How important is a fantastic wedding album to you? Your wedding day is a once in a life time experience and your wedding photos are your lasting record of your perfect day. Weddings offer that fantastic opportunity for photographing loved ones and friends, producing images that will [thrill|wow and entertain you and your children and grandchildren. Commissioning your wedding photographer is a very important step in planning your perfect wedding.
Ask your friends for a recommendation, or use the internet to search for photographer’s websites. However, with so many websites available, it’s difficult to see the wood for the trees. You can tell a lot by looking closely at a website – do you like the design and navigation, do the people in the photos look as if theyre enjoying being photographed? Ask to see as many photos from each wedding as possible! This will give you a better picture (pun intended!) of the style of the photographer, and their ability to provide a great wedding album for you to cherish. With a little bit of information and internet research, you can draw up a shortlist of photographers with which to meet and discuss your requirements
It is important to consider the styles of photographer you will want and as with everything, there are photographers to suit your individual taste and budget! The formal approach to photography is useful if you want a photographer to orchestrate proceedings. Posing and looking to the camera is the order of the day here. More recently, the trend is for documentary or photojournalistic photography, and this means several hundred natural and emotive pictures being taken. If required, a few more formal pictures can be done with a minimum of posing and intrusion on your day. If you’re considering this, then select a photojournalistic photographer who is adept at handling people, and is quick, efficient and has the rapport with guests. The formal approach means that the photographer is in attendance for a much shorter time during the day, and therefore prices are likely to be less than with the documentary approach, though of course there are more accomplished and therefore more costly photographers in both categories. Since a photojournalistic photographer is likely to be with you from bridal preparations through to the evening dancing, be sure to choose someone with stamina and personality whose company you enjoy!
What about chemistry? There are many wedding albums which may be perfect technically but seem to be lacking something; the shots might look too posed or the smiles a little tired. To get photos full of genuine fun and emotion you need to have a great rapport with your photographer. After all, to get the right pictures for you, your photographer will be with you at all the key moments throughout your day. One idea to build a rapport with your photographer, gain confidence and discover just how easy it is to be photographed well is to organise a pre-wedding shoot.
So what is a Pre-Wedding shoot – Photographers can get much better results if they know how couples work together, and so this informal photo shoot takes place on location usually some months before your wedding. There’s no pressure – you can enjoy ourselves and also chat more about your wedding day.
Film versus digital – A question often asked is will the photographer be shooting digitally? These days, the answer is often yes as they can then do any natural beauty re-touching, adjust tonal ranges for artistic effect, supply high resolution files on disc etc. It also makes it easy to publish a website gallery so friends and family can view your wedding pictures from anywhere in the world and even order and pay for prints online. Digital also means that can shoot as many shots as they want at your wedding without regard to film and processing costs. Of course, film is still a wonderful medium and if you like the image youre looking at, it really doesnt matter whether it was shot on film or digitally.
Location, location, location – Its always worth talking to your photographer about how to plan your wedding photography to make the most of your venue. Some locations will be magnificent on a fine summer or spring day, whilst others come into their own on a moody winters day with log fires and intimate atmosphere. Consider also, should it rain, what possibilities are there for photos if everyone stays indoors?
Rain or shine – Its really not the end of the world if you dont have the perfect summers day, you can have wonderful pictures on a rainy day too! If youre happy and can laugh your way through adverse weather conditions, your guests will sense this and follow suit. Plenty of award-winning images have been created in some of the delightful and unpredictable situations that can occur when nature has its way. Large windows for copious amounts of natural light, archways and beautiful interiors ” all provide excellent and creative opportunities for photographs if it rains.
More and more couples are asking for their photos on CD, but think about the great narrative that a wedding album can bring. A large full-page image followed by a collection of small images on the next, brings drama and energy to the viewing experience. It’s important to realise though that albums vary in style and quality and to find one to suit your style and budget. If you go for the CD, you can make limitless quantities of prints at the best prices, but now quality control will be out of the hands of the photographer. Certainly discuss this alternative to an album with your photographer, though not all will be prepared to offer the high resolution files.
And finally – Remember to enjoy your Big Day! – after all the planning and preparation, this is your time to relax and celebrate your wedding. Not only will your pictures reflect this and the happiness of the day shine through in your photographs, but also and most importantly, you deserve it!
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