…dad and the bride have the first dance, beautiful “dad-daugther song” plays, mom drops a tear, sisters cry too, groom admires her beautiful new wife with adoration, smiling with satisfaction, dad and bride leave the dance floor, groom and mother enter, bride looks at them dancing, bride goes to talk with her friends, bride smiles for the picture her friend is taking, bride is laughing at his brother’s joke…
I can go on and on. What’s wrong with this picture? My sweat and frustration. Honest. I’m trying to get a meaningful/emotive/all-about-feelings shot, but she’s just not into it. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good time, I just don’t understand why the groom doesn’t deserve the same attention as the bride. Honoring the truth he’s also part of the play, I mean, no groom no couple, rigth? Then why not show a little courtesy to him and enjoy his moment as well as the bride’s?
Delegate before hand, and when it’s your groom’s time to shine, just look at how handsome he looks -believe me you’re not going to have that many chances to see him wearing nice suits like that, (unless he’s an executive or a millionaire, I mean.) - Give him some attention to and we’ll get wonderful pictures that you’re going to treasure forever!
Posted 3 years, 9 months ago at 7:41 pm. Add a comment
Every bride wants a magical, fairy-taley kind of wedding. The ones I remember being more magical are those where everyone is attending to the couple. The couples get everyone on board and train the bridesmaids and groonsmen on what’s expected from them. You can have a wedding like that too. Just remember that it’s all about you two, even if you two are already married and living together, are just renewing vows, or getting hitched for the second or third time.
Every one of the traditions has a meaning - some of them are a little less obvious - but it’s still a celebration of two people joining in love. Educate your wedding party; let them know the meanings of the small rituals in your wedding and what you expect from them while these take place. There’s nothing wrong with reminding them to be attentive to the couple, at least until the first dance is done.
With younger couples or younger wedding parties that haven’t been to too many weddings and don’t have experience you can request your mom or a more experienced friend to help you educate the group on what’s expected from them. But you have a great advantage because they are your friends and family. Don’t be afraid to talk to them. Tell the maid of honor that being one is beyond having a nicer bouquet: it’s more about helping you around, with the dress, the make-up, fixing your veil, fetching the dress, even getting you a bite to eat here and there. If, for example, your dream wedding inlcudes having your dear sister and she happens to be already married and has small children -assuming you’re inviting kids too- delegate some of her functions to someone else so she can also enjoy time with her family.
The Maid/Matron of honor can be in many cases your photographer liaison if you don’t have another family member in charge. But what does a photography liaison do? Fetch poeple for the pictures. Even if the photographer has a well proven system to take all the formal portraits, if you have lots of family and out of town guests, it’s very helpful to have someone bringing them in groups for the photos. You can even have one for each family.
The people who surround you can help you have the greatest time, or a very poor, stressful one. Choose wisely.
Posted 3 years, 9 months ago at 8:00 pm. Add a comment
Magazine quality pictures are not exclusive to the rich and famous. You can have magazine style photography on your wedding day too.
Be direct and clear about what you expect from your photographer. Bill and I always ask our clients what they expect in terms of photography. We think it’s important that we all are in the same page about that. We’ll ask questions about your wedding party, your timing, your color, your reception place, not just for being polite, but as part of our first impression and to help you make a photography plan for the day.
First of all consider if it is important for you -and I think it is,- to have beautiful photography of you and your husband on the day you both look stunning. If the answer is yes, then plan ahead. If you’re planning not to see each other before the ceremony, then allow time after the ceremony for a short escape with your husband to the place of your predilection (park, urban, garden, beach, etc) and allow at least 30 min to get them done. If you’re seeing each other beforehand, great. You should arrange to have at least one hour before the ceremony. And, along with your photographer (and with your wedding party, if you so desire,) head to a cool spot and have a nice fashion style session. Yes, like the ones in the magazines!
We’ll plan accordingly and arrange a special moment for the meeting between the two of you. He’ll be looking away and you can take him by surprise or we we’ll make him turn in time for him to see you for the first time radiant in your wedding gown, fresh make up and hair done perfectly. This is also a good opportunity to take all kind of fun photos with your wedding party which will leave you some more time to enjoy your celebration afterwards, leaving only the family formals for later. Believe me, the emotions of this encounter do not diminish the excitement of the moment you’re walking down the isle. Nothing compares to the moment the music starts and everyone is looking back waiting for you to show up. Him more than anyone, with love, pride, and in many cases, tears in his eyes.
If you have an idea for a great location, or a photo that you have envisioned for a long time, tell your photographer. In our case we try to make unique pictures for every couple, but we love a challenge, a new idea, a new adventure. If you chose us as your photography team, trust us: an idea has never been too crazy, or too trendy, or too difficult. We’ll suggest places, scout the area, we’ll help you with ideas, we’ll tell you how to plan your time for the best light, anything we can think of, anything to get the best out of the day.
Remember that having a polished look helps to a better result. Make up and hair are as important as the wedding gown and the flowers. Every little details counts!
Are you ready to be the star of your wedding day?
Posted 3 years, 11 months ago at 10:46 am. Add a comment
Yes, but.
Yes, we don’t mind cameras, not even bigger/better cameras than ours. We don’t get jealous or feel threathened by other people taking photos. We’re nice like that!
But here’s when you, (not us,) need to be clear about when to allow everyone to take pictures. For example, members of your wedding party should not take pictures during the ceremony - that’s a big no-no. Not parents either. It looks, well… not nice. During the formals, if you have enough time to let everyone, thats fine, but be aware that when you’re having a church ceremony in most cases you have somewhere between 10 to 30 min to have all the formals done. You should concentrate on the ones that are going to end up in your album or as presents for your family members. The guests will have plenty of time to take pictures with you at the reception. The other point is that it can be a little stressful and tiring to pose for ten cameras. Not counting that you’re going to spend three times the original amount of time dedicated to the formals. Plus in many cases you’re going to have the well known case of people looking in different directions in all the pictures.
And yes, that’s a little nightmarish for us too.
Other than that, as long as we don’t trip with someone and break our equipment or our backs, anyone can shoot as much as they want!
It’s a different case with other vendors. In general, photography contracts stablish that no other vendors can take pictures of the wedding. Before giving permission to any of your vendors (and that includes cousin Jane doing your flowers) read your contract and ask your photographer. They’re usually O.K. with that if you ask them nicely :-). Most of the times photographers are happy to share photos with the florists, makeup artist, etc.
As for venues, some of them have rules if they have an exclusive photographer when they are the sole provider for the event. Churches are more flexible now, but some don’t allow flashes, and in very few cases -but they do, believe me!- don’t allow cameras at all but the main photographer’s.
Posted 4 years ago at 4:13 pm. Add a comment
At a certain point in your preparation you have to pick one. I know, it’s hard when there’s so many options. But if you come to think about it, and you are anything like me, there’s not too many. Wait and see.
Why is it so difficult to choose a photographer? Well, maybe because most people don’t know exactly what they want or don’t know what to look for.If you start off making a list of possible studios, go ahead and find a pattern. What do they have in common? are they modern, semi-photojournalistic, fine art oriented, fashion oriented, design oriented? unconventional? original? what caught your attention from them? do they seem like fun? do they seem creative? experienced? hip? That would give you a rough idea of what you like. Then go see them.
Now here’s where it gets complicated. It’s like Internet dating - sometimes your idea of a person, doesn’t fit the original. If you don’t like what you see, move on, but if you do, then work it out.
In your photographer’s consult, first look for a connection. If your prospect photographer works with assistants, (most do,) it’s good to meet them too. I presume that if you’re consulting, you have already visited their website, read their bios, seen some of their work and in some cases even their fees. So now is the moment to get personal. Are these people nice? Really? Really, they need to be nice. Of all your vendors, this is the one person that is going to be sharing with you every minute of -guess what? the most important day of your life! Yes! This is when you have to be surrounded by people who’s calm, nice and have good energy. A photographer that feels pushy is going to be pushy. A photographer who dresses sloppy for consult is going to dress sloppy. People in general tend to have major traits that don’t change. Look for those and see if you can spend your special day having this person around. I’ll tell you a secret, photographers are studying you in the same way.
For you the wedding day could be the most fun filled day, but for the artist it’s a work day. He or she has to be attentive to detail - unless he’s 100% photojournalistic, which no one is unless they work at The Herald, wear khakis and don’t retouch, - be able to direct, make you feel confident, and be a catalyst in your moments of stress (read as bridezilla moments,) and definitely not add to your worries. He or she has to make you feel that you don’t have to worry about a thing as far as photography goes.
To tell the truth, we look for the same in our brides. We believe in having a personal connection beyond the signed contract. In this modern, stressful times, we rather surround ourselves with people who have great disposition and energy. But then again, who doesn’t?
Jackie
Posted 4 years ago at 2:13 pm. Add a comment