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Photo: Bella Charlotte/Incontrast Images
You picked your bridesmaids for a reason. They are the most important girls in your life and you can’t imagine getting married without them by your side. It’s a memory you won’t ever forget.
Especially because it’ll be immortalized in your wedding album and on your wedding blog.
There’s no way you can miss out on snapping as many cute and silly pictures as possible with your best friends on your wedding day! And it never hurts to have an idea of the moments you’d love to capture.
Below you’ll find a list of the most essential bridesmaids poses, along with some tips on how to get the best photos of you and your ‘maids.
Our Bridesmaid Photo Shot List
Whether you’re having a luxurious beach wedding or a microwedding in your backyard, here are some photos you can take with your bridesmaids:
Helping Hands
One of the best things about getting ready for your wedding is the fact you have your friends there by your side.
Make sure you capture that feeling by getting a picture of your bridesmaids all around you, helping you primp. It can be done while you’re getting ready or after you finish so that you’re already decked out in your hair, makeup, and dress.
The key to this pose is to make sure everyone has a hand on the bride.
Place your bridesmaids at your sides. Some of them can be standing by your shoulders while others are crouched near your knees to make sure everyone is in the photo.
Get everyone to lend a hand with your dress, veil, hairstyle, or shoes. Make sure the smiles are bright to show off just how much fun you all had getting ready together on the big day!
Check out our collection of bridesmaids dresses!
The First Look
On such an emotionally charged day, you need to get a record of the raw reactions of the people you love when they see you in your dress for the first time.
Your husband isn’t the only one excited to see how radiant you look.
Get one person to help you put the finishing touches on in the bathroom or somewhere your bridesmaids can’t see. Gather them all together and tell them to close their eyes so you can position yourself in front of them.
Once they open their eyes, snap the moment and preserve their raw reactions forever!
Photo: Bella Jackson/Julie Holmes Photography
Don’t forget about your flower girl. Take a look at our collection of flower girl dresses!
On Your Way
Make sure to get a shot of you and your posse walking to the wedding ceremony together. These girls are seeing you off to the next stage of your life and they are with you every step of the way.
There are so many variations of this pose you can use.
Take advantage of your wedding venue. Walk arm-in-arm with your bridesmaids toward the camera with a stunning backdrop behind you. Or take a picture walking away from the camera down a long corridor.
A snapshot of all of you crossing the street Abbey Road-style is always a classic!
From Behind
Photo: Bella Tampa/Jake and Katie
During such uncertain times, it’s a good idea to take precautions, even with your wedding photography. This pose is a great way to get a beautiful shot while hiding the fact everyone is wearing a mask.
All you have to do is stand all your bridesmaids in a line with their backs turned to the camera. If you’re included, you should be in the center.
You can add some variety to this simple pose by having some pictures where you’re the only one looking back at the camera. Or you can face the camera with your whole body while your bridesmaids have their backs turned.
It’s also a great shot for highlighting your wedding flowers. Simply ask all the girls to hold their bouquets behind their backs so they can be the star.
Bridal Focal Point
Photo: Bella KC/Anastasiia Ostapovich
Before you walk down the aisle, line your bridesmaids up in an “aisle” that leads to you.
Each side of the aisle needs to be slightly tilted instead of perfectly straight. That way, no one gets hidden behind anyone else.
You want to see all their smiling faces leading up to you at the end.
And if you have your wedding photographer take photos of you walking in between your bridesmaids, it can lead to a series of photos. Plus, it can be expanded if you throw in the groomsmen and walk down the aisle with your husband.
Or, if you could have them throw some confetti to make your photos even more fun. Just make sure to shoot this one during your wedding reception, not before the ceremony. You don’t want to walk down the actual aisle with confetti on your dress.
This pose offers some wiggle room that is perfect for the time we’re living in. It’s an easy way to put space between your bridesmaids that isn’t as obvious as a head-on shot.
A Face Full of Flowers
If you’re looking for another pose to help cover face masks, this one will do nicely for you.
And once again, it’s a great way to showcase the dresses and flowers you picked out for you and your bridesmaids.
And once again, it’s a great way to showcase the dresses and flowers you picked out for you and your bridesmaids.
After all, every detail of your special day deserves to be highlighted!
Gather your bridesmaids in a line around you and have them all use their bouquets to cover their faces. It’s as simple as that! The flowers will shine without covering the dresses, and any masks will be hidden from view.
Also, try having some bridesmaids hold flowers over their faces while others hold their flowers down. Or take one with your face uncovered while all the bridesmaids cover theirs.
By playing around with different configurations, you can get multiple shots out of this pose.
The Stairway
Photo: Bella Philly/Stephania Campos
Stairways add a dramatic flair unlike anything else. They just look and feel romantic. During the wedding planning process, add a staircase to your list of places to get photos.
Position your bridesmaids along the banister, either sitting or standing, to showcase them all without having them too close to each other. You can also stand front and center and line your bridesmaids up in a V formation behind you.
Stairs are a fantastic option for large bridal parties and for hiding any drastic height differences in your group.
Peek-A-Boo
This adorable and silly shot brings a lighter side to your wedding pictures by letting you and your best girls have some fun.
All you have to do is stand in a line — you at the front with your bridesmaids behind you. Have each of them lean out to the side, alternating the direction and height they’re leaning out so everyone is visible.
This one will be extra cute if you’re sporting a poofy wedding dress that easily hides your bridesmaids from view!
In a Circle
For an outdoorsy wedding that’s on the boho side, take a picture with your bridesmaids laying in the grass in a circle with your heads touching in the center.
This picture is best done from the waist up to get a nice close-up of all your smiling faces. It’s a beautiful circle of friendship that represents how close you and your bridesmaids are.
Just make sure you put down a small circle of fabric to cover the ground under your heads to protect your hair!
For more wedding photo ideas, check out this article:
How to Get the Best Photos of You and Your Bridesmaids
Photo: Bella Las Vegas/Amanda Callaway
While the wedding photographer you hire will already know how to capture your big day, it definitely pays for you to know what you’re looking for.
Here are a few ways to get the best wedding photos:
1. Communicate What You Want
You don’t have to show up with a list of poses and location ideas so long that touches the floor. But you should put together some ideas before your wedding begins.
Talk with your wedding photographer before everything kicks off so they’re well aware of your vision. You can include certain poses as well as the locations around your venue you’d like to use as backdrops.
Try to limit your location choices to avoid running around a lot on your wedding day.
If it helps you visualize, put together a mood board or even a Pinterest board with pictures that mirror what you’d like to capture on your wedding day. That way, you and your photographer are on the same page!
2. Don’t Stand Head On
Taking pictures head on won’t do your figures any favors.
Even in a straight line, it’s better for you and your bridesmaids to turn to one side or the other. Angling your hips away from the camera and then turning your shoulders back toward it will accentuate your natural curves.
Keep your arms and legs slightly bent to make things even softer.
Straight lines are better for photographing masculine subjects, so save that for the groomsmen.
3. Keep Your Distance
Photo: Anne Casey Photography
Throwing any kind of event as big as a wedding during this pandemic era can have a significant impact on how your wedding photos turn out.
But that doesn’t mean you have to lose out on these key moments. You just have to change how you go about them!
We touched on some ways to disguise your bridesmaids wearing masks in the poses above. Pictures with your backs turned to the camera or holding your bouquets over your faces makes it way less obvious you’re taking precautions, if not hiding it altogether.
For photos where you’re facing the camera, it takes a little extra attention to detail.
Staggering your wedding party is great for spreading everyone out without making it look so intentional. Use chairs to capture a variety of poses where some of you are standing and others are sitting to avoid getting too up close and personal. Posing on a staircase gets you the same sort of distance.
And if you’d like your bridesmaids to stand six feet apart along the aisle during the ceremony, don’t worry about the photos looking awkward. Using a telephoto lens, your wedding photographer can work with perspective to make them look like they’re standing side by side.
You can still get your memories and keep everyone safe in the meantime!
Want more wedding inspiration? Check out these articles:
15 Unique Wedding Invitation Ideas | Glam Gloves for Winter Weddings | How to Host a Cocktail Wedding Reception
In Conclusion
One of the best aspects of your wedding is that you get to have everyone you love there with you to celebrate. Your closest friends will be by your side while you say your vows.
The pictures you capture will help your memories last a lifetime.
The pictures you capture will help your memories last a lifetime.
With these bridesmaid poses in your back pocket, you won’t miss out on any of the important moments during your wedding. You’ll catch the heartfelt, silly, and downright magical pieces of your wedding day that you spend with your best friends.
You won’t miss a thing!
