News

Are you looking to create more dramatic, artistic photos of your wedding and engagement sessions? Incorporating frame-within-a-frame photography techniques into your shots is an easy way to capture dynamic, eye-catching images that will wow clients. This technique draws the viewer’s attention with an intriguing juxtaposition of shapes and objects, making them more visually engaging than single frames. If you’re eager to master this approach and infuse your images with depth, creativity, and emotion, you’re in for a treat. Join us as we uncover insightful frame-within-a-frame photography tips and inspiration from wedding pros to help you create stunning compositions that stand out in your portfolio.

What Is A Frame-Within-A-Frame In Photography?

Frame-within-a-frame photography involves incorporating an object within the image that acts as a natural frame, drawing the viewer’s attention toward the photo’s main subject. This frame can be anything from a door to a tree branch or archway. By incorporating this technique into your wedding or engagement shots, you can beautifully capture intimate moments between the couple, like a stolen kiss through a window frame or a tender embrace framed by a tree. It’s a subtle yet effective way to showcase the couple’s beauty and add depth and visual interest to the image.

Frame-Within-A-Frame Photography Tips And Techniques

1. Make The Most Of Unique Spots And Natural Elements 

Before the shoot, scout the location thoroughly and find ways to incorporate natural elements to add a beautiful and unique touch to your work. If you’re shooting a farm wedding, take your couple out and try framing them standing in the doorway of an old barn, with the wooden beams and rustic door, to get the wedding theme incorporated in a mind-blowing shot, or holding hands underneath a tree branch that creates a natural frame around them. By combining complementary elements, such as plants, tree leaves, flowers, or candles, you can add a second frame to achieve a more aesthetic balance and provide a unique perspective to your photographs.

2. Get Creative With Foreground Elements

Using foreground elements for extra intrigue and depth in your photos can be a game-changer. Take, for example, a wedding photo where the couple is standing in front of a large archway covered in flowers. By positioning the camera so that the archway frames the couple, you can draw attention to them while adding a touch of elegance and romance to the overall image. You can achieve a similar effect when shooting engagement photos by framing the couple in various ways – using tree branches, doorways, or even other people as foreground objects. 

3. Follow Compositional Guidelines

Applying composition guidelines is essential for achieving outstanding results in frame photography. A brilliant example of the composition technique is shooting a couple in the foreground through a window or a door frame serving as the picture frame. But to capture this unique shot, it’s important to focus on symmetry and balance, allowing the secondary frame to complement rather than detract from the main subject. 

Using the composition Rule of Thirds technique, you can place your couple in the top or bottom third of the frame while including a beautiful archway or garden as the frame can direct the viewer’s attention to the couple. To create depth and layering, you can use natural elements such as doors, windows, and arches. For example, capturing a bride and groom through a tree branch can add a sense of mystery and whimsy to your wedding photos. 

4. Capture The Perfect Moment With Creativity

Frame photography offers a dynamic way to weave narratives and evoke emotions in your photographs. Here are a few tips to help you capture a creative complete frame using this style:

• When practicing wedding photojournalism, train your eye to spot candid moments that naturally fit within frames. 
  
  
• Utilize the leading lines compositional technique to create an interesting frame that enhances the visual impact of your shots. 
  
  
• Strive for balance by positioning your subjects thoughtfully within the actual frame, ensuring that the foreground object enhances rather than overwhelms the main scene. 
  
  
• Embrace negative space strategically to introduce an element of simplicity and sophistication, drawing viewers’ eyes to the couple. 

5. Create Interesting Frames With Different Perspectives

Diversifying perspectives is key for wedding and engagement photographers when employing a frame-within-a-frame photography technique. By experimenting with different photography angles and techniques, you can reflect your artistic point of view in photos.

Instead of merely capturing the main subjects through the center frame method, try exploring varying heights and positions to frame your couple within distinct architectural or natural elements that guide the viewer’s eye. For example, during an engagement session in a bustling cityscape, you can shoot through the gaps of a wrought iron fence, using the patterned metalwork to create an unconventional frame that highlights the couple against the urban backdrop. In a wedding setting, you can capture the exchange of vows through the intricate lattice of an ornate window, adding an element of intimacy and elegance

Suggested Read: Unique Close Cropping Inspiration + Tips From ShootDotEdit Customers

Frame-Within-A-Frame Photography Inspiration From ShootDotEdit Customers

1. Infinite Loop Photography

2. Photography By Orlando

3. Lovers Of Love

4. Robb McCormick Photography

Further Read: Creating Picture-Perfect Memories With At-Home Engagement Photos

Elevate your wedding and engagement photography using the within-a-frame technique. Embracing architectural elements or natural surroundings to craft multiple frames and guiding focus to your subjects with these composition techniques can add an artistic layer to your storytelling. When shooting engagements or weddings, try creating a frame within your composition, using a shallow depth of field, and keep experimenting with light and shadows to see how these affect your frames or influence the mood of your images. With practice and creativity, you can frame photos artistically to capture captivating and emotionally resonant moments.

At ShootDotEdit, we are passionate about helping you elevate your craft and wedding photography business. And to help give you more time to do that, we take editing off your plate with our professional photo editing services. To learn more about how we can help, check out our pricing plans.