Based on our experiences being a bride and groom as well as wedding photographers; we thought we would share a few of our insights on wedding photography. Is it biased? Probably, but hey, can you really get anything that isn’t? Anyway, hope it is helpful.
1) What’s your Style?
–Knowing the style of images you want of your wedding day affects every other decision about choosing a photographer, so it makes sense to talk about it first. There are many stylistic variations of photography, but for the most part wedding photographers fall somewhere in the spectrum between “traditional” and “photojournalists.” A traditional photographer only needs a couple of hours of time because the emphasis is on the formal portraits and the ceremony. In contrast, a photojournalist specializes in capturing images of what is happening throughout the day, the emotions, the activities, and the people. For a good coverage of the events of the day in a photojournalistic style, a photographer needs to be there to capture the images, thus the longer they are there the better. Some photographers who specialize in photojournalism have just eliminated time limits altogether for this reason.
2) What’s your location?
–In photography as in realty, location makes a huge difference! For photography, some locations provide more interesting places and possibilities for images where others provide less. Of course a good photographer will be able to get great images in any situation but thinking ahead of time about the types of images you want will influence the locations you choose for photography. One suggestion we always have is to choose a location that you find interesting or unique and schedule some time to stop and get a couple of great images there.
3) What’s your Time line?
–Making great images takes some time. When preparing the timeline of your wedding day remember to talk to your photographer about timing, especially if you do want to stop at different locations to take pictures. Another important issue is when to have the portraits taken. This has traditionally happened after the wedding ceremony because of the old tradition about grooms not seeing brides before the ceremony. Many are bucking this tradition to the delight of the guests. The difficulty with the tradition was that it took the new couple and family away from the all the guests who had come primarily to see them. It is also less stressful for the families, the friends, the bride and groom and the photographer if most of the pictures are done before the ceremony. This also frees up your photojournalist style photographers to creatively capture the emotions and interactions of family and friends after the ceremony.
4) How do you want your images presented?
–Several years ago, there were two ways that couples presented their images: in a matted, traditional album or a traditional frame. Now there are many different types of flush mount albums, fine art gallery wraps, coffee table books, slide shows, online proofing, and digital storage, as well as the traditional options. Make sure the photographer you hire can provide the type of image presentation that you want. Though digital images are great for Facebook, and e-mailing, there is no substitute for a finely crafted album or a beautiful gallery wrap to display images from your day.
5) What’s your budget?
–Okay, this one might not be the most fun one to talk about, but since money doesn’t grow on trees (not any trees I’ve seen anyway) it is an important factor to consider. Prioritize what you want in your photographer and then look at who is out there that fulfills what you want. There are a lot of different ways photographers structure their pricing so make sure you look into what that pricing means, not just the bottom dollar. Maybe you want to settle for something a little cheaper up front and then purchase prints and albums later. Or maybe you want to pay more up front to get a credit to spend afterward. There are many different options, just make sure that the one you choose works for you.
6) If you have other helpful suggestions, comment and let everybody know.
—-Be sure to catch our next article: “10 Things to make sure you ask your photographer!”
We flew out a day early, just in case, so we took a mini vacation on the beach for a morning. We ate at a little seafood restaurant just off of Fort Myers Beach and had some delicious shrimp. 
