Once you’ve received wedding photographs from your photographer and properly fawned over each and every one, you’re going to want to share them with friends and family on Instagram! But with hundreds of photos to choose from, it can be hard to make the decision on what to post. Here are some things to keep in mind as you decide what’s best to share on social media, and how best to do it!
Tell the Story of the Photo
When looking through your many options and trying to pick which you’d most like to post, be sure to choose the photos that best “tell the story” of your wedding day. Was it a relaxed, casual affair on the beach where every single guest was just totally blissed out? Was it a dance party where everyone was laughing on the dance floor? Was it an intimate day when your closest friends and family were able to celebrate and bond in a quiet way? Whatever the story of your day was, choose photos to share on Instagram that really capture that narrative. The most compelling photos are ones that tell the story of an event clearly, even though they obviously use no words.
Focus on the Emotion of the Images
The best wedding photos (the best photos period, actually) are ones that spark an emotion in the viewer. When choosing your most Instagram-worthy shots, selecting ones that evoke strong emotions are your best choice. While likely all the photos of your wedding will strike emotion within you, many people love to see the classic first dance photo, or the father walking his daughter down the aisle. If when you look at the photo you instantly feel the emotions of the moment flooding back into your mind, it might be the perfect choice!
Don’t Add a Filter
Most photographers do not allow their work to be edited in any way, and that includes throwing a filter on top, so make sure whatever you choose is something you like exactly as it is. This may sound like a strange or silly thing, but adding a filter, editing your skin or body shape, or making any edits to your photographer’s photo is actually changing the image from what they intended it to be, and also likely violates your contract and the copyright on their work. When in doubt, don’t do it, or if you feel you’d really like to, make sure you reach out to your photographer and see if it’s okay with them. But remember, these images are their artwork as well as their livelihood, and you need to respect these artists if they say you can’t edit their work.
Show Special Details
In addition to the photos of you and your sweetheart kissing or partying hard, it can also be extra special to highlight little-known details from your day. If you had a special heirloom attached to your bouquet, or your “something blue” was a treasured gift from a relative, share it! A gorgeous photo of the item at hand, along with a caption that tells the story of why this item or decision was important to your day will make a big impact and will help give people insight into your story as a person and as a couple.
Use Your Wedding Hashtag
Even if it’s months or possibly years after your wedding, you should totally still use your wedding hashtags on Instagram when you post photos! Hashtags are awesome because they keep all of the pictures from an event in one place —and if you add a photo even years down the line, it’ll still show up with the others when you click the hashtag. And because of hashtags, you can download to your phone all the photos that your guests posted of the celebration using your hashtag, and then make a photo book of them. It’s a fun, easy way to have access to pictures that you might not regularly see otherwise and it’s a great way to experience your wedding day through other people’s eyes!
Tag Your Vendors
Always tag your vendors in the photos you post on Instagram. This includes your photographer, of course. You should always give a photo credit and tag your photographer on their work when you post it. But also tag vendors such as your florist, venue, or anyone else who was instrumental in making the day a success! It’s great for them to see your gratitude, and they may even ask to share your image on their page as well!
Sharing photos of your wedding day can be a special, fun way to relive the memories! Just make sure you follow these best practices and choose the photos that highlight the story, emotion, and details of your day for the greatest Instagram impact.