A Professional Photographer? Why Bother!
Auntie Jean Has A Camera.
One of the most important events is people’s lives is their wedding day. It takes months of planning and is a tremendous drain on the bank balance.
Naturally, every parent wants the best for their sons and daughters, but economies have to be made somewhere. However, as in all walks of life, you end up with what you pay for.
Take the wedding photographs, for example.
These days there is hardly a family in the country who does not have a close relative who owns a decent camera. Not a compact automatic, but one which uses 35 mm film and has interchangeable lenses.
There is no doubting the picture quality of such cameras – and they are eminently suitable for taking candid photos at weddings. Indeed, the impromptu shots are the ones which couples love looking at the best.
Nor is the competence of the owner being questioned. It is the build-up to the taking of the photograph where most amateurs have the lack of expertise.
The ideal wedding album is the one which the married couple want to look at over and over again – not only in the weeks after the magic day, but also in the years ahead. It must not sit in a drawer collecting dust.
So how is an album put together?
The key to success is a meaningful dialogue between the couple and a photographer who will listen to their requests. The following is a route through the minefield of photography in order to obtain the wedding album of your dream.
The Photographer
- Be sure to have an extended chat with a prospective photographer.
- Your first impressions of the photographer and his greeting are important.
- What is the photographer's attitude?
- Does he want to see the scene of the weeding, the reception, both, neither?
Quality Of Work
- As to see some examples of the photographer's work.
- Ask to look at enlargements.
- Are the colours true to life?
- Examine the expressions on faces. Are people genuinely happy? Or are their smiles - if indeed they are smiling – ‘painted on’?
The Poses
- Think in advance as to what scenes you would like recording but be prepared to listen to the photographer’s suggestions.
- Do you want candid shots?
- Is there a ‘photographic team’ – one to compose group pictures, another to shoot candids?
- Are the photographer and you willing to be versatile? ie amend some agreed sots on the day?
Time
- Ask approximately how long the photographic session will be. Clashes between the photographer, the couple, and guests must be avoided at all costs!
- People need a side attraction whilst the group photos are being taken: a bar, a musician, or a fully blown garden party!
The Album
- Look at a selection of albums.
The Price
- Do not expect to pay peanuts for quality.
- Make sure that you know what is included in the price.
Digital Or Film?
- Large format film can be enlarged to poster size.
- 35 mm film (most commonly used) is perfectly acceptable for the vast majority of occasions.
- APS is totally unsuitable.
- With the plethora of digital cameras these days, it must be pointed out that 99% of these will not take suitable images. The minimum requirement of a professional camera is 6 million pixels (technical term, but ask the photographer!).
CD-Rom/DVD
- The photograph album is here to stay, but ask if your photographs can be put into an album on a disc.
And Afterwards…
- When will the preview album, etc, be ready?
Many couples spend hundreds, even thousands, of pounds on the wedding dress, morning suits, the reception, and the honeymoon, and yet skimp on the only item which lasts forever [the marriage excepted!]. It is by looking at photographs of the occasion that forgotten memories are rekindled: that splendid moment when the bride’s mother was hugging her daughter with tears streaming down the side of her face; or that awful instant when the groom’s father’s top-hat blew off and landed in the mud!
It is only the true top professional who can take the formal shots whilst at the same time be alert enough to snap the candid event as it happens.
Please use the form below to make further enquires about out portrait/wedding service. |
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