10 Things this Wedding Photographer wants you to know.
Your wedding photos are something you will hold dear for decades to come. Photo and video are one of the only things you’ll have left at the end of your wedding day. I know this. I take my job as a wedding photographer incredibly seriously and want to make sure you get the best possible pictures and more on your wedding day.
I want you and your partner to look at your wedding photos and relive every second of your beautiful day. I want you to feel it all and fall in love over and over again with your wedding gallery.
An intimate first look between Herve and Olivia at The Treasury in St. Augustine, Florida
1. Your wedding is about you. Do what you want.
Don't feel constrained by tradition, or allow yourself to be pushed around by your wedding planner/family/in-laws, etc. Do what you want on your wedding day.
A perfect example is if you decide to do a First Look. Wedding trends have changed. However, a lot of people are still against doing a first look. There are pros and cons to both and you should do whatever you want.
A wedding is about you and your partner's love. Everything else is important but ancillary.
Golden Hour Wedding Portraits on the marsh at Walker’s Landing in Amelia Island, Florida
2. Two words: GOLDEN HOUR
Golden Hour is that 30 minutes before sunset when the warm sun shines through the clouds. Golden hour is every photographer's (and couple's) dream. Allocate a decent amount of time for wedding photos. This includes family portraits, wedding party portraits, and lastly (most importantly) couple's portraits. Couples' portraits should be top of your priority. This day is about you and your partner. There are so many factors that play into the photo timeline. Some things you should consider are your wedding ceremony time, your cocktail hour, and the most obvious. SUNSET, pay attention to daylight savings. You can just google your wedding date and the sunset time. Then, you'll know that you'll need to schedule a couple's portraits about 30-45 minutes before sunset. Again, depending on the venue that will hopefully give you that golden hour all us photographers dream about.
A chic and modern bridal suite at The Clay Theatre in Green Cove Springs, Florida
3. Get ready somewhere quiet and peaceful, and try to keep it clean.
Getting ready on your wedding day should not be stressful. You should be getting pampered by your wedding hair and make-up teams. Your wedding party should be keeping you hydrated and happy. Plan on getting ready somewhere where this is enough room for your wedding party. Delegate someone in your wedding party to help an area clean, and free of clutter so when it's time to get you dressed you ain't stressed.
4. Editing can take a long time.
Editing a wedding gallery can take a long time. I don't take shortcuts when it comes to delivering photos either. There's no magic filter or button. Editing might be the most time-consuming part of this process. Trust me, you want me to take my time. Details matter.
The Bride is walking down the aisle with her father and there’s a guest in the aisle using their iPhone.
It’s fine, everything is fine. Not one, but TWO iPhones.
5. Think about having an Unplugged Ceremony
Consider banning iPhones, iPads, etc at the ceremony. Even your uncle's camera. iPads are particularly horrid, but any camera phone held up in the air during the ceremony – particularly at inopportune times. It's not too much to ask of guests that they hold off from taking photos during the ceremony, and instead simply enjoy the occasion. Ask your officiant to announce before the ceremony begins, they usually don't mind.
6. Write a list of family formals, and keep your photographer updated of any family issues that might crop up.
I always like to send couples an email form to fill out as we get approach the wedding day. This Wedding Essentials form asks for all relatives, and family members the couple may want in their formal wedding portraits following the ceremony. This helps me address family members by name, and stay organized so that we can spend most of our time taking photos of the couple. Within that form is a line to inform me of any family dynamics that I may need to be aware of when it comes to wedding photos. Every family is different and I want to do my best to respect yours.
An elopement in The Little Grand Canyon
7. Trust me, I want you to trust me.
Share your Pinterest Board with me or don't. I have been doing this for years. I truly want to love and serve my clients. It's important to trust your photographer. Show up, trust me. You hired me for a reason. I am going to tell you exactly what to do and do my best to make this a wonderful, fun experience.
8. Hourly rates includes so much more than just the billable hours spent photographing your wedding.
It's true, though, that there is more to a photographer's hourly rate than just the coverage of the event itself. Photographers with more experience and a more distinct style are going to have a higher rate to compensate for their billable hours for all those years of practice and refining their craft.
There are four main components to a photographer's hourly rate:
billable hours (time spent shooting)
administrative hours (time spent planning and taking care of office work like invoices and contracts)
production hours (time spent editing and retouching)
overhead (the expenses we have no matter how much work we have - utilities, internet, cell phone, web hosting, software subscriptions, etc).
9. Hire a Wedding Planner or Day of Coordinator, pretty pleeease.
You'll thank them later, trust me. You need someone to run the show. Someone who knows what they're doing. Not your brother's girlfriend. There's a difference between a venue manager and a wedding planner/day of coordinator. The venue manager is there for the VENUE. Your planner is there for YOU. You want a vendor team that will support you. I cannot stress this enough. Do you want to know what happens when you don't have a planner? Me, I have become your planner and it's not fun. I know A LOT about weddings but I ain't no wedding coordinator, baby. Below you can find some of NE Florida's finest wedding planners.
10. It’s all in the details…and organization.
Many people have seen, and love these curated wedding detail photos. It's a beautiful way to cherish all the little things you have worked so hard to collect and invest in for your wedding day. The best advice I can give you to achieve this flay lay is to have everything together in a box for me. I like to curate this flay lay when I arrive so you can begin to wear your jewelry, shoes, etc. and you're not having to take anything off to be photographed. An additional perk to this is you'll know exactly where everything is.