Getting that perfect image on your wedding day is no easy feat. My friend and wedding photographer extraordinaire is here to help so that you don’t look back on your wedding pictures in 10 yrs with horror!
You can find Andre Maier @ www.andremaier.com or at his office: 212-388-2272.
Finding your photographer:
The web has made our life so much easier, to review a photographers portfolio. Look for the moments they’ve captured and think about what will resonate with you. Do they have a sense of humor with their pictures or are they posed?
Think about what style you like…
- Think about what style you like - traditional or natural/photojournalistic?
- Meet your photographer; make sure you connect with his/her personality.
- Great photographers are heavily sought after so be sure to book early. (Prime dates are: any Saturday in May/June/September/October.)
- Set up a meeting prior to ensure you are comfortable with their personality as you are going to see a lot of them on the actual day. So you better like them!
Creative
Where possible use natural light to avoid the hassle of setting up lighting as it will take away from the spontaneous moments.
The most important aspects that need to show through the photos are:
- Do the photos really tell the story of the day through the photos, catching all-important moments?
- Be as unobtrusive/invisible as possible, it’s when people are not aware of being photographed that they look most like themselves and relaxed, rather than putting on their “photo face.”
- Make the formal photo session of posed photos of couple, bridal party and family as quick and painless as possible. These are great photos to have, but they rarely show much of the personalities of the people in the photos.
- Get good detail and room photos - most couples don’t even remember what the setup looked like on the day.
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Stage as little as possible, and rather
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Contracts/Costs
Fee basis vary depending on the photographer. Be sure you have a complete understanding of what’s included so as to not be surprised by any extra fees.
- What are the time limits and overtime fees?
- Extras can be: 2nd photographer, album(s), engagement photos, rehearsal dinner photography and extra prints.
Red flags/things to look out for
- “Pretend photojournalism” - posed people looking goofy.
- (If you want the photos to really capture true and real moments, look for those photos in the portfolio/website.)
- Who gets the negatives/high-resolution image files?
- Will you be able to make your own reprints or will you have to go through your photographer?
Digital vs. Film
- Quick version: digital is much better if the photographer is good and confident with post-production - if not, film is the safer choice.
- Digital images are of a better quality than film images if the photographer is well versed in digital post-production.
- Digital can take many more photos without having to change films so that we won’t miss any moments and the resulting photos are generally better, especially for journalistic photographer where catching a fleeting moment is everything.
- Film will get good results without much need for post-production.
- It is now more difficult and more expensive to find good labs that make prints from film after the wedding.
Tips for brides/planning
The one most important advice: Stay true to yourself!
- When you feel comfortable, you (and the photos) will look better and more relaxed - this is important when choosing dress, hair, makeup, even décor and food.
- Plan all you can before the wedding, and then try to let go on the day of the wedding, everything always falls into place, and it’s not worth getting aggravated over little things (like the napkin is the wrong shade of white…)
- Bad weather can make for great photos and beautiful unplanned moments.
- Book only vendors that you can relate to.
- Having nice people around you feel you can trust makes all the difference.
Stay tuned for next weeks part 2 of our wedding section, this time focusing primarily on wedding day hair!
Cheers!