A year ago, I was given the opportunity to write an article for a weddingsatwork publication on “How to get great wedding photos on your wedding day”. I tried to make it more interesting by writing an article entitled “Lousy Wedding Photos: How to Throw Off Your Photographer on Your Life’s Biggest Moment” which is just like “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” – but with so much more sarcasm. Consequently, it was rejected and I made the more straight-forward approach to the article which I eventually realized was the better thing to do.
The booklet was already published but I thought it would be nice to post the list here as well so many others of you can see and maybe benefit from it. Sorry there aren’t much photos on this post, I’m sure that your imagination will provide you a better visualization of the items below. If you find this boring, email us for the sarcastic version and maybe that will make your day.
I had the initial perception that any article about pointers on How to Get Beautiful Photos in Your Wedding Day would be too plain and boring. Clearly, how else can you enumerate the pointers but by providing a list – first, of obvious things and then the less obvious things, that affect how pictures are produced in a wedding. It took me several ideas, a few days, and a couple of rejections to realize that there is no other way to do it but like how I’ve thought about it from the beginning – plain and boring. But you know what, it can’t be all that bad. Just like choosing your own death, we can make it as fast and as direct-the-point as possible – you’ll know what to do in your wedding to get those awesome photos faster than you feel the pain of reading a list.
So here are the top ten, most sure-fire ways to get more beautiful photos from your wedding.
1. Getting really great photos start long before your wedding day. Choose smart and check extensively for photographers. No matter what your budget is, there is always someone who is a true bang-for-the-buck in any price range. Check not only for photographs but for customer service as well. Trust your gut – you’ll know when you find them.
2. Make the effort to know personally your photographer. It not only kills the awkwardness but it will make both parties look forward to the day that you’ll work together to come up with those priceless captured memories.
3. A little pressure wouldn’t hurt. By telling your photographer things like “we know you’re very expensive but I’m sure you’ll be worth every penny (centavo, if you want to be strict)” or “I always check your website and I hope ours will be as beautiful, if not better, than those I see there”, it provides a sense of challenge to do nothing less for your wedding day.
4. There are things that are ok to ask and then there are those that just show a lack of trust. After a few amounts of pressure we provided in tip #3, it’s time to let go and fully trust that your chosen photographer will do what he was born (some paid) to do. It is frustrating and demotivating for a photographer to see any lack of trust in what they do. Unless of course they are the type that don’t care, but tip #2 will somehow take care of that not-caring issue.
5. Convenience is always key. You don’t have to book them a hotel room – simple things like same hotel for the bride and groom’s preparations, meals that photographers don’t have to allot a headcount to buy, a fairly large room, etc. The less the photographers will have to worry about something else, the more focus he can be in shooting beautiful photos of your wedding.
6. The bride’s mood carries the mood of everyone else. So right from the night before, sleep early and wake-up in a positive attitude – think that everything right will happen on your wedding day and if they don’t, your wedding planners will fix it and if they can’t fix it, it will be too small for you to even notice.
7. One important and often-ignored deed is to introduce your photographer to at least the people in the preparation room. This will allow their team to know who are those present and to focus on the more meaningful moments of the significant people that are there. There have been incidents already when the guy in barong who happened to be your family driver got more photos over your dad.
8. Be interesting and unique. Photographers shoot in the same venues throughout the year. And at any given day, they probably have shot in every possible corner and detail of your venues. Make it more interesting by bringing some personal stuff that can sure put a lot more YOU in the photos. Things like an old scrap album, post cards, a guitar, a polaroid camera, etc. make an otherwise beaten-up place look different. This is true for what you’ll wear too. Vibrant-colored stilettos for the bride and flamboyant shoes for the groom are not only eye-candies for the day but in photos as well.
9. Few get to notice but color combination is vital in making photos look beautiful. Be certain to look for inspirations for color motifs and put them in mood boards and in mock settings to see how they look together. Light blue with bright yellow are ok but don’t make it any worse by adding a deep red accent. No amount of photoshop skills can fix a color combination that’s painful to look at.
10. Finally, Extend respect to your photographer. Provide him with a decent meal, a schedule with enough time to shoot the things he needs to shoot and don’t take away the already limited time and space he need by having your photographer friends shoot with him during the preparations and portrait sessions. Your photographer will sure be grateful and will be inspired to give you the best possible photos he can.
There you go, straight-forward yet highly effective. I’m no David Letterman but with these top ten list, you’re making sure that you get the most out of the photography service that you’ve paid for and more importantly, you’re preserving the memories from your wedding the best way possible.