, there are plenty of little nooks amid the trees and sculptures. These give you and your future spouse space away from prying eyes. You can feel free to cuddle, kiss and show your affection for one another in private. The images of those moments will give the impression that you are the only two people in the world at that moment.
This particular picture is also a great example of that. We took it in the late summer, when the National Mall was teeming with tourists. There are few places on Earth with less privacy. In this image, however, you see nothing but a couple in love. To achieve that effect, we brought them to one of the Sculpture Garden’s aforementioned little nooks. There is a bench just behind the garden’s Pavilion Café that is away from the crowds. We asked the future spouses to sit there and think about they were going to feel being at the altar and tying the knot the following day. As they relaxed and felt more comfortable in front of the camera, the affection in their body language became more apparent. The groom-to-be started leaning in closer and gently nuzzling his future wife with his nose. That made her smile and laugh, creating this beautiful moment that we captured on film.
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Location: National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, Constitution Avenue NW & 7th Street, Washington, DC 20408.
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