Get Good Pictures of Your Wedding
The photographs of your wedding should provide you with a lifetime of heartfelt memories of your special day. The first step to take in making sure you get the type of photos you want is to choose a photographer whose style matches your desires and who you feel comfortable with.
The two main styles of wedding photography today are traditional and documentary. View a samples of these two styles.
The traditional or classic style of wedding photography is the one that most people are familiar with. The photographer often works from a 'shot list' prepared according to the bride's requests and takes posed photographs throughout the day to complete the list. Experienced photographers will provide you with all the photos you requested with this type of photography. The poses, composition and lighting should reflect the skills of a good portrait photographer.
The advantage of the traditional style is that you can pretty much predict what your photos will look like. The disadvantage is that the photographer will be directing a good portion of your day.
The documentary or photojournalistic style of wedding photography, which is my primary style, has grown in popularity in the last decade. The photographer is there to document the activities of the day without interference in order to provide you with a series of images that tell the story of the day. Experienced photojournalists will provide you with unique photos that show the events and interactions that took place while depicting the atmosphere and emotions felt throughout the day.
The advantage of the documentary style is that you can pretty much ignore the photographer. In fact, most of them will tell you to do that. The disadvantage is that the results are unpredictable. They depend entirely on the interactions that take place among the people at the wedding and your photographer's ability to capture those interactions.
The illustrative style of wedding photography was inspired by the photography shown
in high-
Both traditional and documentary photographers may shoot illustrative style photographs. It's most noticeable in photographs of the bride and groom alone and as a couple where the background, poses and lighting are quite dramatic. Each photographer will have his or her own approach to the style. It's not an easy one to define. One photographer may lean more toward controlled poses and the other may try to get the subjects to interact with each other
The main reason that the documentary style has become popular in the last ten years is because contemporary couples don't want to spend their wedding day being directed by the photographer and posing for pictures. As a result, most traditional photographers will make a point of letting you know that they also take candid photos. On the other hand, most documentary photographers will tell you it's their primary style even though many also provide traditional or illustrative group, couple or individual portraits that require some degree of posing.
Because of the internet, it's not unusual for a bride to book a wedding photographer today without meeting him or her, especially if it requires a considerable amount of travel to meet. If the photographer is located in your area, though, you may want to meet him just to see if you feel comfortable with the person. If a photographer who is located in your area objects to meeting you before you book the wedding, find another photographer.
The Photographers Gear.
When looking for a Wedding photographer the amount, type and value of there equipment can show you their commitment to you. This is one of those things were you get what you pay for and professional equipment does not come cheep. Don’t be afraid to ask your potential photographer what type of equipment they have, make sure that they have adequate back up equipment, even the best gear can fail. The bag I have on the day consists of approximate $15,000.00 worth of equipment, I have two main Cannon DSLR bodies, L series pro lens and a backup, other lenses for different effects and two top of the line flash units.
Righting of photo files to a data card, check how many cards your photographer uses. Cards nowadays can be very large in size and a photographer can get all of your wedding photos on one card, BUT what happens if that card fails, yes it can happen, you lose all your wedding photos (very devastating). I switch between 4 or more different cards at a wedding eliminating the chance of loosing all your photos.
Communicate with Your Photographer
Once you have chosen a photographer, you can help him get better pictures of your wedding by letting him know your wishes and about any unusual events or significant circumstances that he should be aware of, such as surprise quests or events at the reception, or family and bridal party members who don't get along.
Even if you are going with a documentary approach, let the photographer know about any people or encounters that would have special meaning to you.
And don't be self conscious about telling your photographer about things that you don't like in pictures of yourself or would prefer not to see in pictures of your wedding. Your photographer may not be able to comply with your concerns in every picture, but he'll definitely make an effort if you give him a heads up.
If you have seen wedding photos that you particularly like, let your photographer know about them. If they are his photos, point them out. If not, show him examples or tell him where he can see some if that's possible. Try to tell your photographer as much as you can about what you hope to see in your wedding photos.
Organizing Your Guests
Getting everyone into the shot takes planning. While you're thinking about groups and portrait sessions make a list of who is in each shot. Tell all your relatives (in advance) that they should be there at a certain time. Create a wedding day shooting schedule sheet, leave contingency reserve for potential late comers (yes, you know who they are).
Time Lines
As with any special occasion/event we all endeavor to work to time lines, when working
out your schedule if the bride is going to be late, allow for this time; also after
your ceremony allow 10-
When timing goes
wrong; Unfortunately I have had a couple of weddings where the bride as been 30 minutes
or more late, this can seriously compromise your wedding photography time.
As with all occasions like this there is a meal to be served up at a specific time and you are at a point where you cannot tell the kitchen they need to put every thing away and re schedule to serve up at a later time, the only way to not to ruin all your meals is to make up the time with your photographer. This will mean your photo time could be drastically cut down, and no one likes this to happen.
The Formals
The group pictures or 'formals' will go much faster if you can provide a list of the number of groups you would like photographed and the people who you want in each group. Be sure to let everyone know ahead of time where they need to be and when. You can expect average times of between three and five minutes per group depending on how organized and cooperative everyone is.
It may speed things up if you had a friend who could work as a coordinator to round up people for the photographer for the group shots. It would work best if this person wasn't in the bridal party and he or she knew the people involved.
In addition to the traditional bridal party formals, or instead of, you may want to try a more illustrative approach with the group in unusual or more active poses. Discuss this with your photographer, and let your bridal party know about it before the wedding day. These shots work best if the entire group is on board with it, and the photographer isn't trying to get people to do things they don't want to do. This applies to an illustrative couple session as well. If the bride is all for it but the groom just wants to get it over with it shows in the photos.
You'll have to allow additional time for illustrative group and couple sessions. Fifteen to Twenty minutes (not counting travel time) would give you enough time to work through a few scenarios for couple sessions, and you should allow extra time if you also want to include the whole bridal party. In a pinch, though, most creative photographers will come up with something in less time if they have to.
Relax and Trust Your Photographer
One of the best things you can do to get good pictures of your wedding is to relax and have a good time. Something is probably not going to be the way you planned it, ordered it or scheduled it. In fact, your wedding would be the exception if everything went exactly according to plan. It would also be the exception if everything didn't work out just fine in the end. So try not to worry. The stress can show in your pictures.
The day is a celebration of your affirmation of love and commitment to each other. Everything else is incidental. Keep that in mind.
Also, don't forget that it's just as important to your photographer to capture good pictures of your wedding day as it is for you to want them. From a strictly business perspective, wedding photographers get a large percentage of work from referrals and they want a good one from you.
Many wedding photographers, however, don't just look at their photography as a business. It's their craft and their art. They approach your wedding day much like the painter approaches a blank canvas, not just to paint a picture but to create a work of art.
And I think a lot of wedding photographers feel as I do: that it's an honor and a privilege to be a part of such a special day and to have the opportunity to create that work of art for you.
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