Yunnan Wedding Photography

Yunnan is famous both at home and abroad for its unique plateau scenery, tropical and subtropical frontier scenery and colorful ethnic customs. Such a beautiful place is naturally the best choice for people who are ready to marry for wedding photography. Of course, Yunnan Wedding Photography is an indispensable part of your Yunnan Travel. Where are the best places to take the most beautiful photos in Yunnan? When is the best time to take the most beautiful photos for wedding photography? Let me answer these questions one by one.

Yunnan is the ideal destination for landscape photography, which makes it the perfect backdrop for taking wedding portraits. Every year, more and more newly-wed couples, as well as those who are planning their weddings and want pre-wedding photo sets taken, come to Yunnan, to make their wedding photos, which are envious by all their friends. Yunnan offers some of the most memorable and authentic wedding photo-shoot locations in the world, and its majestic mountains and beautiful lakes are fast becoming one of the most popular backgrounds for wedding photography.

The weather is another reason that Yunnan has become a paradise for wedding photography in recent years. With the exception of the rainy season, it is the best time for wedding photography. Depending on the time of year, you can have photos taken with backgrounds of everything from the beautiful lakes and blooming spring flowers, to the dramatic autumn colors of red and gold of natural landscape.

Best Places for Wedding Photography in Yunnan

Shangri-La

Located in the intersection of Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan, Shangri-La is the “Eden in dream”. Since it first appeared in British novelist James Hilton’s Lost Horizon in the 1939, it has been associated with the mystique of a place which could not possibly exist here on Earth. There are the lofty and continuous snowy mountains, endless grasslands, steep and grand gorges, azure lakes and the bucolic villages always leave a deep impression on visitors. In Shangri-La, there are many attractions that are suitable for wedding photography, such as the beautiful Pudacuo National Park, the wetland ecosystem protection zone-Napahai Lake, mysterious Meili Snow Mountain, as one of the largest and best-preserved Tibetan residence groups in China-Dukezong Ancient Town, Buddhist holy land-Songzanlin Monastery, blue tears- Baishuitai.

Dali

Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture is located in the central western part of Yunnan Province. Enjoying long history, Dali is one of the earliest cradle of Yunnan culture and created glorious Dali Kingdom. In this land, the magnificent Cangshan Mountain, beautiful Erhai Lake, Dali Ancient Town and Three Pagodas and Chongsheng Monastery are the representative scenic spots. Every place in Dali is the ideal place for wedding photography.

Lijiang

Lijiang has a history of at least 800 years and may date as far back as the Song Dynasty. It is located in the northwestern portion of Yunnan and borders Sichuan. As a popular destination in Yunnan, Lijiang is considered as a fairyland blessed with fresh air, clear streams, breathtaking snow mountains and an undisturbed landscape inhabited by Naxi ethnic minority. What’s more, Lijiang is the transfer station of Ancient Tea Horse Caravan Route. There are also many attractions that are suitable for wedding photography, such as the beautiful Lijiang Ancient Town, eye-catching Lugu Lake, must-see Shuhe Ancient Town, the grand Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Yuxi

Yuxi sits in the center of Yunnan province, with Kunming to its North, Pu’er at its west, Honghe to the southeast and Chuxiong to the northwest. There are some places that are suitable for wedding photography, such as the beautiful Fuxian Lake, the romantic Cherry Blossom Valley of Fuxian Lake, Luchong Scenic Area of Fuxian Lake. In these places, even if you do not have the good photography skills and you can take the beautiful photos without photo correction.

Kunming

Kunming is the capital and largest city in Yunnan Province, Southwest China. Today it is a prefecture-level city and the political, economic, communications and cultural center of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. Kunming is the forefront and the portal that China facing Southeast Asia, South Asia and even the Middle East, of southern Europe and Africa. Kunming is also called the Spring city due to its moderate weather. According to the report by Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2016, Kunming rank 2nd livable city in China. 

Of course, Kunming is a place full of attractions. The Stone Forest is a best choice for outdoor scenery photography of wedding photography. Embraced by several peaks and alluring waters, Dianchi Lake is just like a sparkling jewel embedded in Kunming. With the governance in recent years, Dianchi will be more beautiful in the near future. Haigeng Park is another choice. Haigeng Park is mainly a natural scenic spot and a lakeside bathing beach with green willows, sky-piercing eucalyptuses, and blooming flowers. The part and the nearby fishing villages merge harmoniously into one. On bright sunny days, the water stretches out in a boundless expanse; white clouds float lazily across the blue sky while gentle waves are rippling, sails are drifting with the current and sea gulls are skimming over the water.

Xishuangbanna

The scenic spots featured by Buddhist temples, folk custom and tropical rain forest in Xishuangbanna scatter in many places. The prefecture is nicknamed Aerial Garden for its luxuriant and multi – layered primitive woods and tropical rainforests, which are teeming with animals and plants. Tourists can not only feel strong ethnic flavor but also appreciate beautiful tropical scenery here. These places, such as colorful XishuangBanna Tropical Botanical Garden, beautiful Wild Elephant Valley in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Tropical Flowers Garden in Jinghong City are you best choices for wedding photography in Xishuangbanna.

Best Time for Wedding Photography in Yunnan

Yunnan has a diverse and unique climate, owing to the low latitudes but high altitude. The climatic zones in Yunnan range from tropical to frigid. In some areas of Yunnan, winter is long, but in some areas, summer is prevalent all year round, and when it rains, the temperature drops drastically. Also the Yunnan temperature changes dramatically between days and nights in one region. Just as the vulgar saying goes, “one mountain experiences four seasons at the same time and different weather within 10 miles.” For more details, please refer to Yunnan Climate for more details. Here, I will introduce the climate of the main places that are suitable for wedding photography.

Shangri-La

When you plan to Shangri-La to take wedding photographs, these periods are best for you, namely, May-June, July-August, September-October, November, December. For more details, please refer to Shangri-La Climate.

Dali

The most popular is in the spring season-March to June, the photo effect is the white wedding dress with the blue sky, which quietly gives people a sense of freshness in the spring. June-August is not the best choice. Because the sky in July and August is cloudy and drizzly for days on end. At the same time, the lakeside of this period is also the peak season for visitors. September-November is the best time for wedding photography. And November-February of the next year are not the best time due to chill.

Read more about Dali Climate

Lijiang

In fact, Lijiang is suitable for wedding photography all year round, and each season has different beauty. Here I will briefly introduce the characteristics of each season. In spring,  flowers are in full bloom, which is the sea of flowers, and it is suitable for wedding photography. In summer, it is not the best time for wedding photography due to the rainy season. In autumn, the harvest color is distributed every corner of Lijiang, which is the best time for wedding photography. In winter, it is not the best time for wedding photography due to the chill, even if the scenery is very beautiful.

Read more about  Lijiang Climate

Yuxi

People can go to Yuxi in every season, for the different seasons have their unique sceneries for people to choose and people can have a good tour in Yuxi. However, if you plan to take wedding photographs, summer and autumn is the best time.

Read more about Yuxi Climate

Kunming

With favorable weather all year round, Kunming is a beautiful city worth traveling, especially from March to October-the best time to visit Kunming when blooming flowers, ripe fruits and festival activities all gather together.  However for wedding photography, the spring and autumn is the best time. 

  • Spring: Generally, the scenery in spring is completely different from that in autumn, which is equivalent to green and yellow. Therefore, the wedding photos taken are different. Spring is the season that everything comes back to life. At this time, the flowers bloom and the grass is green. And it is the best time for wedding photography.
  • Autumn:This season and spring are in a positive and negative proportion. It is the harvest season and the season of falling. There are colorful leaves everywhere, and there are many fruits everywhere. Therefore, the wedding photos are relatively prudent and nostalgic, and the wedding dress shall be dark,  which is very good with the surrounding temperament.

Read more about Kunming Climate

Xishuangbanna

Xishuangbanna is a beautiful place with a tropical monsoon climate and no frost and snow all year round. It has the characteristics of “long summer without winter”. If you want to go to Xishuangbanna to take wedding photos at any time, because Xishuangbanna is one of the few places in Yunnan Province that has no winter. In the coldest January, the average temperature here is 16 °C, and the hottest summer, the average The temperature is only 28 ° C.

From November to April of the following year, it is most suitable to take wedding photos in Xishuangbanna. During this period, the temperature is not high or low. If you go to Xishuangbanna from June to September, you can taste the tropical fruits there, which is wonderful. However, in the rainy season from May to October, although it is more inconvenient to take wedding photos, there are people who choose to take wedding photographs here. After all, the summer in Xishuangbanna is not too hot, and the scenery is particularly beautiful.

Read more about Xishuangbanna Climate

Tips for Yunnan Wedding Photography

For girls

  • Clean the armpit hair in advance.
  • Bring your favorite high-heeled shoes.
  • Do skin care in advance, it is best to do a whole body care.
  • If you want your nails to be beautiful, you must do your nails in advance.
  • Prepare underwear without shoulder straps, or prepare invisible underwear.
  • The hair is trimmed one week in advance, so that it will naturally look good on the day of shooting.

For boys

  • Men shall shave their beards
  • Bring the neat and clean shirt suit with one pair of white socks and one pair of black socks.

For photographers

  • Do not forget to buy a quality SDHC card preferably with large memory.
  • When taking near and around religious sites, please do not offend the belief of ethnic minorities.
  • For better image quality and varied scenes, it’s worth bringing a full-frame DSLR and a versatile zoom lens.
  • If you want to travel light, 24-70mm F2.8 lens is highly recommended for you for it covers virtually all the useful focal range.
  • One of the main ideas of wedding photography is to keep it simple, and focus on the people, not what they are wearing, so accessories should be kept to a minimum when wearing traditional, white wedding gown and suit.

For all

  • Respect the local customs.
  • Protect the environment, do not leave any waste or rubbish at places where you take photos.

If you have any problem about wedding photography in Yunnan, please feel free to contact us.

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