10 ways to make your wedding photographers job easier
1: BOOK THAT ENGAGEMENT SESSION
Booking an engagement session with your wedding photographer is incredibly helpful not only to your photographer but also benefits you as the couple. By having engagement photos taken This will give you a chance to get comfortable with your photographer and being in front of the camera. By taking advantage of the engagement session it helps you bond with your photographer so when it comes to the wedding day you are not only comfortable with them but you know how to expect them to pose and direct you.
2: GIVE THEM YOUR FULL INVITATION SUITE
By sending your elopement photographer a full invitation suite this will ensure perfect detail shots but it also cuts down on time wasted on the morning of the wedding. Often times the morning of the wedding is full of last minute “to dos” and sometimes the invitation gets lost or parts of it are missing, therefore making the detail photos basic and perhaps a little boring. So make sure to send your photographer a full set so they can bring it with them the day of the wedding and you’ll have one less thing to have to do the morning of the wedding.
3: HAVE ALL YOUR DETAILS TOGETHER
Once again this goes along with making your morning easy and stress free. By having all your details together and organized your photographer can quickly and effectively photograph them in a timely matter rather than running around trying to find missing items. Flat lay photos are an art and take time to style so make sure you have your are shoes, vow books, rings, invitation suite, your veil, jewelry, and flowers.
4: KEEP THEM IN THE LOOP
Most of the time your photographer isn’t a life long friend or someone that knows personal details about your life. Hence why it’s so important to have good communication with them and fill them in on your “must have photos” and know what’s super important for them to photograph. If you have a family heirloom that you must have photographed, tell them! Of if you have guests you haven’t seen in several years and really want a photo with them, tell them! If you have a tense family situation, we need to know that! We can’t read your minds, so please talk with your photographer about your expectations and what’s important to you to be photographed!
5: HAVE A FRIEND HELP WITH FAMILY PHOTOS
Family photos can be stressful especially if you have a large family. So to cut down on confusion start with letting your family know the timeline of family photos, where they are suppose to be and at what time! It’s also incredibly helpful to have a friend that knows your family to round up your family for photos. Ask them if they would stay during family photos and call off grouping and names. As your photographer, I’m not going to know all your family members and the last thing you want is me to walk off to go find your aunt Barb for photos. One major thing I suggest is keep your family photos simple. Immediate family is best for “formal” shots and then any extended family can be photographed during cocktail hour or during the reception.
6: PROVIDE A VENDOR MEAL
As your photographer we will be there easily 8 hours or more. So respectfully we ask to be provided a meal during your reception. Also make sure we eat at the same time you and your bridal party does. Here is why: It’s happened on some occasions that the caterer or wedding planner has it set up so that we eat after everyone else has. And while I understand that we are not guests, rather we are providing a service for you that still doesn’t mean we should be treated like “the hired help”. Because the bride and groom eat first if the photographer has to wait for all the guests to eat, you’ll likely be done eating by the time they get to their meal. This means they either won’t be able to eat or they might miss photographing another event like, the first dance, cutting the cake, speeches, etc. We aren’t trying to be difficult, rather we are trying to do our jobs effectively.
7: GIVE US A FULL LIST OF YOUR VENDORS
One of the most important and helpful things is giving us a FULL list of your vendors. Even small ones that might seem insignificant. Us in the wedding industry love showing support to each other and that means sharing photos and tagging the vendors in the images so they get credit for their work and maybe get a booking from a bride that sees the photos.
8: DON’T RUSH YOUR TIMELINE
Keep in mind that the number one thing that happens at weddings is running behind schedule. So make sure from the get go that you’re booking enough time with your photographer so that you get photos of all thing important moments and people. Don’t try to fit in a 10 hour wedding day into a 6 hour wedding package, something will be missed, I promise you. I highly suggest putting a lot of your wedding day timeline into the beginning of the day instead of hours and hours of reception coverage. Think about what you’re going to hang on your walls. A photo of tipsy guests dancing and eating cake? Or bride and groom portraits and family photos? These are moments you can’t go back and redo so make sure you make the most of your wedding timeline.
9: ALLOW TIME FOR RECEPTION DETAILS
You’ve been planning your wedding for months and a large part of the wedding planning process goes into the reception details. I highly suggest a room reveal for the bride and groom once it’s all done and set up, BEFORE the guests have come in. This will allow you to see the space clean and exactly how you imagined it to look all these months. This will give your Tampa wedding photographer to photograph your reaction but also all the beautiful decor, untouched!
10: TAG YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER IN YOUR PHOTOS
This might sound silly but by tagging your St. Petersburg elopement photographer and vendors this is the modern day version of a “word of mouth” referral. It’s nice to be credited for your hard work, we appreciate a mention and tag by bride and grooms!
Nina Bashaw is a St. Petersburg, Florida based fine art elopement photographer that specializes in senior portraits, personal branding, luxury elopements and micro weddings, throughout the southeast and is available for worldwide travel.
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