Useful tips to look your best in your photos

Your wedding day has finally arrived and you hired a professional photographer to cover your wedding (not just uncle Joe and his always-in-hand camera).

If so, then photos are important to you, and after having shot countless destination weddings, I have a few simple tips that get overlooked more often than you might think.

Pedi and Mani. This is one of the few days in your life where you will get photographed all over and in all aspects. I, like most photographers I know, love detail photography, so of course, we will focus on the hands (especially with your ring on) and even if you don’t know this, on your feet as well!

Since you will get married at the beach, most of the brides wear flip flops or open shoes so, yes, your feet will show a lot.

This is why it’s important to have a professional manicure and pedicure done for your wedding day, and, no, doing it yourself doesn’t count. No matter how good you are at a manicure, you can tell when it has been professionally done.

Teeth whitening. This goes for brides and grooms as well, especially if you are a smoker. Having a white-teeth smile makes you look at least five years younger. It’s true! You don’t have to do a professional dentist procedure; there are tons of products in the market nowadays that make your teeth look whiter in just a few steps. Go to the pharmacy and find out!

Makeup. More and more brides apply the makeup themselves. Most of them do it because they do not like to wear a lot of makeup and feel afraid they will look “unnatural.”

The problem is that most brides (unless they come from Texas) are not accustomed to the heat and humidity we have here, so their makeup runs or fades really fast. The kind of makeup used in the hotel spas or professional makeup artists is expertly applied to avoid this kind of error. Also, you have the choice of doing a test-makeup, so you know you will feel comfortable with the results. Most of the professional makeup applications I have seen done for the beach look really natural and they help a lot in the end result of your pictures.

Hair. Again, I am a believer in professional help. I’ve seen brides opt to do their hair themselves and then completely lose it and have a meltdown because their hair didn’t behave the same as at home. Again, it’s humid and windy here, so please ladies, put yourself in the hands of a professional!

When I am asked if you should wear a bow or not, I always say that I love the look of loose hair, it is so much softer on the face, but then again, you will have a beach destination wedding and it gets windy out there.

So if you opt to have your hair down, please try to tie it on the front or have a hairdo that you know will stand wind, nervous sweat, and heat.

Whichever style suits you – in hair, makeup or nails – the help of a professional on this special day will pay off in the photos you’ll cherish the rest of your life.