Weddings

Preparing for wedding photography

 

*First of all, never be afraid to express your opinions or concerns to your wedding photographer.  The food, drinks, invitations, favors… it’s all fleeting.  It makes for a memorable day, but when it’s all over, the photographs are the only lasting physical testament to your wedding day.  Your opinion matters.  I don’t care how often my clients email or call me; I want to make sure the product I provide you is what you wanted.

*Use online resources for inspiration, not duplication.  Your pictures will never look exactly the same as someone else’s, and that’s okay.  In fact, it’s great!  There will never be another photograph that looks exactly like yours.  However, if you send me a Pinterest board or links to other photography, it gives me an idea of what composition and editing resonates the most with you, so please do so!

*Prepare a list of “must-have” shots.  There is a typical list of photographs everyone wants (first kiss, first dance, cake cutting, etc.) but I want to know what details are unique to your day.  If your sister made the centerpieces or you want a picture of your mother buttoning up your gown, make sure you tell me.

*Prepare an order for formal family portraits.  This helps minimize the chance that we miss someone.  For example, on my wedding, the list looked something like this:  Bride and parents, add grandmother, add groom, add aunt and uncle; Reset to groom and parents, add bride, add siblings, add aunts and uncles, so on and so forth.  Ignore the bridal party and the couple for now; the goal is to get pictures of your extended family in whatever combination you think is important before they start wandering away to the restroom or food.

*Women: make-up shows up more subtly in photography.  There’s nothing wrong with a natural look, but if you’ve spent time on your make-up and want it to show up in the pictures, consider adding about 10-20% more than you usually would.  Also avoid a foundation or blush with shimmer, as the reflected light will add volume to your face- which very few people ever want!

*Above all, relax and have fun!  The beauty of digital photography is that it is very easy and inexpensive to re-take a picture.  You blinked?  We’ll take another one.  You sneezed?  We’ll take another one.   Trust me, the more relaxed you are, the better the pictures will look.  Plus, I will never post a picture that I know is completely unflattering, so you have nothing to worry about.

 

 

I can’t guarantee we’ll have the same taste, but here is a Spotify playlist I made of romantic songs that aren’t overtly cheesy.

 

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