Emotions pass away, while photos stay

BW weddingAll brides want to remember happily their wedding day. This is a special day, which you have prepared for months, and you spent a lot of money. Hair dresser, makeup, dresses, flowers, decorations… so many things. From all these, in two weeks from now you’ll have only memories, and in two months (or 20 years) from now, all you’ll have left will be your photos, to remind you of your special wedding day.

Here are 10 tips to help you get great wedding photos:

1. Don’t be cheap when you choose the photographer. You are spending a lot of money for the weddinng ceremony anyway. It would be a shame to be so cheap and ask your friends and relatives to take the photos. And photos you’ll have! Good photography requires a photographer. They know their trade well, they know how to put you in the best light, how to take the shots, how to arrange the frames to create a great effect. Besides, they have professional equipment, which is much better than the point and shoot cameras you may have at home. So, get yourself a real photographer for your wedding day!

2. Always ask to see the photographer’s portfolio. Serious photographers have albums with their creations, and they can show you photos from other weddings, so you make yourself an image about their style. Discuss with him your favorite photography style. Do you want that classical touch, gramdma-like, you you want rather something modern, with shiny, bright colors?

3. Give yourself enough time for the photosession. Many brides neglect this aspect when they plan their wedding day hourly schedule. Once you decide to spend a little fortune on your wedding photos, let the photographer do his job properly! Allocate at least one hour for the photosession between the church ceremony and the restaurant party.

4. When you hire the photographer, discuss in detail what you’re going to get for your money: how many photos, in what format (digital, at what resolution, prints, what size, what type of paper…), if the amount includes also photos retouching (such as red eyes effect ellimination).

5. Try to hire the photographer for the whole day. Anyway, discuss the timing, and ask him if he wishes to come earlier, for a private mini-photosession with you and your groom only. You will have the advantage of an impeccable look (as your makeup, your hairstyle, your dress and the flowers will be fresh and good looking)

6. Ask the photographer if he works alone, or with an asisstant. You may have the pleasant surprise to get two photographers for the price of one ;) . Advantage: you’ll have photos of the same moments, taken from different angles.

7. Make sure your photographer has spare equipment. You don’t want to find yourslef in the situation that something happens with the camera, leaving you without photos. You may say you won’t pay the photographer. That is correct, but you won’t have any photos either.

8. Ask the photographer to make sure he takes photos of all the guests. You don’t want to have the surprise that the bride’s best friend does not show up in any photo, after she spent a fortune on her dress and makeup! Or even worse: the mother of the groom appears only in one photo, and she has been caught with her eyes closed! You can ask some of your friends to take some photos during the ceremony, just in case the photographer misses some guests.

9. If the photographer’s price is too high for you, ask him what he could possibly offer you for x amonut. For example, he could deliver you the photos only in electronic format, and you’ll be able to make prints later on, when you’ll be better with your finances.

10. If you don’t want classical photo prints, you can make yourself an online album, on a dedicated web domain (it’s about $8 a year for the name, plus $2-3 a month for the hosting), and you can simply send the link to all your friends and relatives. Or you can open an account with Flickr or Photobucket, where to upload your photos.

Good luck with your wedding, and send us some pictures: we will publish them here. Always remember that wedding toasts are a good moment for memorable photos.

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