How do I....

[Nickcanada]

Hi guys, any tips on how I can get the most out of a wedding photographer? What can a client do to get the best pics possible? and also any tips on choosing a photographer? thanks for any input.

[adam75south]

yea cwright has the best wedding pictures ever...fly him out wherever you are.


edit....i'm guessing you're in canada.

ok but seriously....check his equipment and make sure he has good stuff. i went to one this weekend where the guy was using a kit lens...and that just bothered me.

[NewTekBuzz]

anybody that is proud of there work will have examples for you to look at.

[RichNY]

Nick- Can give you even better advice than how to choose a wedding photographer- stay single.;) :D

According to the latest studies, marriage is still the number one leading cause of divorce.

[adam75south]

Nick- Can give you even better advice than how to choose a wedding photographer- stay single.;) :D

According to the latest studies, marriage is still the number one leading cause of divorce.

now that is the best piece of advice i've ever heard. it's not too late nick.

[Nickcanada]

Now now guys, be nice, or my fiance won't let me play with you:p :D We've been living together for 4 years now so the honeymoon phase of our relationship is pretty much over. We are looking forward to buying our first home and starting a family later on. What makes me love her is not so much the way we get along when times are good but our ability to come together when the s@#$ hits the fan. We might be young but we've had our share of rough times and it's nice to know there's some one there to watch your back no matter what.... but she is in cleaning mode so I better get off my butt and help.:D

[aparmley]

I don't know exactly what kind of answers you're looking for but I'd say one of the biggest things would be to allow plenty of time for the photographer to focus on his creative shots - ie - structuring the wedding day so he has just enough time to get the formals and safe shots and nothing else doesnt lend itself to getting the most out of your photographer. I'd make sure to schedule at least an hour or two for the bride + groom + WP. So I think the biggest advantage to getting some great wedding photos is to be able to free the time up for the photographer to get them.

Secondly, effective communication before hand is essential, make sure ahead of time the photographer knows when and where an event will take place that you'll want him to capture so he has time to find a good angle etc etc. . . an event isn't your wedding, its the little things that go on throughout the day. . . unity candle lighting, cake cutting, speeches, those are the big ones and there can be unique events to your wedding that we don't know about, if you want it captured, and captured right, make sure the WP knows about it before hand, knows that you want photos of it, and where this event will take place.

Relax and have fun - find ways to keep the W-Party interested, Coolers of adult beverages help + snacks. A few hours seems a lot longer if they are just standing around.

Good luck.

Hopefully the WPs here can chime in for you.

[jamison55]

Hi guys, any tips on how I can get the most out of a wedding photographer? What can a client do to get the best pics possible? and also any tips on choosing a photographer? thanks for any input.

Choose a great photographer, then let her/him do his/her thing...

As for choosing a great photographer, don't get cheap, ask to look at an entire wedding or two, and make sure you pick someone that you click with at a face to face meeting. The photographer you choose is going to spend more time with you on your wedding day than just about anyone else, and will probably be hanging out with your fiance while she's in some state of undress. Make sure you're comfortable enough with him/her at your consultation to invite her/him to be an honorary member of your family for the day...

And once you hire that person - make sure you feed him/her a good meal at the reception!

[Nickcanada]

I don't know exactly what kind of answers you're looking for but I'd say one of the biggest things would be to allow plenty of time for the photographer to focus on his creative shots - ie - structuring the wedding day so he has just enough time to get the formals and safe shots and nothing else doesnt lend itself to getting the most out of your photographer. I'd make sure to schedule at least an hour or two for the bride + groom + WP. So I think the biggest advantage to getting some great wedding photos is to be able to free the time up for the photographer to get them.

Secondly, effective communication before hand is essential, make sure ahead of time the photographer knows when and where an event will take place that you'll want him to capture so he has time to find a good angle etc etc. . . an event isn't your wedding, its the little things that go on throughout the day. . . unity candle lighting, cake cutting, speeches, those are the big ones and there can be unique events to your wedding that we don't know about, if you want it captured, and captured right, make sure the WP knows about it before hand, knows that you want photos of it, and where this event will take place.

Relax and have fun - find ways to keep the W-Party interested, Coolers of adult beverages help + snacks. A few hours seems a lot longer if they are just standing around.

Good luck.

Hopefully the WPs here can chime in for you.



Thanks for the reply, that is the kind of stuff I was hoping for. Any suggestions for great picture locations? I'm intrested to know what a WP would consider ideal shooting conditions. Thanks

[Nickcanada]

Choose a great photographer, then let her/him do his/her thing...

As for choosing a great photographer, don't get cheap, ask to look at an entire wedding or two, and make sure you pick someone that you click with at a face to face meeting. The photographer you choose is going to spend more time with you on your wedding day than just about anyone else, and will probably be hanging out with your fiance while she's in some state of undress. Make sure you're comfortable enough with him/her at your consultation to invite her/him to be an honorary member of your family for the day...

And once you hire that person - make sure you feed him/her a good meal at the reception!


Thanks, I really would like to make things easy on the photographer. The pictures will be one of the most important aspects of the day for me. Thanks for posting.:)

[jamison55]

Not sure where you are in Canada (it's a pretty big country), but if you're anywhere near St Thomas, ON check out Jeff Toogood: http://www.digitaliso.ca

In Kingston, have a look at Tim Forbes: http://weddings.forbescreative.com/

Also Danielle Rabbat: http://www.rabbatphoto.com/

[aparmley]

Not sure where you are in Canada (it's a pretty big country), but if you're anywhere near St Thomas, ON check out Jeff Toogood: http://www.digitaliso.ca

In Kingston, have a look at Tom Forbes: http://weddings.forbescreative.com/

Also Danielle Rabbat: http://www.rabbatphoto.com/


I've seen a lot of stuff Jeff Toogood puts on the web - awesome indeed! great recommendation.

[24Peter]

... The photographer you choose ... will probably be hanging out with your fiance while she's in some state of undress...

... make sure you feed him/her a good meal at the reception!

Well now I finally understand the two reasons you're a wedding photographer Jamie. ;)

[noyjimi]

What can a client do to get the best pics possible?

Try not to be extremely late :)

[adam75south]

yea cwright has the best wedding pictures ever...fly him out wherever you are.

oops, i meant cwphoto...i don't know where i got cwright from.

[Nickcanada]

Not sure where you are in Canada (it's a pretty big country), but if you're anywhere near St Thomas, ON check out Jeff Toogood: http://www.digitaliso.ca

In Kingston, have a look at Tim Forbes: http://weddings.forbescreative.com/

Also Danielle Rabbat: http://www.rabbatphoto.com/


I live in Ottawa so those suggestions will help a lot, thank you :)

[Nickcanada]

oops, i meant cwphoto...i don't know where i got cwright from.

His name is Christian Wright, :)

[Rhys]

My experience of wedding photographers is more of a how not to.

My wife wasn't that keen on having a photographer but her parents and I prevailed. We booked one based on cost and on what her website looked like. She had nice photos on her website.

She turned up with a Pentax *istD and a couple of Quantaray lenses. She had some kind of funky flash bracket, used a Microdrive and had a wierd ripply-looking filter (probably an expodisk) that she used. I noticed she spent most of her time manually-focussing as the AF never seemed to work for her.

The results. She produced an album of 300ish photos to choose from. Many had horrible colour casts. We ordered maybe a dozen prints from her. I scanned each one in and corrected the colour balance myself before putting the originals in a drawer and my copies into frames for display.

In terms of sharpness - many just were not. She'd obviously used high ISO judging by the noise levels.

My recommendation - make darned sure that the person who shows you the photos has actually taken them.

I have no problem with cheaper dSLRs or cheaper lenses - everybody has to start somewhere. I do have a problem with somebody that knows nothing about poses, colour balance or focus.