How to Help Your Wedding Photographer When Planning Your Big Day

Wedding Photography Planning

For as long as I can remember, hiring a professional wedding photographer has been a "must do" to guarantee great images of your special day. A professional wedding photographer should know your wedding day timeline, but more importantly, should know how to anticipate key moments and be ready to capture them. This somewhat "psychic" skill only comes with experience. By seeing and doing often enough, a well prepared photographer should come to know what to expect on your big day.
As a wedding photographers, I can tell you that there are many things that can make or break your day when it comes to photography. A beautiful image takes time and much effort. It requires thoughtful composition and correct lighting. A little cooperation and trust (from a client) helps a lot too.

Here's a small list of wedding photography (do's and don'ts) you should considered.

• Allow time for pre-ceremony portraits and details photos. This will free up (much needed and appreciated) time during cocktail hour. Consider a bride and groom "First Look". Plan a special moment to see each other before the ceremony begins and have your wedding photographer capture that special time. Also plan time for multiple locations and possible travel when planning pre-ceremony photos. 

• Be on time! Go over the time line with everyone involved, including your wedding party, family, and makeup artist. Many times when things are running late, it's because of something that could have easily been avoided, like a makeup artist having no idea what time the bride and bridesmaids need to be ready.

• Use time wisely. Meet with your wedding photography team and go over the timeline. If you are on a budget, we recommend using more of the daylight hours to capture your beautiful images. 

• Take advantage of daylight. There's no denying that a "sunset ceremony" is beautiful, but unless you are planning a "first look" before the ceremony, there will not be adequate daylight time for bride & groom photos. Be sure to research the sunset time on your wedding day and plan your wedding timeline accordingly.

• Unplug your guests during ceremony. Considered this... no cells phones, cameras or ipads during your ceremony. When you are getting married, I believe that everyone invited should be present and in the moment with you. You've paid a lot of money for professionals to take photos and you want your images to look clean and beautiful during your ceremony, not distracted by your guests phones in the air and in the isle. Ask your priest, officiant, rabbi, etc... to make that announcement. Trust me on this one... Imagine one of your guests blocking your photographer from getting your "first kiss" or your "walk down the aisle", just for that under exposed low resolution smart phone photo that you will never see anyway?

• Family and wedding party portraits. This is where the timeline comes in handy for all parties involved. Use the wedding rehearsal as a time to let everyone know the wedding day schedule and the time/location for group photos. These groups typically consist of immediate family and wedding party only.

• Bride and Groom "Couples" photos. Okay all you "brides to be"... VERY BIG DEAL HERE. During the most important couple's portrait time, your photographer should have zero interruptions. Having other people around is a major distraction for you and will disrupt the photographer's flow. Un-needed distractions will make it extremely difficult for the couple to focus on each other and will interrupt your photographer's creative time. In many cases the couple session gets cut short due to the wedding starting late and dinner service being on time, which makes it more crucial the photographer have uninterrupted time with the couple.

• Last but not least, please relax and enjoy your day. Couples (at times) can be very nervous and/or distracted by the days event. It is so important (for you and your photographer) that you relax, enjoy yourself and have fun on the biggest day of your life

Happy Wedding Planning!