Posts Tagged ‘photography’

Plan Your Wedding Day Photography

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Most couples making wedding day plans have a lot of things that they do take into consideration. They coordinate the date according to vacation times from work.  Or they coordinate the day on what is best maybe for family to make it into town. Or they make plans according to the availability of the church or restaurant.

But one of the biggest things couples fail to plan for is the photographer. This is no small issue.  And I am not just saying it because I am a wedding photographer

No planning the wedding day with the wedding photographer in mind could mean all the difference in the world. Especially when you think about the fact the photos are going to be the thing that captures that day for a lifetime.

What are some of the factors when you start planning with the photographer in mind.  The time and the date.

Let’s start with the time.  How many people do you think would want their photographer to rush taking the photos? I am pretty certain that most people, couples especially, will not raise their hand to that thought. 

Well without even thinking about your photographer, a lot of times couples will do just that.  They will force the photographer to rush his shots. 

How so you say?  Well a lot of times, the couple will schedule the ceremony for let’s say 1-2 pm.  With the reception starting at 2:30. How many photos can the photographer really take with only half an hour to work with? Not that many.

Even worse, let’s say he does take all the shots? Do you think they are going to take good quality shots when they are rushed?  Of course not.

So plan the wedding times and the receptions accordingly making sure there is ample time to take photos.

The second factor to consider when planning is to check your photographer’s availability.

Most probably don’t realize this, but most good photographers will be booked months in advance. Let’s say you are dealing with a large photography company, they probably have a few photographers.

Well making wedding plans without thinking about the availability of the photographer could be a nightmare.  Because if you book that special day and don’t make sure that the actual photographer will be available, when your wedding day comes you might be shocked to find someone totally different.

This scenario happens when you are dealing with a big company.  You might not realize they have plenty of photographers on staff, and if the photographer you fell in love with is booked, unless you specifically ask, the company might not tell you. When the wedding day comes, a second rate photographer or worse yet, they might outsource the work and somebody else will show up.

So be prepared and don’t let this happen.  Planning your wedding day is wonderful. Be sure that you also plan it thinking about your wedding photographer.

Take Better Pictures with these Lighting Tips

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

In this day and age of digital cameras, you’ve probably heard or thought that all you have to do is push the button and great pictures magically appear.Hold on, don’t go so fast.The fact of the matter is, you can have the best digital camera, but if you have no clue in what you are doing, you are gonna take horrible shots.

Well, I’d love to share with you some great advice in photography to help improve your skills.  These tips are coming from years of experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.These tips are about using lighting and they will be some of the best advice and keys to your success in taking great photos.

First tip in lighting.Now if the shots you are taking are outdoors during the day, some of the best lighting possible will be the natural sunlight.  Now you are probably thinking, “that’s easy, when you are a San Diego photographer since it is always shiny there”, when in actuality really bright sunlight can cast harsh shadows.Or it could blur the details of faces when the sun is overhead.

Overall, you are going to want to take most of the shots with the sun behind you.This stops any harsh shadows in your photo caused by the sun.But there will be those times and instances when you want different angles to get those shadows into the shots.

Now that we have tackled the day shots, what if you are taking shots at night? 

The key to taking photos at night is turning off your flash.  Of course if it is pitch black you will need it, but for times when there is lighting, you want to use the lighting that is around, but you have to make sure you set your shutter speeds slower to let in enough light.  Also you want to stay steady when taking the shot or you will blur the photos.Doing these tricks should make a significantly dramatic difference when you take night shots. 

The third and final tip with using lighting to capture great photos is the golden hour.Now there is a time that photographers refer to as the “golden hour” or “magic hour”, and that is during sunrise and sunset.

It is during this time of day when you will capture great shots that capture more warmer colors.You’re going to be able to capture the golden lighting you won’t find during any other part of the day.

There you go.  Probably the biggest key in taking greatshots is to make sure you take advantage of the natural lighting.  Knowing what techniques to use for different parts of the day, or just scheduling a photo shoots to capture those times of day will help you become an excellent photographer.

How to Choose a Good Wedding Photographer

Monday, June 29th, 2009

The wedding day will probably be one of the most important times that occur for a person’s life. Many hours goes into a lot of the planning for the wedding. Probably all of the list of things to do in wedding planning are frustrating, stressful, and time consuming. That’s why it is crucial that your homework is done when trying to find good people for all the jobs.One of the very big jobs will be that of the photographer. From my experience as a San Diego wedding photographer I’ll show you it can be a few simple steps away.

Trying to find a wedding photographer is huge responsibility and job. There are several factors to consider when making this important selection. The photos that you take away from your wedding are going to be the most memorable keepsakes that you have. The photos will be all over your walls for the rest of yourlife. One of the important factors when trying to find a photographer is price. Many photographers will charge a price for a certain length of time at the wedding. It is important to know up front what all is included with that
price. When it comes to finding a wedding photographer, the biggest upside to pricing is there is a lot of competition. Don’t forget, a lot of photographers will negotiate their price to fit what you need.

Another factor to consider when choosing is how much experience a person has. Is this their firs big wedding job, or have they done a few dozen or more? Their price might be an indication of how many years they have been in business as well. Just because someone is experienced, doesn’t always translate into being a better photographer. A lot times people that are just starting out and are trying to build a reputation for themselves will turn out to be great. The advantage of a person like that and going with them is you know they are going to give it their best. When you are trying to find a wedding photgrapher, you will find photographers of different levels of experience. Doing an interview with a photographer can give you a good sense of what they will be like to work with.

A final thing to think about when you prepare to make that decision is what kind of personality does the photographer have. Are they likely going to try call all the shots and decide on all your poses? Or are they going to let the bride and groom make some decisions? The other thing to consider is whether or not you want to be making decisions on the photos. The bride and groom will have enough to think about the day of the wedding as it is. Take all of these things into account when considering which photographer to choose. If you do, you are going to have a lot of wonderful pictures to cherish for the rest of your lives.  Take it from me, your experienced San Diego photographer.