Avoiding Disasters on Wedding Days

When most couples plan their wedding day they take a lot of things into consideration.  They think about coordinating the date for vacation times.  Or they coordinate the day on what is best maybe for family to make it into town. Or they make plans according to the availability of the church or restaurant.

But one of the biggest things they fail to plan for on the wedding day is the photographer. This is no small issue.  And I am not just saying it because I am a wedding photographer. 

No planning the wedding day with the wedding photographer in mind could mean all the difference in the world. Especially when you consider the pictures are what is going to be captured for a lifetime.

What are some of the factors when you start planning with the photographer in mind. The date and time.

First let’s start thinking about the time.  How many people want their photographer to rush through the photos? I am pretty confident most couples will not agree to that. 

Well without even thinking about your photographer, a lot of times couples will do just that. The couple or family basically rush the photographer to try and take all the pictures. 

How so you say?  Well a lot of times, the couple will schedule the ceremony for let’s say 1-2 pm. With the reception beginning at 2:30. How many photos can the photographer really take with only half an hour to work with? Not that many.

Worse thing to consider, what if he does manage to take all the photos?  Do you think they will be of the best quality when the shots are rushed?  Of course not.

So plan the times for the wedding and the reception with enough space in between to take all the photos.

The second factor to consider when planning is to check your photographer’s availability.

Most probably don’t realize this, but most good photographers will be booked months in advance. If you do deal with a large photo company, they very well could have several photographers on staff.

Well without considering your photographers availability on the wedding day could turn into a disaster. Because when you reserve that special day, without making sure your photographer is available, come wedding day you might get a shock when you find somebody totally different.

This can happen when dealing with a large photographer company.  You might not realize they have plenty of photographers on staff, and if the photographer you fell in love with is booked, unless you specifically ask, the company might not tell you. When the wedding day comes, a second rate photographer or worse yet, they might outsource the work and somebody else will show up.

Be prepared that you don’t let something like this happen.Making plans for your wedding day is special. Be sure that you also plan it thinking about your wedding photographer.

Wedding Photography Tips – Only the Very Brave Will Attempt It

There’s nothing worse than terrible shots or no shots of one of the most momentous events in a person’s life. A wedding may very well be made in heaven but trouble lurks in the details. Skip some important points and you can wish you were in the trashcan with the rubber chicken and leathery lettuce.

Here are some tips to help you negotiate this photographic minefield.

Hire a professional.
No? Don’t want to do that? You think Uncle George can do it fine on the cheap? Save a few bucks and spread the joy around? Then read on, reckless fool…

Be prepared.
Emotionally, spiritually, intellectually and photographically. You will need more than just a strong heart and nerves of steel. You’ll need extra memory sticks, extra batteries, a flash outfit, a tripod and a zoom/wide-angle lens. You’ll also need a decent photo editing program to produce the finished product in an acceptable form.

Have an assistant or a helper.
You should have lots of stuff to carry around, and you need someone who will watch your gear when you’re busy. Get a person to help you. It’s also good to have someone relatively sane to talk to.

ALWAYS shoot for the bride.
Men aren’t interested in photos of themselves. Well, that’s a generality. 99.9% of men don’t care. Usually the only time a man looks at a wedding picture under his own volition is just after the divorce with a drink in the other hand.

Get a list of wanted shots.
Don’t go into this blind. Find out what shots the happy couple expect and try to oblige. Weddings have about 4 phases: getting dressed, the ceremony, after the ceremony (relaxed shots with the new couple), the reception including the cake and groups of guests. Take your lead from the bride not the juiced up guests at the reception.

Shoot a lot.
This is good advice for any photography. At a wedding you’re dealing with human nature at its most confused. Who can really tell what shots will be the big sellers? Just cover everything (even the speeches) and shoot everything three times and be safe.

Get the groups.
Groups are important but watch out here because semi-inebriated guests will want to be photographed with pot-plants, the foxy waitress, each other, maybe the bride and groom, and towards the end of the evening fascinating cloud formations. Get the bride to tell you who should be in the groups. Stay with her.

Get the proofs to the bride as fast as you can.
It is not only great service, it great business as well. Happiness and the vows of matrimony can be fleeting. Get your wedding photo bill in before the first fight if possible. Definitely before the divorce.

Be a professional. Weddings can be scary things.
They’re all about love, sex, eating and drinking. Passions and confusions can be rampant. Get your shots first and party later if anyone is left to party with. If you find yourself at the end alone with your camera, at least you can console yourself that you completed your mission.

Do your own quality control before you submit the proofs.
Your reputation can be destroyed by a handful of misaimed shots of the bride or her friends. People often remember that one shot where the matron of honor looked as if she was zonked when it was just an untimely blink. If it sucks delete it. Better safe than sorry.

Best Guidelines in Picking the Right Wedding Photographer

A cheap camera is sufficient to record most of the important events in our lives. But once in a lifetime events such as weddings deserve the extra expense of filming it right. Yet look in the yellow pages and you can see there are plenty of choices available. Follow these seven principles in choosing a photographer and you probably won’t be disappointed with the results.

1. Availability. If you are wealthy, you may be able to hire the best New York photographer to capture your California wedding. However, most people will want to hire someone more locally, someone whose transportation costs will be more reasonable. For example, a couple in Virginia would choose someone specializing in Virginia Beach wedding photography. Also, since photographers are especially busy on Saturdays, will he/she be available on your big day?

2. Skill. What is the reputation of the photographer? Do you have testimonials available? Can you view samples of their work? After all, photographing  a wedding is more than just clicking and shooting. They need good equipment and skill. What will be the pixel range of the digital pictures? The more pixels, in general, the larger the file size but also the better the resolution. When enlarged they will still have the same clarity.

3. Personality. What would it be like to work with them? Are they pushy, trying to get you to choose their most expensive package, or do they present the options and let you decide? Would they tend to take over or fit in? How are they in working with children?

4. Price. Of course, though the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. now is over $20,000, few are willing to put most of that into the pictures. Is the photographer reasonable in comparison with others in the area? Is their price of what you want within the budget of your wedding?

5. Service. How quickly are the pictures available? Some will even display the wedding pictures during the reception. That is a nice touch. How quickly can prints be made? How available will they be to others on the web or on CD, and how soon?

6. Options. Good photographers will have a wide variety of options to choose from. Do you want pictures taken during the rehearsal? Are the main pictures going to be taken before or after the ceremony? Do they have creative suggestions on making it special? Will the pictures be printable by others in the family off the webpage?

7. Integrity. Does the photographer deliver on the promises made? Is the photographer known for being on time and at the right place where they are expected? Are all the parts of the package you choose delivered as promised? Do they have other things planned that day or will they be there as long as you expect them to be?

A wedding is too important of an event to let it pass with only an amateur photographer recording it. As you plan the big day in your lives, consider these principles so that not a single precious moment is forgotten. And if you’re in the area for Virginia Beach photography, look up Expressions Photography. Their friendly and professional expertise will capture all the memories of your special day.

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