Okay you've asked all of the right questions, you have studied the contents of photography packages and selected the one that is right for you. You have put down your deposit and reserved your date with the perfect photographer. Now it is all in the hands of the photographer to show up at the wedding and create all of the wonderful images that your are dreaming about. Right? Yes to some extent, but there are quite a few things that you can do to make this possible. As a wedding photographer I am continually surprised by the number of clients that do their homework in obtaining their photographer, but then drop the ball on the day of the wedding in numerous ways. There are actually many things that you can do to ensure that your photographer is able to perform his or her duties to the best of their ability. Below are a few tips that will make a world of difference on your wedding day for everyone involved. After all who doesn't want their wedding to run as smoothly as possible?
The most important tip about wedding day photography is to be on time. You would be surprised at how common it is to run behind schedule on the wedding day. Plan your hair and nail appointments early. Delegate wedding tasks to other people. Time is at a premium on your wedding day. You will be busy later at the reception. Your photographer will need for you to be ready and smiling at the planned photography starting time. I can't tell you how many beautiful churches, gardens and hotels I have sat around in with my assistant waiting and waiting for the bride and others to appear for photos. I see beautiful scenes, scope out wonderful backgrounds, only to have the stressed out bride show up with only 20 minutes left to do her photography. Other times the bride is the only person who is ready. It is very important to stress to your groom, family and wedding party how important the pictures are to you. Make sure they understand the time and place that they are to meet to start the photography. If a half hour photo session is planned with the bride, the bridesmaids and the bride's parents and dad and two bridesmaids aren't ready the allotted time can quickly turn into ten minutes from thirty minutes. Photos will then need to be made up which usually cuts into time that was needed for a different set of photos. Please do yourself a huge favor and find a way to encourage everyone to be on time. It is important that you discuss the photography aspect of your wedding with the groom. Let him know what your expectations are. Also let him know how the photography schedule will unfold. The groom will need to appear in many photographs, after all he is one of the stars of the show! Make sure that he understands this. Some grooms have little interest in photos and make that clear on the wedding day. On the other hand, some grooms missed their calling as male models and find that they thoroughly enjoy the session. Your parents as well as the groom's parents will also need to be informed about the photography. Many mothers (not knowing that the photographer has been told in advance) will start calling up groups and sets of people to be photographed. This may throw off your photographer who may have a pattern or order for taking photos. As long as you have informed your photographer of the "must get" photos you should not need to tell him or her which groups to photograph. Many unexpected requests for photos at the wedding can eat up valuable time for the photos that you have already asked for. Be sure to get with the groom and all parents before the wedding and give the photographer a list of what you're expecting. This way your photographer can plan accordingly - and you won't have to try to think about you want on the day of the wedding.
Checklists can be very valuable to your photographer. If your photographer gives you a checklist please use his or her form. The photographer will be familiar with the layout of his form and will be better able to follow it then an unfamiliar form from a bridal magazine. You may write in any additions that you have. Please also inform your photographer of any situations in which people may not want to be photographed together. For example, your divorced parents may not want to stand next to each other in the family photo. If your photographer does not use a checklist ask what family photos he normally takes. If you have any special requests it will still be good to write them down and give them to the photographer in advance. Remember it's your wedding day. The checklist is still a good idea even if you are having many photojournalistic photos taken at your wedding. There will still be family photos that are a "must" - if not for you for your parents. Trust your photographer to choose the best scenes and backgrounds for your photos. A good photographer will have an eye for great locations. He or she may be using a telephoto lens and the background may look totally different from what you are seeing with the naked eye. If your photographer hesitates at using a certain scene that you have suggested there is most likely a reason. The lighting situation could be too harsh, certain objects in the background may appear to be growing out of the back of your heads in a photo, etc. If a location doesn't seem nice to you ask your photographer what he or she sees and how it will appear in the photograph to put your mind at ease. It is best to assign a person from the bride's side and from the groom's side to help the photographer round up family members that have strayed. Valuable time can be lost at weddings looking for Uncle Harry. Many photographers do not allow others to take photos while they are working.
If your photographer has this clause in her contract then you will know ahead of the wedding. Please ask your family and guests to respect this. If your photographer allows others to shoot while she is working keep in mind that this will invariably slow down the photographer (while waiting for Aunt Martha to frame her shot then try to figure out why her flash is not going off). Even if your photographer is a good sport about this if you feel that others are slowing down your photo session you may ask them to let the photographer do her job. You will most likely end up with more photos from your professional in the long run. Taking all of your photographs before the wedding is an excellent idea. Yes this means the "bride and groom" together photographs also. This topic could easily be a complete article itself so I will just touch on some of the highlights. This photographic schedule is in your best interest. It is not for the photographer! The photographer will be there for the hours that you have hired him for. He can take your "bride and groom together" photos before or after the ceremony. He is genuinely trying to help you when he suggests that you take the photos before. The tradition of not seeing the groom before the wedding dates back to the time of arranged marriages where the groom might run off if he happened to see the bride before the wedding! There are many advantages to taking the photos before: hair, makeup and flowers are at their best, everyone is in a "picture taking" mode rather than a "let's get to the reception and party" mode, you know that the photos have been completed - one less thing to worry about, you can have private time with the groom right before the photos start, the groom can actually talk to you and tell you how beautiful you are, the two of you can exchange gifts, you can attend your own cocktail hour. The list goes on, but hopefully this will give you some idea of the many advantages. As for seeing you come down the aisle, your groom will still get to experience the music, the smiles of the congregation and catch your eye as you glide toward him. Actually grooms report that they were able to enjoy the moment more because they more relaxed from having already spent time earlier with the bride. Hopefully this article has shown you some of the ways that you may be able to work with your photographer to ensure that your wedding photography dreams become a reality.
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