So much could be said in this blog post, but I’ll try to be as to the point as possible. 😉 INVEST in your wedding photographer. I cannot stress this enough because I’ve had so many brides talk about they did not take much care or attention when choosing out who would take their photos, leaving them disappointed in the end. So why invest in a professional wedding photographer?
1) A wedding photographer is one of the MOST important aspects of a wedding. It’s the only thing you have left after the wedding besides any little sentimental things left from the day. When looking through the photos, you want to remember the emotions, special moments, details, the overall essence of the wedding. An experienced wedding photographer will do that so you are left with photos to relive your special day.
2) We work SO closely with the bride and groom! Probably more than you ever thought. Before the big day, I always sit down with my bride and groom to go over their wedding from start to finish. We figure out the time all of the bridesmaids need to be dressed, what time the bride needs to get into her dress, what time the groom will have prepping shots done, see if we can fit in photos of the wedding party before the ceremony to save some time … you get the point. From personal experience, I’m able to guide their timeline for their best of interest to take the most out of the photography. I want to ensure I cover everything on my mental “to dos” as well as anything they want covered. And from a professional, we know how to make it go as smoothly as possible to ensure that nothing major is missed.
3) A professional photographer will help guide through the “posing”. My goal is to pose my subjects as relaxed as possible. This helps by getting to know my couples, bridesmaids and groomsmen so they are comfortable with me. I try to be fast with my photos, but I also try to get it right the first time around. So setting them up and letting them know the state of mind they need to be in helps the results of the photos.
4) What also defines a professional photographer is knowing how to take on any lighting scenarios thrown your way. Sure, as a portrait photographer, we can control the time we see our clients so we are guaranteed that soft, gold sunset lighting. However, at weddings there is no way you can have all of the golden light in the world for the entire wedding day. 😉 If the couple wants a first look at 2 p.m. … the photographer will know exactly how to manipulate the lighting to ensure great quality photos. This is also the same for nighttime and reception lighting. Knowing off camera flash is important and VITAL to being a wedding photographer. Knowing how to manipulate the lighting there to achieve DIMENSIONAL lighting is going to make or break the photos. I love creating depth so it shows space and the atmosphere.
5) Being confident, professional, respectful and humble. As a photographer, we are put through many many many different scenarios. No two weddings are exactly the same. It’s knowing how to handle those moments in the most professional manner. Sometimes the timeline is not exactly how we anticipated. There is only so much a photographer can do to control time, but we have to know how to make up that time. If the photographer ends up with 5 minutes instead of the anticipated 30 minutes for portraits, they should still be able to deliver a variety of photos. Even though we are put under the time pressure, to be able to put that aside and focus on what we can at that point.
6) Some people do go into sticker shock seeing the price tag of a wedding photographer. I completely understand that! However, from a personal standpoint … this is my living. To ensure I can give my couples 100% attention of what they deserve, I cannot be working another full time job. Otherwise, it would take WAY longer than 1-2 weeks to deliver all of their photos. This would also take away from my couples experience of being my bride/groom. I find it most rewarding to satisfy my couples when I can have the time to email daily, deliver their photos in a timely manner and have some flexibility to setting up meetings/engagement sessions. Creates TRUST and dependability on my business which is so crucial. I also love that I can also have this time to brainstorm new ideas to keep evolving my business to make it better through the years. I’m always growing, which is why my pricing will keep growing when in demand. I love what I do and would never trade it for anything in the world! 🙂
7) From my standpoint, I’m only at a wedding for the contracted 8/10 hours. You better believe I will work 100% of the time during those hours. From start to finish, I believe it is important to show the guests why you were hired. I’ll actually have guests approach me chatting about my work ethic and these are things I LOVE to hear! This also goes with #5 above. The night before a wedding, I relax and make sure I’m prepared for the day ahead. The day of, I never try to rush around so I can save up my energy for the big day. I arrive 30 minutes ahead of the contracted time to ensure I’m there and have time to check out the space and get any detail shots. During the reception, I’ll take a dinner break but afterwards I’ll bust my booty off running around as I jokingly tell my couples that I’m their slave the remainder of the evening if they want any group/friends shots desired. 😉 This gives them last minute ideas for any shots they won’t regret.
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