Wedding Pictures with Style

Your wedding album will be one of the most precious memories of this big day that you will have. But have you ever noticed how so many of those “professional” pictures are all the same from wedding album to wedding album? In fact, one thing that jumps out about the wedding photographer is that for a little while on the wedding day, everything halts and it’s all about him.

You know the drill. The ceremony is exciting and fun and full of joy, some tears and plenty of meaning as the bride and groom kiss and become one family. Then it’s all over and everybody files out to go to the reception to dance, have cake and celebrate this union. But wait, the whole proceeding has to grind to a halt while the photographer stages the wedding party for as long as an hour or more to “recreate” the ceremony and make those perfect wedding photos. Meanwhile the reception may be getting underway and many of the guests that the bride or the groom or others in the family want to hug and share the joy with may have to go because they just can’t wait out a fussy photographer.

Somehow this complete disruption to the day has become accepted as just part of what the wedding day is all about. And the worst part about it is that the photographs, while nice and well staged, look like a bunch of mannequins being arranged for a store window. The joy and fun of the ceremony is over. For decades to come everybody will say they are beautiful and meaningful but if you look closely the wedding party looks nervous, uncomfortable, bored and like they wish they were somewhere else.

Well maybe its time to throw that tradition out and put some creativity into how the wedding photos and the wedding photographer works in your wedding. By finding a photographer who will put together some wedding pictures that have some style, some creativity and some sense of inventiveness, you will have that wedding album that really is full of memories worth remembering.

To get that kind of photographer, you are going to have to start early. You have to find that maverick photographer that “gets it” that the wedding is about the people, not the gowns and the hall and that his photographs must shout out “this was a wonderful day and we celebrated this union.”

You may have to look outside of the conventional “wedding photographers” listing in the phone book. An artistic photographer may be more appropriate. But be patient and find one that is just as professional as any photographer in that yellow pages but can bring some creativity and investment of getting to know this wedding party to the job of taking your important wedding pictures.

That wedding photographer should become as much a part of the wedding party as the groomsmen. After all, if he is going to capture the personality of this couple, he will have to get to know you. Spend some informal time with him and share those fun memories of when you met, those special times while you dated and certainly those very special places where important moments in your relationship took place.

Armed with that kind of creative individual in charge of your wedding photographs, you will look forward with great anticipation to what he comes up with. Many of the best shots will be created before the wedding, at some of those special places and he can Photoshop them to blend them with wedding day moments.

Above all that wedding photographer will understand that he is there to serve this wedding and capture those special moments as they occur. Sure, you may “pose” for a picture from time to time but this whole business of bringing the wedding day to a grinding halt to take stilted pictures of bored wedding party members will go out with the trash. The outcome will be wedding pictures with style, with life and a lot of love in them to reflect the love that was exchanged in those vows and the love of family and friends as they enjoyed this magical day with you.

How Hard Can it Be to Take Our Own Wedding Pictures?

Your wedding is fast approaching and as the anxiety grows in everyone associated with the big day, two big concerns weigh on everybody’s mind. Those are…

(1) How can we reduce the stress of this big day?

(2) How can we cut the costs?

These two questions are in conflict with each other too because in order to reduce stress, you have to increase the work that someone has to do. Sometime during the preparation time frame, the idea will come up, why don’t we let “John Jones” do our wedding pictures? John Jones may be someone’s brother who is “really good at photography” or just a friend of the family. The appeal is that they will save you a pile of money and probably do just as good a job as the expensive photographers.

While you certainly want to watch out before you turn over this important job, maybe you or someone in the wedding party can take the photos as well as a professional. After all, how many wedding nightmares have you heard about a professional photographer who either damaged the romantic nature of the ceremony by butting in too often, aggravated the guests by blotting out their view of the wedding to get an action shot or charged an arm and a leg only to deliver poor quality photos.

In truth, it is entirely possible for an “amateur” photographer to do a terrific job taking pictures at the wedding. But there are some guidelines you should follow if that job has fallen to you. If you are reading this as the bride, groom or anxious mother and you are considering using a friend for these photos, spend an hour going over these guidelines and not only will you get better pictures, your anxiety level will go down too.

1. Know your equipment inside and out. Whether you are using a run of the mill digital camera or an expensive set up that has taken you years to work up, make sure everything is in top-notch working order and that you are thoroughly familiar with every nuance of the machine. Remember Murphy’s Law. If anything can go wrong, it will. So keep Murphy out of the wedding by checking and double checking your camera and related equipment.

2. Have spares of everything possible. If there are batteries involved with the operation of the camera, have several spare sets on hand and know where they are. If the batteries go out as the bride and party are posed at the alter, you don’t want an hour delay why you run to the 7-11 to get more. The same goes for flash bulbs and even the camera itself. Have spares of everything possible so Murphy just goes to the next wedding down the road to make his mess.

3. The photo is about more than the bride and groom. If you are used to “staging” your pictures, you may not worry that often with activity in the room. After all, if everybody is posing, the environment is controlled. This will not be the case during an action shot like during the wedding or reception. So keep a keen awareness of the room, the activity around the subjects, the lighting and background props. You don’t want to produce the perfect shot of bride and groom kissing only to have Cousin Ned gagging on the cake in the background.

4. Be aware of glare from windows, lights and eyeglasses. These can sneak up on you.

As a rule, someone who is part of the event can get great shots because they know the people and can be mixing as those wonderful “little moments” occur. So it’s worth a try if you feel good about the skills of your photographer and they follow these little guidelines.

Candid Photography, Taking Pictures Of Your Friend Without Their Attention

Candid photography is by definition taking pictures of people when they are unaware. Part of the fun in photography is catching your human subject’s off guard so that your pictures have more emotion. Photographers who work for magazines, like Time Life, have been able to get candid shots of their subjects. I think most of us can remember the black and white photographs of Africans and others giving rise to more emotion from the viewer. Taking candid shots may appear easy although there are few techniques in the photography world that will make the candid shot worth more than just a snap shot of friends.

First and of course most important is to keep the subject in view while they are not paying attention. The next step is training your eye to catch the moment. You have to be able to move fast, but with design. You need to have your camera set for the picture before you are even aware you will take the photograph. The best way to do this if you have a digital or automatic camera is to keep it on the proper setting. Manual cameras take moments to focus and can loose the candid shot if your subject becomes aware of you.

Candid photography relies on the light; however, you may not always get to choose the angle. The angle could be where you are standing at the time. As a photographer of candid photography, you know the importance of choosing the best angle at the right moment that is possible.

The entire point of candid photography is to gain the unguarded moments of a person’s emotions, whether it is tears, happiness, love, or other emotions. While it is true, you need to have light, angle, and a good camera to catch the shot it is more important to observe. Most photographers are trained observers. Their eyes will wander over the crowds, landscape, or other setting searching for the perfect shot. They will always have a camera ready. It can be extremely hard when you are taking photographs of your friends because they tend to be more involved in the conversations or activity.

The key to taking candid photographs of your friends is to draw them away from the fact that you carry a camera. If they forget you carry the tool, they are more likely going to act natural. Some friends tend to pose in front of the camera while others will shy away turning their backs when you get ready to take a photograph. Knowing your friends will help you find the best way to take candid shots without their knowledge.

Observing, having the camera ready, and understanding the basics of photography will yield you better results when you try for a candid shot. Posing or turning away from the camera will take away from the shot you hoped to attain so hanging to the side or a little ahead can get you the shot you may need. Profiles make great candid shots because the person will not realize you are taking a photograph until you have already clicked the button. Candid photography can be one of the most rewarding arts of photography, but also vexing when the subject is aware of the camera. Always remember the camera when going out with friends.

More Than Pictures - Memories

When you are hired to be the photographer for someone’s wedding, it is quite an honor. For a professional photographer, we can sometimes just see it as another “gig”. But it pays to look at the event through the eyes of the wedding party, the parents, the siblings, the groom and above all the bride. For the bride especially, there is nothing routine about this day. Everything is personal and getting the best possible photos of this important day could not be more personal and important to her and her family and her groom as well.

So if you are expanding into or setting out on building your photography business to include wedding photography, you should plan to approach this task much differently than any other form of photography. You are doing a lot more than taking a few snapshots of an event. You are as much an integral part of the ceremony and the significance of that day for this bride and this groom as the minister or perhaps even many of the wedding guests.

So what can you do to make sure the wedding albums you create capture not only the events of this day but the emotions and the spiritual importance of it as well? The key is to know the hearts and minds of the people who are involved in the event. That means, get involved early and be involved often.

For most weddings, the planning begins as early as a year before the ceremony. If you get hired to be the wedding photographer, it is not too early to meet the wedding party and family that early also. To be a skilled wedding photographer, you should also have a bit of the investigative journalist, the amateur psychologist and the psychic in you as well.

Your photographs will capture not only the images of the event but also the spirit of the people who attend. So get to know each of the key players individually. This certainly includes the bride and groom but a similar level of familiarity is appropriate for the wedding party, the parents of the bride and groom and their best friends too.

There are some subtle ways you can learn the hearts of these people so you can plan to get photographs that will be ones the each person will say, “I am saving that one forever.” Here are some suggestions…

. Get to know the colors of the wedding. But more than that, find out how the bride and significant decisions makers view colors. Watch how they dress and show them examples of wedding photographs and listen to their reactions. You can plan the how to stage your pictures accordingly.

. Every bride has that perfect romantic setting in their heart. If you can discover that hidden treasure, you may be able to frame a special wedding photo just to fit that dream. Perhaps she there is a public gardens in the city that has a fountain that she has loved since she was a child. If so you can make arrangements to have the wedding party meet out there when the lighting is just right in full dress and get some wedding photos that will be in her heart forever.

. Don’t forget the groom. Maybe he would love to have a fun photo showing him and the bride on his Harley. Or if he is a big sports fan, getting a photo dressed out in team regalia at some other time than the wedding can be a fun addition to the portfolio. And it will mean a lot to him too.

Knowing the people, their personalities and what makes them tick makes you a better photographer. Don’t miss a chance to be with the wedding party at every stage of planning. The key players will not only not resent your presence but they will see that you have the same commitment to making this day as special as it can be. And they will love the outcome and you will remain as much a part of this big day as the flowers and the chapel itself.