How To Avoid A Wedding Photography Disaster

The following article appeared in a blog today and I thought it was very good. I would credit the author but his/her name was not given. Enjoy!

There’s a person at your wedding ceremony who could make or break how your wedding day unfolds and enormously influence the experience of your special day for you as well as your family and guests. That individual is your wedding photographer.

There are a lot of components to be thought about when selecting a wedding photographer. Two important things are the years of expertise and elegance of their wedding ceremony photography. Images are a combination of art and craft. Some photographers may be great craftsmen however lack a creative sensibility that should be honed over many years as a photographic artist. Many photographers can create good pictures when the conditions are excellent, but a true professional can create great images of your wedding ceremony under troublesome or sometimes antagonistic conditions.

Do not make the error of hiring someone who doesn’t understand how to seamlessly mix in with the wedding day that enables events to unfold naturally. This ability to mix in, not only facilitates better images, but will greatly improve the experience of your wedding day for you and your guests. Of course, a truly skilled wedding photographer has the ability to gently transition your family members rapidly and smoothly through the crucial post-ceremony photo session without breaking the magic spell of the romance and enchantment of your wedding day by being overly bossy, insensitive, or egotistical.

I have seen while attending weddings as a guest or heard many stories about how the photographer “ruined” the wedding by being overly bossy, insensitive, or losing their composure. I’ve heard of weddings where the photographer had a tantrum and had to disappear for ten minutes before having the ability to return and resume taking photos.

One technique I take advantage of to help the day go smoothly is to do many of the portrait photographs before to the ceremony. Often I start with the groom and his parents, finest man and the groomsmen. The groom then goes off elsewhere whereas I photograph the bride and the bridesmaids as well as the bride’s parents. Usually I will begin the portraits no less than one hour previous to the ceremony and this significantly shortens the time needed for photographs after the ceremony and allows the bride and groom to shortly rejoin their visitors once the portrait photographs are completed.

I photographed a lovely wedding just a few years ago where we did images of the bride and bridesmaids primping and making use of make-up which frequently make for very sweet photos. We then did many portraits previous to the ceremony. By the time we had accomplished the formal portraits after the ceremony, it had been more than six hours since I had anything to eat. With the amount of energy I expend while photographing a wedding, I began to feel the shortage of nourishment was affecting my potential to do one of the best job possible.

When a passing waiter offered me an appetizer, I accepted it and at that moment, the bride’s stepmother walked by with the bride’s father. The bride had warned me that her stepmother could be insensitive and abrasive but I was still surprised when she said to me “It must be nice to receive all this money to race around eating appetizers.” The bride’s father had a stricken look on his face and I knew that if ever there was a make or break moment at a wedding, this was it.

I smiled at the stepmother and said “You are correct, it’s great to get paid to stand around consuming appetizers, plus I like getting to be part of a beautiful celebration where I often really feel like a member of the family by the end of the day.” She was totally disarmed and we ended up having a beautiful conversation. I later realized that she was someone who could not help saying the first thought that entered her mind and as a result was often misunderstood.

Ensure you choose a photographer who knows how to get together with many types of people. Somebody who can park their ego at the door and can concentrate on helping to facilitate the magical day you deserve whereas creating stunning photographs that you’ll cherish for a lifetime.