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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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