Photography, Planning Tips / By Anmol
When searching for your wedding photographer, these are some things brides and grooms have in mind coming from a personal experience of a photographer getting married. After the wedding day is long gone, the smell of fresh flower bouquets and decor fades away and all the close family and friends have gone back you are only left with images that will resonate with you, and tell you about your wedding story.
Photographs are one of the most valued investments from your wedding budget according to our brides and grooms in general. Flowers, makeup, decor, the emotions are all going to become a memory if your wedding photographer is not able to capture that. Let’s say your best friend does the most extraordinary dance moves on the dance-off and there are no pictures of that happening, that moment will eventually be just a story but if that is documented in images, that particular memory is there for the next generations to see.
Finding a good photographer on the right budget is a big endeavor for a lot of brides.
Here are three important questions a bride needs to ask herself before booking a wedding photographer.
1. Are your wedding photographers able to understand you?
Don’t you agree that it is very important for a photographer to understand you because, after 100 or 150 weddings, all weddings for a photographer might be the same for them? You will see from the first meeting if your photographer cares about what you value and can adapt to your vision and educate you.
From the get-go, if your wedding photographers are trying to understand the essence of you, who you were close to growing up, and what is important to you to be captured on the wedding day, then you are on the right path in finding your photographers.
Whether you prefer having the wedding dress hung on a tree shot or having your mom help you put on your wedding dress shot; there is no right or wrong in this area, if you are a dog person and your wedding photographer is not then as long as they are super down to create that image with your dog on the wedding day because it matters to you, then you have found your right photographer.
2. Are your wedding photographers able to deliver you a balanced and cohesive product?
A wedding day is a kind of event that can’t be recreated, that excitement, the glamour, and the joy; it’s impossible to replicate, so your photographer has to be fully committed to telling your wedding story. Especially in today’s day and age where most research when looking for a wedding photographer is done on Instagram, it is important to understand that Instagram only showcases 3 or 4 images out of a whole wedding and any amateur photographer can take 5 good photos on the wedding day. So, where Instagram is a great place to shortlist your potential photographer, it is important to ask to see a full gallery from your photographer in order to see the cohesiveness and skill of the photographer to tell your wedding day story.
PRO TIP – Do not hire photographers by just looking at their Instagram feed
Make sure you look at a full wedding slideshow or full project completed by your preferred photographer. You will see a good balance of all different kinds of images in a full product whereas on Instagram you are seeing three beautiful images from a wedding day.
Now, let’s understand a well-balanced product from a wedding photography standpoint.
In terms of lighting there are two different styles:
Bright and Airy
Dark and Dramatic
Our final product can vary upon request from the couple in their style and wedding venue. About 90 to 95 percent of our product is bright and airy and this is how the internet, wedding magazines, and Pinterest shows you what a wedding should look like.
The second part is dark and dramatic and we want to showcase the extreme lighting or color or contrast of the day. These are images that basically showcase the subject and message.
In terms of categories of how the day unfolds during an Indian wedding:
2-3% Connecting images
10% Portraits
10-15% Family portraits
5-10% Details and more
10% Dance floor images
50-60%Storytelling images
Connecting Images
Bridal Portraits
Details
Dancefloor Images
Storytelling Images
Storytelling Images
Couple Portraits
Now what essentially happens in Indian weddings when you see Instagram of wedding photographers, most of them are just showing wedding day bridal portraits and couple portraits. Often times couples getting married finalize their Indian wedding photographer based on their portrait skills. Although on the wedding day, you are only able to 10-15 % of portraits (about 1-2 % of bridal party images, 5-7 % of bride and groom getting ready images, and 3-5% of couple portraits after the wedding).
It’s like renting a Lamborghini and only being able to drive in school and construction zones for the most part of the day and only 10% of the day being able to drive as if you are on a freeway in Germany.
There finding a photographer who is able to deliver the best of each image on the wedding day like family photos, couple photos, details, and much more.
3. Are your wedding photographers good project managers?
Do remember that restaurant where you went and the food was amazing but the service sucked and you swore to never go there again? Would you rather give a restaurant another try if the food wasn’t particularly the best but the service was on point?
Photographers tend to be with the bride and groom the most on the wedding day and you have to realize that if they are not organized and they are not on top of their A-game, your day can suffer.
As a good project manager, your photographers should be able to give you the following:
They should be reachable and personable.
Able to commit to delivering your images in a respectful time.
Be accountable, and willing to work with you.
Understand, set, and deliver on expectations.
We, here, at Alfaaz Photography, deliver to all our clients in 2 months' time else we offer $100 for every week of delay as per the contractual agreement and create a personalized photography timeline that outlines how much time we need for each part of our day.
In the end, this is your wedding day and one day that you will be remembering for a long time after all the excitement has died down. Make sure you are an educated client, this way you can most enjoy your day and have confidence in the wedding vendors you have selected to be a part of your day.
Moments like these end up becoming the most important images for our couples
BONUS – Are your wedding photographers good human beings?
Trust us that good businesses are only made by good human beings. You will be around your wedding vendors during the most exciting, emotional yet stressful day of your life. Especially your photographers whom you will spend more time on your wedding day than your family and friends. You have to like their personality.
Yes, you have to get the groom and his boys
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