CAPTURING YOUR DAY Wedding

Capturing Your Day

Once the cake is reduced to crumbs and the flowers look tired, your wedding photographs are the record of the day you planned and enjoyed. It’s imperative, then, that a professional has captured every element of your day...

Photography is about freezing a moment in time. And never is that a more necessary skill than on your wedding day, a day which, we’re afraid to say, will fly by all too quickly. Traditionally, wedding photography was about simply achieving formally posed images of your close family and attendants, but now it’s about much more; recording for posterity close-up shots of table decorations, the flowers and cake... documenting all of the elements of your wedding you’ve painstakingly curated.

Trust Me, I’m a Professional...

The necessity of preserving your day makes it all the more necessary to entrust your big day to a professional. Ironically, having just pointed out the necessity of hiring a good photographer, it also falls upon us to warn of the potential pitfalls that the democratisation of photography has also caused. A few years ago, some brides thought that disposable cameras on guests’ tables would yield plenty of photos and eliminate the need to hire a professional. Alas, that’s not the case!

Today’s digital cameras are so commonplace that many enthusiastic amateurs - usually relatives - make well-meaning offers to save brides cash and take on the task of their wedding photography.

Technical Skills, Soft Skills...

But no matter how good the camera, there’s no substitute for a professional photographer; one who’s absolutely au fait with their equipment and with the technicalities of photography, but also in possession of the soft skills that wedding photographers need. A professional will have the experience and skill to work around bright sunshine and shadows or overcast days. They’ll have a wet weather plan and they’ll be able to use flash properly and capture tricky shots like the confetti toss. Many of these skills can evade a photographer, but the real difference is a professional’s ability to deal with the wedding party and wedding guests diplomatically and professionally on the day.

CHOOSE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER

WHAT TO CONSIDER

Do you have backup equipment? Backup camera bodies, cards, flash guns etc., to guard against failure. Have you shot a wedding at our venue before? It’s better for a photographer to be familiar with the location. Do you shoot alone? A photographer with a second shooter, or a husband and wife team, can capture more images or take shots simultaneously. Are you insured? e.g.: Against equipment theft, injury etc? How will I get my images - on a USB, DVD, or in an album... and will I own the copyright? How much post-production will you put into our wedding and approximately how many images will I receive? How quickly will I receive my images after the day? Can I provide you with a list of my ‘must have’ shots - e.g: to make sure everyone is included in the formal shots?

How to Choose a Photographer...

Over the page we’ve photographers from around the county, and you’ll find others on wedding planning websites like UKbride. Decent photographers will invite you along for a consultation and may even offer an engagement shoot. They’ll discuss your budget, the style of photography and options for supplying digital files and albums. It’s imperative you feel comfortable with your photographer, and that you ‘click’ with them - no pun intended. Husband and wife photographers usually get good results following the groom and bride on the morning of your wedding to capture the build-up. Make sure you view the photographer’s portfolio and understand whether their coverage is traditional, or reportage - candid and unobtrusive. Budgets range from £500-£2,000 for photographers and depend on the duration of coverage on the day and how they supply images. Be wary, though, of photographers who offer ‘same day’ images - doing so sounds like a selling point, but the reality is that if you obtain your images on the day, they won’t have had the post-production editing which creates greatimages from ones that are merely good! n

GIRLS

ON FILM

A VIDEOGRAPHER IS JUST AS ESSENTIAL AS A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Wedding photography and videography are not interchangeable disciplines. Wedding photography can be more posed, more deliberate, whilst videography can capture things on the day you may have missed; as well as the sounds and the laughter. If your budget will stretch to it, we’ll ALWAYS recommend a videographer and a photographer working side by side on your wedding day. Look for one affiliated with institutions like the Institute of Videographers, and ensure you’re clear about the duration of the finished video, that your professional will obtain the necessary copyright for any backing tracks, and that they’re fully insured. When you’re watching your wedding video years after, you’ll be glad you made the investment, which will typically be in the region of £1,000. n