Preserving Memories of your Micro Wedding
When we are caught in a beautiful moment it seems like it will last forever. We feel this way about the weddings. Here, together. But the minutes, then hours, then days go by and it is somewhere in the past. What remains along with lifelong time of happiness is pictures and videos and some keepsakes.
How to get the most from your wedding photography and videography?
While getting ready and putting together ideas for your wedding you come across a lot of images on internet. Your eye immediately goes to the best looking ones. It is only natural that you want yours to be just like that. But very often you doubt whether yours are going to look anything like it.
With the number of photographers and videographers available and everyone charging across a very wide range it is tough to choose and evaluate, after all the weddings are so different! So many things here come into play!
Looking at the pictures somewhere, deep down you understand that they might not be not a real bride and groom, but models, and it was a staged photoshoot where the participants had enough time to pose and photographer was able to adjust the poses. What to look for in the wedding photographer’s portfolio?
Understanding wedding photography challenges
First and most important thing to know – weddings are the most complex subject to photograph. Iit spans over a long span of time, includes a variety of locations and light situations, it involves a lot of people and types from photography, and the events of the day can not be repeated.
It does require professional equipment, ideally 2 cameras, a range of lenses for different situations and subjects (from portrait to large groupings of people), even extra lighting that has to be set up and taken down on the go.
While some young couples are looking for student photographers to save the money they have to fully understand the risks: most likely they might not have the right equipment, in highly stressful situation a minor malfunction might set them back, their eye is not trained enough to anticipate certain action and predict situations.
While using cell phones for photography we often forget that professional photography equipment does have more limitations as the quality requirements are much higher to get a usable image. Sometimes the photographer needs to switch lenses for different situations, and the cameras are sensitive for lighting situation (extremely dark or bright areas). After all, most of what we see on a cell phone screen can not be printed as reasonable quality photograph, it is just an image representation.
Getting the best pictures of your wedding day
Once you choose a photographer for your special day, you are in the hands of professional. How the final images will look often is the result of many event planning decisions you take. It is always better to discuss your itinerary with the photographer, especially when you still have some flexibility.
What to discuss with your wedding photographer:
- Timing of the event. The quality and feel of the images do depend on the light. If your event inclused some outdoor moments – ceremony, or images in the park, it is best to time those events not during mid day (to avoid squinting in bright sun).
- Although you don’t realise – your friends and family will want pictures together with you – it is important to think through when and where. If you leave it as afterthough – you will have to resort to improvisation – ending up in an uninteresting environment or unfavorably lit location, or at the time when everyone is too relaxed to pose.
- An important part of the wedding is the ceremony itself. Where it is located, what is on the background, your positioning during the ceremony are the the key for great pictures, after all, the wedding is about you.
- Try to leave as few things unpredictable things for your photographer as possible. The better prepared your photographer the better your images will be.
- It always helps to meet before the ceremony to discuss the details in person.
- Style and feel of the images. Although you might see specific image styling that you like (especially when it comes to image filters) the lighting in your venue or outdoor lighting conditions might not be the same.
While wedding photography is about spontaneous and candid moments, allow for as much planning as possible – it will eliminate stress for everyone.
Keeping and protecting your wedding images.
Most of wedding photography contracts include digital file images. Some contracts may include prints, canvasses and albums. With easily accessible printing facilities (now most of them allowing to upload for printing online and get the ready prints in the mail) modern couples feel like they do not pay the photographer to coordinate that. A few very importantthings to remember:
- Files storage and backup. No matter how you get the images – a usb, or digital link – make sure you open, verify and store the files in a few different locations. You can not rely on the photographer to keep it over the years.
- Most of the files conform to the prints as 5×8 or 8×10 – discuss with the photographer which format you are more likely to use. Especially if you use the printing facility that does not show you the preview proportions (otherwise the crop might be unpredictable).
- If you are planning to print a big batch of images – test print a few first.
- Photo books are a great cost effective way of keeping your memories. Ordering and printing them will help to avoid the tedious task of organizing them in an album.
Wedding memories are precious and preserving them will help you revive the day vividly any time you feel nostalgic.
