Bride's Guide to Hiring The Right Wedding Photographer - Part 3 (A Smooth Wedding-day ).
Bride's Guide to Hiring the Right Wedding Photography - Part 3 (A Smooth Wedding Day) January 8, 2014 in How To, Weddings Let's establish this at the outset: the wedding day is not about the photographer (or your parents or the wedding planner or any other vendor, for that matter). It's not about the dress or the flowers or the cake or the dinner. It's about you and your fiance and the promise that you make before your guests to be faithful to one another as long as you both shall live. If you don't get that right--and if your vendors don't understand that--the rest of it doesn't matter.
Having said that, if you've followed along this far into the "Bride's Guide to Choosing a Great Wedding Photography" series, you probably already place a high value on your images. You want a record of the day just as you remember it. In fact, if you've hired a professional (see Part 1) and truly feel comfortable with your photographer (see Part 2), you'll receive images that show your day better than you remember it. How? Your photographer knows all of the things to look for and knows how to envision them in ways better than you can--that's his job. If you could bake a better cake than the baker you've hired, you'd do it yourself, right?
What follows here, then, are my recommendations for making the beautiful and memorable images that you'll want to see in your wedding book and hang on the walls of your home.
Ask For Specific Images!
Is it important that you get a photo of you with your grandparents? Is there something at the wedding venue that really excites you as a backdrop? Is your wedding gown of particular importance or are you wearing special sentimental jewelry, shoes or other embellishments that are especially significant to you? Make a list and share this with your photographer. He'll do his best to ensure that all of these details and people are included in your photos.
Time Set Aside: Bride and Groom + Wedding Party
Because I take the approach of a portrait journalist (see Part 1), my clients want me to make flattering portraits of them. Depending on the locations and event timing, I'm going to advise the couple to set aside time prior to the ceremony as well as at the reception for some portraits. We might do this indoors and/or outdoors and I might need to set up lights. Your photographer may do the same, so how much time should you set aside?
Note that these photographs take place after everyone is dressed and ready. When deciding how early everyone should be at the church, simply work backwards from the photo times. If your ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 PM, for example, you'd want to have your wedding party at the church ready for photographs by 12:00 PM. While the guys are having their pictures made, the girls can have lunch and relax (and vice versa). I usually want to finish any pre-ceremony photos an hour before the ceremony so everyone has a chance to unwind and rest for a bit before the rest of the day. Note that this is how I advise couples; check with your photographer to see what she/he recommends.
In spite of long-standing tradition, many photographers strongly encourage the bride and groom do their portraits together before the ceremony. Why? For one, the modern tradition of keeping the bride and groom separated prior to the wedding originates in the tradition of arranged marriages. In those circumstances, the bride and groom may not have seen one another at all--ever--prior to the wedding day. When the groom lifted the bride's veil, he was probably seeing her for the first time. All that's to say that in America (at least in the Church), there is no religious reason for the tradition.
Many brides often say that they want to see the expression on their fiance's face as she enters the church--he'll be seeing me for the first time and it will be so special! To be honest, your husband-to-be is more likely a bundle of nerves. He's standing at the front of the church waiting for you, all eyes on him until you enter. While he may remember the moment when you entered and he saw you in all your radiance, be aware that he's nervous and may not react in the way that you hope he will. If you have your portraits made before the ceremony, you can still set aside some special time for the two of you.
Lastly, if you wait until after the ceremony to make photographs of the two of you, you'll be arriving at the reception later. Your guests will wait longer to eat and so will you and your wedding party. To summarize, there are at least a few good pragmatic reasons to arrange to have your portraits done before the ceremony. Talk this over with your fiance and your photographer.
Pre- or Post-Wedding-Bridal Session
You might find it helpful (and enjoyable) to arrange a "bridal session" with your photographer. The bridal session is similar to the engagement session except now you're in your wedding attire. You can do this around town, at the ceremony site, or wherever--you've got choices and time. This can be a great way to add portraits to your wedding book or home that you simply wouldn't have time for on your wedding day.
A Few Final Tips Before wrapping up this article, here are a few final suggestions that will help your wedding day go smoothly:
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. If you found it helpful, drop me a note to say so or leave a comment below--I'd love to hear from you. If you're interested in contacting me about a photographic project, whether a portrait, wedding, commercial job, or event, please let me know.
Part 1 - How to Hire a Wedding Photographer
Part 2 - Why You Need an Engagement Session
Part 3 - A Smooth Wedding Day
PPA: Top Ten Things You Need to Know to Ensure Wedding Photo Bliss
Having said that, if you've followed along this far into the "Bride's Guide to Choosing a Great Wedding Photography" series, you probably already place a high value on your images. You want a record of the day just as you remember it. In fact, if you've hired a professional (see Part 1) and truly feel comfortable with your photographer (see Part 2), you'll receive images that show your day better than you remember it. How? Your photographer knows all of the things to look for and knows how to envision them in ways better than you can--that's his job. If you could bake a better cake than the baker you've hired, you'd do it yourself, right?
What follows here, then, are my recommendations for making the beautiful and memorable images that you'll want to see in your wedding book and hang on the walls of your home.
Ask For Specific Images!
Is it important that you get a photo of you with your grandparents? Is there something at the wedding venue that really excites you as a backdrop? Is your wedding gown of particular importance or are you wearing special sentimental jewelry, shoes or other embellishments that are especially significant to you? Make a list and share this with your photographer. He'll do his best to ensure that all of these details and people are included in your photos.
Time Set Aside: Bride and Groom + Wedding Party
Because I take the approach of a portrait journalist (see Part 1), my clients want me to make flattering portraits of them. Depending on the locations and event timing, I'm going to advise the couple to set aside time prior to the ceremony as well as at the reception for some portraits. We might do this indoors and/or outdoors and I might need to set up lights. Your photographer may do the same, so how much time should you set aside?
- Bride and girls: one hour
- Groom and guys: 30-45 minutes
- Bride and groom: one hour
- Downtime/"cushion": one hour
Note that these photographs take place after everyone is dressed and ready. When deciding how early everyone should be at the church, simply work backwards from the photo times. If your ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 PM, for example, you'd want to have your wedding party at the church ready for photographs by 12:00 PM. While the guys are having their pictures made, the girls can have lunch and relax (and vice versa). I usually want to finish any pre-ceremony photos an hour before the ceremony so everyone has a chance to unwind and rest for a bit before the rest of the day. Note that this is how I advise couples; check with your photographer to see what she/he recommends.
In spite of long-standing tradition, many photographers strongly encourage the bride and groom do their portraits together before the ceremony. Why? For one, the modern tradition of keeping the bride and groom separated prior to the wedding originates in the tradition of arranged marriages. In those circumstances, the bride and groom may not have seen one another at all--ever--prior to the wedding day. When the groom lifted the bride's veil, he was probably seeing her for the first time. All that's to say that in America (at least in the Church), there is no religious reason for the tradition.
Many brides often say that they want to see the expression on their fiance's face as she enters the church--he'll be seeing me for the first time and it will be so special! To be honest, your husband-to-be is more likely a bundle of nerves. He's standing at the front of the church waiting for you, all eyes on him until you enter. While he may remember the moment when you entered and he saw you in all your radiance, be aware that he's nervous and may not react in the way that you hope he will. If you have your portraits made before the ceremony, you can still set aside some special time for the two of you.
Lastly, if you wait until after the ceremony to make photographs of the two of you, you'll be arriving at the reception later. Your guests will wait longer to eat and so will you and your wedding party. To summarize, there are at least a few good pragmatic reasons to arrange to have your portraits done before the ceremony. Talk this over with your fiance and your photographer.
Pre- or Post-Wedding-Bridal Session
You might find it helpful (and enjoyable) to arrange a "bridal session" with your photographer. The bridal session is similar to the engagement session except now you're in your wedding attire. You can do this around town, at the ceremony site, or wherever--you've got choices and time. This can be a great way to add portraits to your wedding book or home that you simply wouldn't have time for on your wedding day.
A Few Final Tips Before wrapping up this article, here are a few final suggestions that will help your wedding day go smoothly:
- Enlist a helper - You will want--no, need--a trusted friend or relative who is NOT in the wedding party to be your right-hand girl during the day. While your maid/matron of honor is there to assist you, you also need someone who can run a quick errand, straighten your dress, fetch other wedding party members for photos, or who knows what else. Delegate any and every small task to her so that you don't need to worry about it.
- Formals take 5-7 minutes per grouping - Remember that list of photos you were going to put together? When shooting formals or groups, it takes about 5-7 minutes to arrange and photograph each group: bride + girls, groom + guys, bride + guys, groom + girls, bride and groom + everybody, your family, his family--you get the idea. Be mindful, then, that a list of ten such groups could easily take an hour. You may not want to spend that much time having people wait around to line up on the altar.
- Just let go - If your photographer is following a photojournalist or portrait journalism approach, he'll be making a lot of candids during the day. I've found that as we begin the day, couples and wedding guests aren't sure if they're supposed to look to the camera and smile or simply stay in the moment. I always tell them, "Just keep doing what you're doing--I'll ask you to look at me if that makes a better picture." Although having a camera and photographer around all day can feel awkward at first, just relax and allow your photographer to do his job. Just keep doing what you're doing, enjoy the day, and look forward to seeing those wonderful photographs later.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. If you found it helpful, drop me a note to say so or leave a comment below--I'd love to hear from you. If you're interested in contacting me about a photographic project, whether a portrait, wedding, commercial job, or event, please let me know.
Part 1 - How to Hire a Wedding Photographer
Part 2 - Why You Need an Engagement Session
Part 3 - A Smooth Wedding Day
PPA: Top Ten Things You Need to Know to Ensure Wedding Photo Bliss
