Do you want to help assure that your wedding photography
comes off without a hitch, producing the ultimate in captured
moments from your photographer? Do you want the highest
level of photographic quality for your money? How about
a wedding day remembered as one with maximum joy and smooth
logistics?
A
little advanced communication and planning with your photographer
can go a long way in this regard, smoothing the way for
everyone involved—from the wedding party and guests,
to the creative pros assisting with the festivities. We’ve
asked a few of our top WPJA award winners to weigh in with
their own hard-earned advice for enabling optimal wedding
day photography.
COMMUNICATE
ON CREATIVE EXPECTATIONS
Smooth sailing starts at the beginning. When hiring your
photographer, get the relationship off on the best foot
with a discussion of his or her working style and exactly
what kind of imagery you’re going to end up with.
Even within the genre of wedding photojournalism, there
is a range of approaches. The photographer’s own shooting
philosophy, as well as a host of other factors relating
to the venue, the time of day and the style of the event,
can greatly influence the look of your wedding day images
and your ultimate satisfaction.
SHARE
INFORMATION ON WEDDING AND RECEPTION VENUES
Of course, you should choose your venues according to their
beauty and meaning to you as a bride and groom. However,
you can make things easier for your photographer, and help
assure that your wedding day pictures are the best they
can be, by carefully considering each site’s attributes—layout,
lighting and overall atmosphere, making sure that you share
what you know about the venue with your wedding photojournalist
prior to the date.
Keep
in mind that natural, ambient light is held in high value
by most wedding photojournalists, who prefer to work in
environments where backgrounds are illuminated and flash
is used in limited amounts. “If you have an option,
choose a wedding venue that has more light,” recommends
WPJA award winner Karen Gordon. “If there’s
direct flash with dark background, that’s not good.”
“We
talk to people about that a little bit ahead of time, asking
them what they’re doing about ambient light-—not
necessarily light that would be actively lighting the subject
for us, but just as some background to add interest,”
notes WPJA medal recipient Anne Almasy, who works every
wedding with her husband Dan, who is also a WPJA member.
The fact is that if your wedding is shot outside in the
middle of the day, your photographs will not look the same
as those taken inside a dark cathedral. “People really
need to look at pictures that were shot in conditions similar
to what they’re planning,” Almasy adds.
Almasy
combined ambient light and flash in capturing her award-winning
photo. “As the bride was about to throw her bouquet,
Dan positioned himself in front of her with his flash, which
was connected to my pocket wizard transmitter. So when she
threw the bouquet, the flash in front of her fired as I
took the shot from behind, creating a backlit effect,”
she notes.
DISCUSS
ACCESS AND LAYOUT
Access and layout are additional key factors that should
be discussed ahead of time with your wedding photojournalist,
especially in regard to the ceremony. Most photographers
don’t want to be stuck in the back at such a time.
They need to have decent access in order to get quality
photographs, and they need to be able to move around a little
bit if needed. They also need to know exactly where they’re
going to need to be in the room in order to get those great
shots.
Yet
having a photographer moving around during the ceremony
may not be a desirable situation for everybody. So again,
you need to communicate with your photographer ahead of
time, exploring options for assuring the best possible photos.
Also
consider speaking with your clergy person or justice of
the peace to determine what rules or restrictions might
inhibit your photographer’s access, and then negotiate
and plan accordingly with all involved. (See “Dealing
With Church Photography Restrictions” in this issue.)
SET
A REALISTIC SCHEDULE
When planning your wedding day, be sure to set a realistic
schedule, especially if the events are spread out across
multiple locations. Whenever possible try to make things
closer to each other rather than farther.
Consider
the traffic in the area where you’re getting married,
and if you’re tying the knot in a place that’s
somewhat unfamiliar, talk to someone locally to get a real
feel of what it’s like to get around the area, as
well as the parking situation. Making your photographers
spend all of that time in the car could sap their creative
energy, not to mention the quality photography time you
might lose while they’re fighting traffic.
“We
have had a couple of situations where couples simply did
not allow enough time to get from one place to another—from
the hotel, to the church and then to the reception site,”
Almasy notes. “A lot of people think the only way
to get great portraits is to go to the botanical gardens,
when in reality, if you just eliminate the stress of traveling
there and take the portraits at the hotel, everyone will
be much more comfortable.”
However,
you can’t account for serendipity. One of those car
rides between venues actually resulted in an award-winning
photo for Gordon.
BE
FLEXIBLE AND OPEN TO INSPIRATION
When at long last the wedding day is upon you, remain flexible.
Don’t be so set on the type of photographs you think
you want as not to allow inspiration to happen. You may
want to shoot in a certain location, and perhaps it will
rain or for some other reason will not work out. Trust your
experienced wedding photojournalist to improvise, giving
him or her the room to get inspired in the moment.
“You
could be in front of a red brick wall that doesn’t
look like anything special,” notes Gordon. “You
might not see the potential, but with a photographer’s
eye, I can see that this is exactly where we should shoot.”
—
by Michael Roney for the Wedding Photojournalist Association
