very short bridesmaid - how to

[m_p7]

I recently photographed a wedding where one of the bridesmaids was a

grown woman, but extremely short, probably 4 feet tall. I posed her

for the formal pics with the bride the same way I did all the other

bridesmaids. In hindsight, I wonder if I should have done something

to minimize the difference, but on the other hand, she knows she's

short, so does everyone there, why try to hide reality??

 

Opinions??<div></div>

[teresa_earnest]

I think you did fine. If you'd had the bride kneel down or something, it would have only drawn attention to her height, and made her seem more like a flower girl and the main subject in the photo. Great job, and good question!

[teresa_earnest]

Ok, now that I think of it, a candid shot of all the bridesmaids leaning in around the bride sort of a face shot might have eliminated the differences in height. With the Bride in the middle and all of the bridesmaids faces around her smiling. This would certainly not be a typical formal shot though.

[wedding-photography-denver]

Indeed, why try to hide reality?

 

Having said that if there is a slope to the ground, you might put the shorter person on the upside. Another idea is to have them (with bride/bridesmaids) lean toward the camsera and get up higher to shoot. Yet another approach is to put the shorter person ahead of the taller one (closer to the camera) and get closer in to shoot (the caveat here is this only work well if the shorter person is not too large).

 

Regards.<div></div>

[shaun westlake]

Years ago, did a wedding where the bride was almost two feet shorter than the groom. Used a gazebo and had the bride stand one step higher than the groom and situated other members of the party around them. While not eliminating the height difference, it did minimize it and make it easier to frame. Other shots where taken with the bride and groom sitting on a park bench, or leaning against the railing of the gazebo and framing in tight. My goal was not to make the bride and groom appear to be the same height but just to make some of the compositions tighter and allow for some closer eye contact between the happy couple. In the less formal shots, I played with the height difference by shooting from different angles above and belows the couple. Ironcially these where the pictures that I reprinted the most for the wedding party.

[m_p7]

Thanks for the comments. I think that not trying to hide reality was the way to go. But trying to even things up a bit in posing using techniques as some suggested just to make a more pleasing composition certainly has its place. I guess we'll see what the bride says and what gets ordered.