A JDS Weddings project
Guest portraits for weddings & events
Not a photobooth. A portrait studio for your guests.
Directed. Edited. Printed on the day.
Check your dateBackstage Portraits
Your photographer tells your story. We take care of your guests.
Backstage Portraits is a studio portrait session that comes to your wedding. One backdrop, one chair and one hard light, set up away from the party. Your guests sit for a few minutes each and leave with a printed, editorial portrait they'll actually want to frame.
No forced smiles and no props bin. We direct each guest and catch them mid-thought, laughing, or looking away. It's magazine energy rather than school-photo polish.
Where it fits
Booked on its own, alongside the team you already have.
We don't cover your ceremony, your couple portraits or your family group shots. Backstage Portraits runs its own set, so your photographer never has to share a moment, an angle or a client.
| Photobooth | Backstage Portraits | Your wedding photographer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The focus | A party game for guests | A proper portrait sitting for every guest | The two of you and your day |
| Behind the camera | A timer and a screen | A working photographer directing each sitting | Your photographer and their team |
| Light | One flat flash | Studio flash on a draped backdrop | Natural and on-location light |
| Guests take home | Novelty strips | A mounted, sleeved 6×8" print | Not their role |
| You receive | Digital copies | The full edited gallery of every guest | Your wedding gallery, weeks later |
Backstage
One backdrop. One chair. One light.
The set goes up in a quiet corner of your venue before guests arrive. Nothing about it looks like a booth, and that's why guests walk over to it.
Five or six frames per guest.
One sitting, in order. Guests loosen up as we go, and the best frame often comes last.
Behind the curtain
A photographer at work, not a button to press.
Every sitting is directed. We pose each guest, move the light with them and show them the back of the camera as we go. People relax quickly when they can see it working.
The room, and the portrait.
The same set and the same bride, from across the room and through our lens.
On the day
From the drinks reception to a print in their hand.
Shoot
Guests sit
During the drinks reception, while guests have time on their hands. Individuals and couples, one after another.
Edit
We choose and finish
We pick the strongest frame from each sitting and finish it in our house style.
Printed on site
Every portrait is printed at 6×8" on a professional photo printer, then mounted and sleeved.
Collect
On the line
Prints are hung on a line for guests to find and take home later in the evening.
For the two of you: as well as the prints, you receive the full edited gallery of every guest who sat, so you see the people who came in a way your main gallery doesn't show.
Recent sittings
Portraits guests actually frame.
For your photographer
A second set at the party, never a second shooter.
Photographers and planners are welcome to get in touch before the day. We're happy to talk through timings and where the set should go.
- We stay on our setWe don't walk the room or photograph any of the moments your photographer was booked for.
- We work to your timelineThe set runs during the drinks reception and stops whenever your photographer needs guests for group shots.
- Our light stays in our cornerThe set is placed so our flash doesn't spill into the room or show up in anyone else's photos.
- Your photographer is welcome on setIf they'd like a few frames of the two of you under studio light, the set is theirs for a few minutes.
Investment
One collection, with extras if you want them.
Backstage PortraitsFrom £900
- 3 hours on set at your venue
- 30 mounted, sleeved 6×8" prints
- A first print for every guest who sits
- Prints hung on the line for guests to collect
- Full edited digital gallery for the two of you
Add to it
- 20 more prints for your guests£300
Guests can buy extra copies of their own portrait on the day for £20 each. You don't pay for these.
Questions
Things couples ask.
Not sure yet? Ask us anything. No pressure, no sales pitch.
We already have a photographer. Do we need this too?
Your photographer tells the story of your day. Backstage Portraits gives every guest a portrait of their own. They cover different things, and they work side by side.
Will our photographer mind?
We stay on our own set, work around their timeline and keep our light out of their shots. We're happy to speak with them before the wedding.
Is this just a fancy photobooth?
It fills the same spot at the party, but it isn't automated. A photographer directs every guest, edits every frame and prints it on proper photo paper.
How much space do you need?
A quiet corner big enough for a backdrop, a chair and a light, plus a small table for printing and access to power. We'll check the space with your venue.
When do guests get their prints?
Later the same day. We photograph during the drinks reception, then edit and print, and the prints go up on the line for guests to collect.
Can we book it if JDS Weddings isn't our photographer?
Yes. Backstage Portraits is booked on its own and works with any photographer or videographer.
Check your date
Give your guests their close-up.
We take a small number of Backstage Portraits bookings each season. Send your date and venue and we'll come back to you with availability.
Fill in the form below and we'll come back to you with availability.
A JDS Weddings project
From the team behind JDS Weddings.
Backstage Portraits is run by JDS Weddings, wedding photographers and filmmakers across Birmingham and the Midlands. If you'd like to see the rest of what we do, start here.