Events

Things All Wedding Photographers Should Know

Being a part of a wedding can be a magical experience in itself but consider capturing all the magic that is about to define someone else’s life. Now that is a challenge.

Wedding photography can be a tough profession to take up. With challenges from getting started to producing pictures that the clients like, a lot of work goes into running a wedding photography business.

Let’s get down to what issues you may have to face if you start taking up wedding photography as a profession.

Getting Hired Is The Hard Part:

The first step to being successful in any field is finally getting a paying project. A strong portfolio makes it easier to convince someone that you have enough expertise to cover their wedding. You should have some idea of your costs but you need to convince someone else that your costs are worth your output. Once you have someone interested and willing to pay, you need to remember the next point so that you don’t ruin your opportunity.

You Are Your Brand:

And you have to create it from scratch. You know how you want it to look; you know what brand image you want in the market. So you are the best bet to handle every aspect of it. From sales manager to CEO, it’s mostly you. You are the one who will look out for production costs and give out advertisements. You get your business up and running and learn how to manage everything that goes in. You have to show your customer your value as a wedding photographer. The good news is you won’t have to do it all the time due to the fact that…

Weddings Are Seasonal:

Wedding photography is not a year-long business. There will be dry months where you’ll have to survive from your earnings acquired in the last season. To overcome this difficulty, you need to make sure you make enough to get you through the rainy months or find an alternative for this part of the year to be able to keep paying those bills. You better be sure to nail the jobs when you get them because…

There Won’t Be Any Retakes:

Literally speaking, you only get one shot. That first kiss, that first dance, it won’t happen again. You need to be skilled and alert enough to be able to capture all these special moments that the bride and groom want to look at on their return from their honeymoon. If you miss a shot, you won’t be excused because of the bad lighting or the overzealous crowd. You need to figure it out yourself. Make sure everything is set beforehand so you won’t have to miss out on capturing that bouquet mid-air or that aforementioned first kiss.

Give What’s Asked For…But Be Original:

A lot of skill goes into photography and so does creativity. Couples don’t want their pictures to be clichéd. They hired you for this exact reason – so that you could give them memories in a way that makes their friends jealous. This would only result in you being hired by their friends. And then the friends’ friends. And so on. Listen to what the clients want and then incorporate your experience and your finesse in giving them a refined version of their dream wedding album.

 

How do I find a wedding photographer?

First things first: where do you even start your search for the perfect wedding photographer? One obvious potential path is to ask friends, family, or co-workers to see if they have any recommendations. However, one downside to that plan is that you may feel obligated to take their suggestion even if it doesn’t seem like a good fit.

Another option is to search the Internet, typically running a “near me” search in Google. This can give you a jumping-off point and provide you a few options. However to get a better feel for a photographer’s work and what their customers say it’s better to go to a dedicated photographer site, like Photobooker.com. From there, you can consider reviews, compare portfolios, and view availability to help whittle down you list of potential hires.

 

What should I look for in a wedding photographer?

Commonly, exploring a photographer’s portfolio will be your first step in determining if they’re right for your wedding. Looking through past events they’ve captured will give you a sense of their style as well as any potential strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you see that a photographer’s portfolio is mostly made up of outdoor shots and your venue is indoors, you might consider asking to see comparable images or look for a photographer with an indoor specialty.

After you’ve found a photographer whose work you like, the next step is to ensure that their personality and vision for your event match your own. Like any professional, certain photographers may have particular ways they like to go about things. Unfortunately, this may sometimes clash with what you had planned. In some cases these differences can be resolved but, when in doubt, it’s better to go with a photographer who’s fully on board with your vision than to compromise on your big day and regret it later.

Finally, another major consideration to make when hiring a photographer involves money — as in how much will their services cost you? Depending on how strict your budget is, you may even want to move this question higher up your list so that you don’t fall in love with a photographer’s work only to learn that they’re out of your price range. Although talking about money can be awkward at times, keep in mind that these photographers are professionals. Therefore, there’s nothing wrong with inquiring about their rates and seeing what works and doesn’t for your budget.

 

Things you should know before hiring professional photographer

You know when they say that a picture speaks a thousand words? They were not wrong. What this usually means is that a single picture has the capacity to explain complexities better than what a thousand words could do. Let’s face it we would rather look at a picture than read a  thousand words describing it. A good photograph has embedded in it a lot of emotions and quite frankly everything you would want to remember and this is not possible without the right photographer.

So here are some things to consider when choosing a photographer for your project.

Project Description

So first of all, you should consider what project you need your photographer to cover. If it’s a wedding, you should know that it is a full day’s work and this means your wedding photographer will need help. If it’s a family photoshoot then you’ll most likely want to do it outside which means your photographer should have some knowledge of the city and interesting locations and landmarks. The point is that your project is the major determinant of who your photographer will be. If you are in the e-commerce space, you have your online store or you are selling on Amazon, Walmart or Esty, you’d have to take into consideration what exactly you need from the shoot, your product type and if your photographer knows a thing or two about such products. A fashion show on the other hand, should have a photographer than can capture moving objects or in this case persons. Referrals are good but sometimes may not really be what you want. So the project at hand should come to play when looking for the best photographer out there.

Expertise

One thing to understand is that every photographer has some level of expertise in one field or the other. It could be as a wedding photographer or a still life photographer or even as a macro photographer. What this naturally means is that they work well under certain lighting. It could be with natural lights or artificial but either way, everyone of them has an aspect of photography that irks them more than the other and this is something you should figure out because you really don’t want to get a still life photographer to cover one of the most important moments of your life such as a wedding. So pick one that has really prove himself in certain photography field or style.

Check out their portfolio

Every photographer has a portfolio of pictures they have taken in the past and by all means you should take a look at this. This will show you what they are best at. Looking at their portfolio will help you decide if they are the best choice for your project or not. It will also help you decipher their photography style. Whether it is formal or traditional or artistic. The portfolio will help you see clearly the photographer’s eye and what he is best at creating. From looking at all these, you clearly will not choose a wedding photographer to cover anything other than weddings.

 

Personal Convictions

This will usually come to play after you have met the photographer in person. What you need to understand is the fact that there is someone for everyone. So if you are the conservative type, there’s a photographer to meet your needs and same goes for someone else whose theme is Gothic. Meeting the photographer will help you decide if you would like this person to photograph your event or wedding or party. A lot of times it’s easy to book online and subsequently dislike your photographer when you get to meet him. It is advised to set up interviews and share what you have in mind when it comes to photographing your event. This will give him an understanding of what you like and most importantly it will help you realize if you like him enough to let him give you instructions. If you two cannot get along when you meet, you most likely won’t get along on your event or when running the photo session.

Knowledge Base

This may be a bit difficult seeing that clients have no idea of what a photographer should know. This can be remedied by looking at his page. What are the things he blogs about? and what are his reviews? Everyone doing something commercially has people reviewing their work. Read the bad and good reviews and this will help you understand if he knows exactly what he’s doing. Photography is an aspect that does not have a lot of regulation and you’d need to be sure before handing out a cheque. It’s much better to go for someone with a lot of experience in this field. It would be of great help to know if he teaches other people.

Why Rent A Photo Booth For A Corporate Event?

All of the benefits here apply to corporate events as well as private. Photo booths certainly make your event more entertaining but they’re practical for business as well. For example, you’ll receive crowdsourced content for later use in social media or traditional marketing. You also get a feel for the energy you inspired.

Without a photo booth, your attendees get all the social media clout. When you also have access to those files you can share, tag and engage for boosted exposure. Promote a customized hashtag before, during and after your event to catch those straight to IG moments, too.

Photo booths build camaraderie which makes stronger teams and networking allies later. From the files we give you, you’ll see the connections that exist between your attendees. Turn these pictures into personalized gifts for sponsors, donors or customers.

 

Are there different types of photo booths that I can rent?

Turns out there are many types of photo booths that are available to rent for your wedding—it all depends on your style and venue constraints. These photo booth types include the following:

• Open-air photo booth: No booth required here! With this option, a camera is placed on a tripod or table and guests can control when the photos are taken.
• Old-school photo booth: This is the type of photo booth that you’re most familiar with. Crowd into a booth, make some silly faces, and then wait for a printout of your images.
• Slow-motion video booth: Instead of taking still photos, these booths provide your guests with slow-motion videos that they can post on social media.
• GIF-maker photo booth: Everyone loves a good GIF, and these booths allow your guests to star in their own short animated clips to share with all their followers.
• Flip book photo booth: If you and your partner are the nostalgic types, then these photo booths are for you. These booths take a series of photos and create a fun flip book that make a cool favor, too!
• 360-degree photo booth: You’ve probably seen these on the red carpet, but these photo booths make a great addition to weddings as well! Some photo booth companies offer multi-camera photo booths to capture your well-dressed guests from every angle.
• Green screen photo booth: Green screen photo booths allow your guests to choose a fun or funny backdrop to truly personalize their images.

 

How to Save

There are tons of ways that party patrons can save on the cost of a photo booth for their event. Here are some key tips to consider:

• Discounts are frequently available for non-profit groups, schools, military groups and other organizations, so it’s a good idea to inquire about a group discount.
• Patrons should consider the full length of time they will need for their guests to enjoy the photo booth and how many guests will attend their event. This will help them to determine if buying an upgraded packaging with additional time will save them money compared paying extra fees for going over the standard photo booth timeframe.
• Open-air booths typically cost less than enclosed booths and present a savings opportunity that patrons can take advantage of.

 

The Benefits of Starting Your Own Photo Booth Business

If you’re considering starting out on any new venture — particularly a business venture where you’ll be investing money up front on the promise that it’ll pay off down the line — you’ll want some confidence going into it. You’ll want to feel at least moderately hopeful that the payoff will be worth the risk.

Because of this, it’s perfectly reasonable to ask yourself about the benefits of starting your very own photo booth business:

1. The Freedom

The first and most obvious benefit is the level of freedom this type of work offers you. The hours and schedule are so flexible that, depending on your specific situation, you could do this work as a second job in the evenings or on the weekends. Or if your situation allows for it, you could even make this your full-time job.

As the owner of the photo booth, you have the power to either accept or decline bookings entirely at your own discretion. If it’s the middle of winter, the roads are covered in snow and someone asks you to bring your photo booth to their birthday party, you can simply say, “Sorry. We’re booked.”

On the opposite side of that coin, you also can go after as many bookings as you can handle. If it’s summer and you want to make a little extra money for a big expense you have coming up, you can knock on as many doors as it takes to get more bookings than usual. As the owner of a business that’s already inherently quite flexible, you have the kind of freedom that’s almost too good to be true.

2. The Money

Photo booths can make a fair amount of money. Exact amounts will depend on your specific situation, making it difficult to make predictions in that area. However, it’s highly likely that you can successfully turn a profit.

What’s more, you will be making this money in exchange for operating a photo booth. While hard work is wonderful and important, there’s also something to be said for earning money doing something that’s fun and relatively stress-free. If you’re going to have a side-business or even a full-time startup business, operating a photo booth is a fun way to earn money that doesn’t require excessive amounts of manual labor.

 

How Much Money Can You Make In The Photo Booth Business?

People love working in the photo booth business for many reasons: it’s a great alternative to sitting behind a desk all day, it provides a fun environment where you can work for yourself, and you get to bring excitement and positive energy to events. As a photo booth owner, it’s your job to be the life of the party! The photo booth business is FUN; but what is less often talked about, is that the photo booth business can also be very profitable too. You can actually make a living, doing what you love.

To give you an idea of how much money you can make, we’ve broken it down for you.

Social events (birthday parties, holiday parties, sporting events, and graduations) can typically run anywhere from $500 to $1,000 per event; or $250 – $350 per hour. These rates will of course vary from market to market, and the pricing will depend on the owner’s strategy: do they want to be less expensive and do more events per month; or do they want to have more competitive pricing so their service is regarded as a top-tier offering? There are pros and cons to both business models.

Corporate marketing events often run for a bit longer than social events, and are billed at higher hourly rates – or sometimes even by daily rates. The average hourly rate for a basic on-site activation at a corporate event is $350 – $450 per hour; more if you’re providing branded photo booths, branded photos, custom green screens, and other unique elements designed specifically for their event. The more customized the experience for a client’s event, the more revenue you can generate. Corporate clients are ideal because they come with the potential to work with the same company on a recurring basis.

Photo booth owners will initially start off slow, but will get busier as they develop a database of repeat clients and referrals. The best way to get events is to do events. Being present in person and allowing potential clients to see your business in action is the best way to entice them to add your photo booth to their event as well.

Tips For Shooting An Event Video

Know Your Event

Proactively learn what the event is all about, because the more you know, the better your mind can map out the plan of attack. The first order of business is to ensure you have an open line with the event organizers. Schedule a sit-down and talk about the details of the event, because you need to know and understand what their needs, requirements, and expectations are. While at it, don’t forget to ask for a copy of the detailed program.

Know Your Equipment

There is standard equipment and there are those that you include depending on your site inspection and chat with the organizers. Whatever you do, don’t forget to bring backups or extras like mics, batteries, flash drives, etc. Since the equipment is technical, aside from the organisers, be sure to know who the event’s technical point people are.

Watch Other Event Videos

No two events are alike, but there will be similarities between events. For inspiration and techniques, study other event videos. See how certain things are done in others’ events and pick up some pointers. It’s all about continuous discovery and learning.

Make a Shot List

When storytelling,“You must begin with the end in mind”, as an old adage says. The important thing is to have a vision of the end product. Be as detailed as possible with your shot list – and actually shoot from your list at the event.

Be on Your Toes

Anticipation is a talent as much as a product of, again, preparation. When you know how the program starts, what happens in the middle, and how it’s going to end, you’re already on top of things. So, congratulations! However, as it’s ‘live’, expect the unexpected.

 

Tips for DIY Videography

Before you start, ask yourself: “What’s the story that I’m trying to tell?”

Call this a brainstorm, call it a creative brief, call it whatever, just take some real time to consider what it is you’re trying to say. Whether its a 6 second Vine video or a feature length documentary, the good ones all tell a story. Think about what your subject is. Think about how long you want the video to be. Pick some reference videos or photos or magazine clippings so you can concretely communicate your ideas to a collaborator. And stay away from vague, ambiguous language – like “commercially”, “innovative”, or “cutting-edge” that means something different to everyone.

Understand your audience.

Who is this video for? Is it for a room full of suits? Next year’s music fest attendees? Knowing your audience will shape the way you approach telling your story. Don’t get me wrong, some of the greatest works in cinematic history weren’t made for the audience, the audience came because the work was brilliant. But save that for your next Citizen Kane attempt, and consider who’s watching your stuff, now

Shot List!

This is critical for anything scripted. And it actually applies to live events, too. The worst thing any videographer can hear when showing up to film is, “just get everything”. That statement is simultaneously overwhelming and impossible. Take the time to think about which wide shots you’d like, which guests, attendees, or characters are important to the story, and what types of B-Roll, close ups, and cutaways you need to tell your story. This will help you craft your piece, later.

Know your locations.

In an ideal world, you do a location scout of every location before you film there. However, especially in the videography world, time and budget don’t allow for this. In turn, it becomes very important to find out the lighting conditions of each location. Are there big windows that will provide a lot of natural light during the day? If it’s at night time, how will the location be lit? Most times, evening events are dimly lit resulting in the need for faster lenses or external lighting units – whether they are on your camera, or off of it. Knowing these things ahead of time and planning accordingly is crucial. I can’t emphasize this enough. CRUCIAL.

Know your gear.

This one falls more on professional videographers than the people who hire them, but if you do hire a videographer, you’ll be much more prepared to have an intelligent discussion if you take a little time to familiarize yourself with some basics. Camera technology is evolving faster than ever, so I won’t overwhelm you with details, but here are some basics

 

Tips for Creating Successful Event Videos

Choose Your Style

Before you begin filming your live event, make sure that you have a clear concept of what you want the end product to be. There are countless reasons to create video content, which means that your video should be aligned towards a focussed, achievable goal from the start. Looking to educate viewers about your brand and its services with a live demonstration? Then a simple TED Talk-style video, with your cameras mounted on tripods, might work best. But if you’re trying to capture the flashy, explosive energy of a concert to attract audiences for the next one, a close-up highlight reel could be a better option. Think about what kind of event you’re filming, think about what you want it to accomplish, and then begin building a production framework from there.

Make A Plan

Because of the inherently spontaneous nature of live events, you might feel like you can just call in a couple camera ops and then have them wing it. But the exact opposite is true: Event videos require just as much–if not more–planning and pre-production than a traditional video. Map your location in advance, stick to a tight time schedule, and make sure that everybody in your crew is familiar with their responsibilities. Remember, unlike with a traditional video shoot, if somebody bungles their take, calling “cut” is not an option.

Prep Your Sound

Arguably the hardest part of live event filming is making sure that your sound quality stays up to snuff. It’s possible that you will not not have the opportunity to use traditional mics while moving around a venue, which means that you may need to either use smaller mics for each individual camera or (if this is an event with performances that utilize microphones) plug directly into the venue’s sound system. But even then, be careful. Just because your audio sounds good on the venue speakers does not mean that it’s recording well. Have a sound engineer on-hand to carefully monitor for peaking, distortion, and other potential audio issues.

Keep It Consistent

When you have multiple cameras filming multiple aspects of a live event, it is important to double check that all of your footage stays stylistically and technically consistent. Set your white balance in advance, rather than relying on every individual camera’s “automatic” setting, for a crisp, consistent shoot. If there are any special considerations that must be made because of the venue’s lighting (especially if it’s outside or otherwise inconsistent) determine those before the shoot so that the entire crew has a course of action ready.

Believe In B-Roll

Even once you’ve checked off every frame of your shotlist, don’t put down that camera! Your b-roll footage will be especially invaluable during a live shoot – things like shots of the audience can help establish context for the event, make scene transitions easier, and cover up any cuts that you might have to unexpectedly add during post-production. And believe us when we tell you that there will always be unexpected problems to contend with during the creation of an event video.

 

How to Shoot Video Like a Professional Videographer

Shoot Steady Video

A tripod is an easy answer to producing steady video, but avoid becoming dependent on it. You can shoot steady video without lugging around a lot of gear. Get your body in position so that every breath you take doesn’t lead to unwanted camera motion. Use the ground, a wall, or another object to brace the camera and get interesting visual perspectives. By ditching the tripod, you have the freedom to move around a scene without being anchored in one spot.

Produce Creative Shots

If you don’t want your videos to look as though they came from a surveillance camera, you’ve got to learn to play with angles and perspective. Producing interesting videos involves learning creative shooting techniques.

Practice Widescreen Videos

With the prevalence of smartphone cameras, even home videos are trending toward widescreen formats, such as a 16 by 9 ratio. Think of how you can make this extra visual space work for you.

Avoid Unnecessary Zooms and Pans

Picking up a camcorder for the first time has just about everyone wanting to hit the zoom button on every shot while panning across the horizon. The result can leave viewers seasick.

Get Good Results When Shooting Outdoors

You’d think outdoor videography would be simple because the sun provides the lighting, but to get the best outdoor results, you have to watch the position of the sun closely.

 

How To Film an Event

Write a Plan

Shooting an event can get really tricky. There’s usually something that’s the center of the event, whether it’s a performance, a speech, a prize-giving, etc, as well as the audience or crowd, and the atmosphere of the event. Each of these elements has to be included in the plan with the right balance so as not to waste any of your assets.

Keys to A Successful Event Video

One of the keys to success in capturing an event on video is the formation of the right crew for this particular event. A director, cameraman, or sound engineer might be great at their job and highly qualified, but nothing works without them having the right specialty. Just like a heart surgeon would not perform plastic surgery, you have to make sure the team you pick for your sports event is specialized in such events, which would substantially differ for example from a conference on astronomy.

Live Event Camera Set-up

The first thing you have to make sure is available while shooting your event is the variety of angles. Whether you are using one camera or more, you need to make sure the organizers take into account this issue while setting up the stage or the hall where the event is taking place. Also, if there are seats for the audience, it would serve you best to secure a seat in middle for front shots.

Camera Positioning

When you position the camera, you have to know what your limitations are. If you’re only using one camera, keep it close to the stage, because if you’re only shooting the event from one spot, it should obviously be focused mainly on the main performance. However, if this is the case, then you should at least manage to get a sliding deck so that you can move smoothly from one angle to another without causing any disturbance to the video or any rigid movement.

Boxed Zones

You have to mark your safe zones from which the shooting will take place. You don’t want anything to disturb your camera, (such as someone from the audience mistakenly bumping into your cameraperson, or stumbling upon one of the wires). You also don’t want the shooting to depend upon the cameraperson’s steady hands, especially if the event will last a few hours.

How to Choose a Wedding Photographer

 Your wedding photographer should capture every detail of your big day. From your place card holders to your hair accessories and your makeup applications, it’s your photographer’s responsibility to capture it all. This way, you don’t have to rely completely on memory.

1. It pays to have the best

While you can get a good deal with a photographer who’s new to the industry, you do need to find someone you trust to get it right. Perfection comes with experience.

2. Browse your photographer’s portfolio

Look through the portfolio of any photographer you’re considering. You won’t just be looking for examples of the weddings they’ve captured. You’ll also be looking at their different styles and approaches. When you find the photos that resonate with you, you’ve found your style and photographer.

3. Decide on the right style

A professional photographer distinguishes all the subtleties of shooting a wedding. They’ll know exactly when to photograph your groom as he first sees you walking down the aisle, how to achieve the perfect confetti shot, and what to do in the event of rain. A creative and flexible approach often results in the most breathtaking and brilliant wedding photographs.

4. Create a detailed action plan

Everything from your chosen venue to the time of year will affect your wedding photographs. If you’ve got your heart set on certain shots, like couple’s portraits at sunset or a sparkler send-off photo, then you need to talk it through with your photographer.

 

Important Questions to Ask Wedding Photographers Before You Book

We can’t stress enough how important this is—almost as crucial as their skills behind the camera. You’ll be spending your entire wedding day with this person and if you’re at ease, you’ll not only enjoy yourself more, but they’ll also get better shots. See all the most important questions to ask wedding photographers, below.

• What style(s) do you specialize in?
• Will the photos be retouched and color balanced? Is that done before I see the proofs?
• How many weddings have you shot, and how many do you do in a year? Also, what’s your favorite part of a wedding day, and time of year to shoot?
• What exactly is included in your packages?
• Do you bring your own lighting?
• What will you wear?

 

How Many Hours You Should Book a Photographer For

When you’re in thick of wedding planning, you’re sure to come across so many questions you never knew to ask. From figuring out what flowers are in season to knowing how much to budget, you’re suddenly expected to become an expert on all-things events. Today, then, we wanted to offer up a resource to refer to when you inevitably find yourself asking, “Wait…how many hours do we need to book our photographer for? Read on for our complete breakdown on wedding photography coverage.

6 Hours of Wedding Day Coverage

Things to consider

• 6 hours of coverage most likely means that there will not be much (or any) time for detail decor/design shots or photos of you getting ready
• But, there will be coverage of all of the important moments (portraits, ceremony, family photos, first dance, cake cutting)
• The end of the night comes early with just 6 hours of coverage so, most likely there will not be many photos of the reception once dancing starts

8 Hours of Wedding Day Coverage

Things to consider

• If you have your heart set on doing a first look, then we recommend at least 8 hours of coverage
• Even though 8 hours seems like a lot of time, this works best for weddings where the ceremony and reception are at the same location. Since the additional 2 hours gives the photographer just enough time to take a few getting ready, detail, and dancing shots, you don’t want to waste 30 or 40 minutes on your photographer needing to pack up her/his gear and drive to (and set back up at) a second location

10 Hours of Wedding Day Coverage

Things to consider

• If the wedding ceremony and reception are taking place in different locations, we recommend at least 10 hours of coverage. This gives the photographer enough time to travel to the second location and still get all of the shots
• Planning a grand exit? Unless you’re willing to give up coverage in the earlier hours, 10 hours is usually not enough to have a photographer there until the very end of the reception

12 Hours of Wedding Day Coverage

Things to consider

• If you have a huge wedding party and family, we usually recommend 12 hours of coverage. Why? With everyone in “party mode” it means that it can be hard to get and keep people’s attention (not to mention the fact that it can be difficult to find and get the right people in the right place all at the right time!)
• If you’re super into design and/or have the budget to make all of those Pinterest inspiration ideas come to life, it would be a bummer if all of those design details didn’t get photographed. So, if you have the wedding signs, custom cocktails, and lounges that everybody dreams of, we definitely recommend 12 hours of coverage to make sure every design detail gets the attention it deserves!

 

 

Tips: 10 Things You Should Tell Your Wedding Photographer

1) Tell them what they should wear; you don’t want a photographer in flip-flops and shorts in the middle of a black-tie affair. Your photographer should not stand out amongst your guests. (Massive camera aside of course!)

2) Provide them with an order of service, so they know what is happening and when. The only way for you to have photographs of all your special moments is to tell the photographer where he or she should be when they are taking place. (They need to get the best angle after all!)

3) Talking of group shots, if there are any awkward family circumstances, you should let your photographer know, so that he can position the subjects accordingly and be as tactful as possible.

4) Let your photographer know if any of your guests have mobility restrictions, so that benches and seats can be organised if needed for certain shots.

5) Ask your photographer to take pictures of all the little details you’ve worked so hard over! This could mean anything from the favours and elaborate seating cards, to the flower centrepieces on every table.

 

Advice For Choosing A Wedding Photographer

With all of the excitement and anticipation that comes with planning your wedding, the day finally comes and passes more quickly than you’d even imagine. While you should savor each moment, one thing is for sure: you’ll want to relive it forever. The best way to draw value out of all you put into your wedding day is to make these moments tangible. So we’ve asked a handful of our favorite pros for their best advice on choosing a wedding photographer to document this day.

• Land on a budget

There are several things to consider when coming up with your number, and once you have it set, many ways to apply it toward the services you need most.

• Know your style

Find not only what appeals to you now, but will for generations to come. Looking beyond photography trends will lead you to discover your true taste.

• Look beyond portfolio highlights

Viewing a full gallery or two of real weddings a photographer has shot will allow you to see a more comprehensive range, from family portraits to reception detail shots.

• Understand rights to the photos

The permissions and legal intricacies around rights to wedding photos can often be blurry, so any clarification you can get before signing off will benefit both you and the photographer down the line

• Make sure you mesh

Look for an honest, organized, friendly photographer, because that’s who will be spending the day by your side.

So when it comes to selecting your wedding photographer, it all boils down to picking someone who jives with your visual style and you as a human. When you have a genuine connection with your photographer, they’ll do a better job capturing your emotions—your love, your joy, your stillness