How to Get Relaxed Wedding Portraits in Just 10 Minutes
A guide to amazing portraits that don’t take over the day
Wedding portraits don’t need to take a huge chunk out of your day. In fact, some of the most natural and genuinely relaxed portraits can be taken in just 10 minutes, if the timing is right and the environment is calm. After documenting hundreds of weddings, I’ve learned that short, intentional portrait sessions often produce the very best results. Here’s how to get portraits you love without disappearing for half an hour or posing endlessly away from your guests.
Step Away for Ten Minutes at the Right Time
The secret to relaxed portraits isn’t luck, it’s timing. I always recommend choosing a moment in the evening, typically right after the wedding breakfast or speeches. This small window is ideal because your guests are usually occupied stretching their legs, grabbing drinks, or chatting in groups. While they’re settled and happy, you can slip away for just ten minutes without feeling like you’re missing anything.
Plus, many couples feel the biggest wave of relief once the major events like the ceremony and speeches are finished. The nerves settle, the adrenaline calms and you can finally enjoy everything you’ve planned with less structure and more freedom.
More importantly, this is often the first time all day you’ve had a moment alone together. Weddings are joyful, busy, people-filled celebrations. Taking a short breather allows you both to decompress and reconnect. When couples are calm and genuinely enjoying each other’s company, it shows instantly in the photos.
How to Pose Naturally (Without Feeling Like You’re Posing)
One of the biggest contributors to awkward portraits is the pressure to stare straight down the lens. For camera-shy couples especially, eye contact with the camera can create stiffness or nervous smiles. Instead, I guide couples into simple, natural positions – walking together, holding hands, leaning in close, or sharing a quiet moment – while focusing on each other rather than the camera. Almost all the portraits featured in this post have one thing in common: the couple are connected. Shoulders drop, faces relax and your connection becomes the focal point of the image. You forget the camera is even there, and that’s when the magic happens.
Choose the Right Photographer
Relaxed portraits don’t come from a complicated set of poses – they come from choosing a photographer who knows how to create calm, guide gently and work quickly. The right photographer will understand how to read the light fast, position you naturally, and keep the experience fun, effortless and pressure-free. Here’s a guide to help choose the right photographer for you.
Experience matters here. A seasoned wedding photographer will help you feel at ease within seconds, offering simple direction only when needed and focusing on capturing moments rather than manufacturing them. When I first started wedding photography this was an area that I wanted to get good at fast. I felt immediately comfortable with capturing natural moments, but after some investment in workshops, trial and error and reviewing my own work I gained confidence in creating portrait photos in a calm and efficient way. You shouldn’t feel like you’re performing; you should feel like you’re enjoying a quiet walk together.
Less Time, More Connection
The biggest misconception is that great portraits require long sessions and elaborate set-ups. In reality, you need none of that. A quiet corner of your venue, soft evening light and a few minutes together is often all it takes. When you’re relaxed, the photographs naturally follow.
Ten minutes is enough to step away, breathe, laugh together, and capture a set of portraits that feel real, romantic, and truly you. And when done at the right time – with the right photographer – you get the best of both worlds: beautiful portraits and more time celebrating with your guests.
About the Author
Lee Maxwell is a wedding photographer based in Devon, specialising in capturing unscripted moments and the authentic atmosphere of a wedding day. With over a decade of experience photographing large and intimate weddings, all with different lighting conditions and schedules to navigate, Lee’s photography has been featured by leading publications like Rangefinder Magazine and Wed Magazine. His approach is rooted in being an unobtrusive presence, allowing real moments to unfold naturally to tell a truer story of the day. When writing these wedding guides, Lee draws on his extensive on-the-day knowledge to help couples prioritise experience over poses, ensuring their memories are as effortless and heartfelt as the day itself. You can explore more of his work in his portfolio.
