With some unique editing, wedding photographers don’t just capture moments of the big day, they create them 

A photo of a wedding party aligned in royal fashion around the bride and groom is a staple of wedding photography. Then there’s the classic black-and-white photo. These elegant images will always have a place in wedding albums, but lately another shot has made it to the roster: the action-packed, staged Photoshop photo.

With the help of Photoshop, photographers don’t just capture moments of the big day, they create them. And we’re not talking about removing Dad’s red-eye or altering the backdrop to change the mood of the photo. Photo editors are creating worlds and moments comparable to scenes out of blockbuster movies.

The trend came to the forefront in May 2013 when a photo of a wedding party running away from a Tyrannosaurus rex went viral.

“They really sold the idea in the photo,” says Quinn Miller, the Louisiana-based photographer and photo editor who took the shot.

Miller was inspired by another photo and brought the idea to the couple just days before the wedding. “The groom loved dinosaurs, and they’re just a fun, kind of goofy couple,” Miller says. Many in the wedding party weren’t aware of their plan until moments before the shot was taken, but their expressions of pure horror and panic prove that they needed little prep time to sell the idea. Miller took care of the rest in the editing room, and the photo went viral just days after he posted it on Facebook. As of press time, it’s received nearly 15,000 “likes” and been shared more than 12,000 times.

Since then, Miller says he has seen an “unbelievable number of photos” in line with the disaster-wedding trend. Indeed, there was an explosion of cinematically edited photos after Miller’s dino photo, including a “Star Wars” battle and a Sharktopus attack.

However, a photo of a wedding-turned-zombie-apocalypse created in October 2012 shows that the Photoshop-enabled, disaster-wedding trend has been brewing for quite some time.

Josiah Moore, a photographer based in Rochester, N.Y., staged and edited a photo of his own wedding party to look like zombies coming after him and his bride. Moore says he never set out to create something popular when he persuaded his then-fiancée to include the shot in their wedding-day plans.

“People always like to do something fun and memorable,” Moore says. “One of the coolest aspects about it is that you can really cater the artwork or the custom photos to the individuals – what’s special to them, what’s important to them, or what its their personality.”

Soon-to-be-married couples who want the next viral, cinematic wedding photo should take note of the recipe for blockbuster movies:

The original plot Let’s face it. A dinosaur weddingcrasher photo isn’t likely to cause a stir these days. Both Miller and Moore agree that original ideas, or at least a twist on something familiar, garner the most attention.

Director/editor A great idea isn’t enough. The photographer has to see the big picture to instruct the wedding party and have the chops to execute it in an editing program after the shot is taken.

A-list actors The successful Hollywood cast is good-looking, and, hopefully, they can act. The same goes for the wedding party. Miller admits these two elements gave his photo a boost in popularity.

The ‘it’ factor The work to create a memorable shot shouldn’t overshadow the joy and celebration of the day. In the end, it’s about having fun.

– © Brides 365