When planning your wedding photography, having a handful of go-to wedding day poses can help you feel more relaxed and ensure you capture a mix of natural, romantic, and fun moments. While the best wedding photos often come from candid emotions, a thoughtfully prepared wedding photography shot list guarantees that you’ll have timeless portraits alongside those spontaneous laughs and tears.
Here are 10 must-have poses to include in your wedding day photography — along with tips to keep them feeling natural, intimate, and full of personality.
1. The Lift
Tip – Ask the groom to lift the bride from under the bum for stability, keeping the dress safe and achieving a flattering height ratio. This pose always creates fun and a sense of connection.
2. The Groom Admiring The Bride
Tip – A simple but powerful pose. Create distance between the couple, shoot with a low aperture for depth, and use the bride to frame him naturally with some space in between.
3. A Kiss on the Forehead
Tip – Ask the bride to close her eyes, it creates a more candid Intimate moment and allows her to tune into the sensation, this creates presence
4. The Bride Looking Back
Tip – This pose breaks the forth wall, there’s something about only the bride looking back, she becomes the main focus of the photo, it feels candid, although gently directed
5. The Groom Leading The Bride
Tip – Ask the bride to look away, which creates more focus on the groom; this empowers his masculine energy, and he dominates the image.
6. Lean Foreheads Together
Tip – Multiple angles can be achieved in the pose, you can focus on either the bride’s or groom’s face from whatever side you shoot from. This pose works well shot from afar and close up, ask the couple to stay there with each other, while you pivot to capture multiple shots, allowing the couple a moment to slow down, sync their breathing and be present with each other.
7. The Iconic Dip & Kiss
Tip – This pose is highly requested and often on the shot list, it’s super romantic and dramatic. As long as you anchor yourself well around each other, you will feel safe. The bride holds around the groom’s neck whilst he holds her thigh firm for stability. Feeling safe to dip means you can lean further back, creating a dramatic look.
BONUS TIP – Couples ALWAYS laugh once they’ve achieved this pose together, the success of doing it creates a BEAUTIFUL candid moment, hold your camera ready for when they break the pose and capture the laughter after *There are the best shots*
8. Whisper Something Cheeky
Tip – Shoot this pose on a longer lens, give the couple space/distance so when you give them the prompt, the groom can actually say something cheeky to make the bride laugh. Knowing that you can’t hear them will create a genuine response for giving them a bit of space to present their personalities!
9. Against The Wall
Tip – Have the bride’s feet start around a foot away from the groom and tell her to lean her hips in towards his so that they touch. This will create a beautiful arch in her back. Ask the groom to hold his hands around her back. This pose brings out the feminine figure and the masculine energy!
10. Include the Environment
Tip – You can have your second photographer capture this image whilst you are up close posing the couple. (If you’re in shot, you can use the magic of Photoshop to retouch yourself out) It’s important that the couple are distant and the environment is used to frame them.
BONUS TIP – These are the kind of shots you will open the wedding albums with and the couples will want to frame on the wall!
Why Include These Wedding Day Poses?
These wedding day poses are more than just photographs — they’re little pauses in the day that let your couple connect, laugh, and slow down together. While candid moments are at the heart of every wedding, having a shot list ensures your gallery is complete: from iconic portraits to the kind of images that become heirlooms, exist in the albums and get framed on the walls!
Ready to Capture Your Own Love Story?
If you’re planning your wedding and want a photographer who’ll guide you through these timeless poses while capturing your natural connection, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today, and let’s create a collection of images that tell your love story beautifully.
Love L xxx
