On the first anniversary it’s tradition to give paper. Most people give stationary but I’ve always thought it would be cute to frame your vows and speeches. Many times after the ceremony these tiny pieces of paper containing all the promises, hopes and dreams are tossed.. When they should be framed. Why not save them and give them as a first anniversary gift.
Tips to hire a Wedding Photographer
I’ve been working on a video to help people to hire event photographers. Here is a copy of the script I’ve created.
Event photographers don’t have a chance to reshoot an event so you really want to be careful whom you choose.
When looking for an event photographer you want someone that can do more than just take a great photo. You want someone to show up on time and dress appropriately. Brings professional backup equipment, and take care to back up files after an event. They need have booth experience as an event photographer and an education on top of all that they need to have a great report with people.
Event photography is very different from other types of photography. Event photographers have to be able to shoot in every lighting situation without strobes and be able to shoot everything relatively quickly. I’m always telling my team if you’re a good event photographer you can shoot everything photojournalism, portraits, food, architecture, details….
I think when you’re looking for a photographer you should look at their portfolio as if it were one event, and ask yourself do I love all of these photos? Do all the photos look like they go together? A professional photographer with both education and experience will have a certain style and that style should be consistent. I think a professional event photographer shouldn’t have to overly use Photoshop to make a great photo, great photos should happen in camera.
When looking for an event photographer you need someone that will get involved in the planning process. When I meet with clients I like to go over their event in detail. As far as the location and the time line. If a bride comes to me with a winter wedding and is planning to have her ceremony at sunset, I explain to her that sunset in the winter and summer are very different. If you have a sunset wedding in the winter there won’t be a lot of light after the ceremony to shoot the formals. So we either need to start their ceremony a little earlier, or do a first-look and shoot formals at that time. When I like to go over the location I tend to show clients photos that have similar lighting scenarios so that they know exactly what their photos are going to look like before they book me.
As a professional photographer, people are always sharing their nightmare stories about their wedding photographer. A story I hear over and over is that my photographer lost my photos. When it comes to events you don’t have a second chance so part of my job as a photographer is to prepare for cameras and hard drives to go down. Cameras break like computers, which is why I bring 3 professional cameras to every event. After an event, I back up all my files to two external hard drives, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an online gallery and a disc.
Finally, I think you need to do a little research before hiring an event photographer and the best way I know is to ask for references and read their yelp reviews. I find yelp is the most trusted site when it comes to reviews.
Photographer vs. Photoshop
There used to be a world before Photoshop. Photoshop didn’t always exist and photographers had to be able to get the shot in camera.
Photographers that include photoshop in their wedding packages are doing one of a couple things…
– Lying
– Don’t have enough experience to know the amount of time it takes to retouch
– Have no business so they have plenty of time to Photoshop.
– Or charge a fortune and out source the work
The truth is no photographer has enough time to Photoshop every image for every wedding. Here is how I know on average it takes me about an hour to do basic retouching on a single image. My standard package includes 400 images on a disc. If I were to include retouching it would take me 400 hours per wedding to do retouching. Which would mean each wedding if I were only putting in 40 hour weeks would take me 10 weeks.
People always ask me if I include retouching? I do for albums and prints but not for my standard package which includes digital negatives. If you feel like you need retouching on a couple images I charge $35 per hour. To be honest, if you look through my online profile nothing has been retouched. I used to have an image where I retouched out a stop sign out but it’s not up anymore. I think a wedding photographer shoot know enough about lighting, camera angles and lens distortion to be able to capture great photos in camera.
Looking your best on your wedding day
In order to look your best on your wedding day, make sure you practice posing. For ideas on posing watch celebrities posse on the red carpet. They’ll always put their weight on their back leg, arms slightly away from the body and look directly in to the camera. The number one thing I catch people doing is sticking their chin up/out in photos. The second thing I find is that grooms are generally not comfortable in front of the camera and they over compensate by being goofy. If you think your going to need help posing schedule and engagement session so that I can have time to coach you before your big day.
Another thing that can really make or break you wedding photos is the makeup and hair. Sometimes I find that hair and makeup looks great to the eye but not to the camera. When you go in to test your hair and makeup make sure and take a picture to see how it photographs. One of the advantages to living in LA is that you have access to make up artist that do make up for magazines. Make sure to hire a makeup artist that has experience doing makeup for photography. Try and get someone like this to do your makeup. Additionally you should appoint a friend to hold on to your lip gloss and pressed powder for touch ups. Ask them to keep an eye one your hair, makeup, and wardrobe. Sometimes during weddings you’ll get so wrapped up in other things that you don’t have time to worry about your appearance.
Shot List
Gorgeous photographs are the easiest way to relive your wedding day. A good photographer can make it so that you never forget those embarrassing speeches, the first dance, and your proud parents faces. When I’m photographing a wedding I usually never miss a thing, but why take that chance? Make a list of the photos you can’t live without and get them to me a week prior to your event. Also designate someone to help me coral people for the formals photographs (since I don’t know uncle Frank). Having someone who pretty much knows everyone makes things go smoother and helps to make sure I get everyone in the picture.
Here is a great link to an online example of a shot list.
Wedding planning
My goal when photographing a wedding is to capture the true essence of the event. In order to provide you with the best service, I like to completely understand your vision. Often times when meeting with clients I ask them to describe their perfect wedding. I want to know if your wedding is indoors or outdoors, day or night, classic or modern, formal or informal, is it cosmopolitan or more country… I also want to know the color pallet, what are the decorations going to look like, and what kinds of flowers are you using. Knowing your vision can make all the difference.
Another thing to show your photographer is pictures of the location. Most locations have a website with pictures but more than likely they do not capture everything. Now-a-days everyone has access to camera whether it be your purse sized point and shoot, or a simple camera phone, they don’t have to be award winning photos they just have to give the photographer a feel for the location.
Another thing that’s truly helpful is a timeline. A timeline helps me to track the sun. Knowing the natural lighting I have to work with I can make arrangements to bring more gear if I need to.
The days leading up to your event I spend a great deal of time putting together shotlist, organizing shots within the timeline, getting gear ready, mapping out the location, looking at the location, reviewing notes, etc…..
Are you backed up?
Most people have had a computer or cell phone break down on them. As a professional photographer, I know what its like to have equipment fail. In fact, it happens all the time. Which is why I prepare for it. When meeting with brides the question usually comes up, “Do you carry backup equipment?” I tell them “yes in fact, I carry a back up for my back up. Not only do I bring a professional back up camera I bring two.” As a professional photographer I’ve had equipment fail but to me being a professional photographer means no one ever knows because I’m prepared.
In fact I overly backup everything… Reasons being when it comes to weddings you never have an option of a reshoot; it’s a once in a lifetime event. So everything has to run smooth. In addition to carrying back up equipment on the day of also back up files on multiple hard drives, online and a computer just incase. So that if a bride needs a disc of her wedding years after an event I still have all the files backed up and saved.