One Single Shot

There are so many beautiful wedding photography sites out there...like an overwhelming amount (pun intended). I mean, no one takes more beautiful photos than photographers so I would expect nothing less.

When you begin browsing wedding photographer websites in your area, the first thing you do is look at their photos. Sometimes you can just sit there and watch the homepage and the most stunning photos automatically scroll through, and sometimes there are albums you can look through titled "The I Do's" or "Bride + Groom Portraits." Once you fall in love with the photos (which typically is like a "love at first sight" relationship), you then contact the photographer for their pricing and packages and cross your fingers that it fits within your budget.

Ysabella Jones Photography (The Bride List preferred vendor)

You get an immediate response from the photographer and voila! You've found "the one."

But have you? Is there anything else you need to check?

Of course there are lots of questions you want to ask and you want to meet him/her in person to ensure your personalities are a good match, but there is one item that so many couples completely forget to do...

Every photographer can capture ONE SINGLE SHOT.

You know those photos you saw on the homepage of the photographer's website? It's no secret that these are the very best photos this photographer has taken in his or her career. Yes, that means that over the course of seven years, those 12 showcased photos are the best of the best.

Well of course this is a great sign that he has the ability to capture these breathtaking shots but have you ever been on vacation and captured that one great shot that makes you feel like a professional? I know I have! And it took about 352 tries.

Real Talk: Not every single photo that is taken on your wedding day is going to be viral, jaw-dropping worthy. In reality, not every single photo is meant for that, but rather to capture the raw emotion of the day. So before you book any photographer, ask to see a wedding portfolio or check out their blog to see an entire wedding collection. While you may have liked the style of one single photo you saw, without seeing a wedding in it's entirety, you really can't tell if that is the style you are looking for.

There is no better indicator that you've found "the one" than to browse through one single wedding and still be in love with their work...from start to finish.

The Flexible Wedding Vendor

Now this may sound like it is geared more toward wedding professionals, but I promise I have a "moral of the story for brides" at the end. But to honest, I really hope there are some wedding professionals out there who read it too, because I know there are some who could use it!

D Park Photography

Every wedding vendor you hire has a specific way of doing things. We have a contract we have you sign, a specific payment plan for each of our couples, and a typical way we think a wedding day should run. While that's all great and there is no wrong way of running a wedding, I realize that every wedding is completely different. Of course there are many similarities, but every bride and groom has a specific vision for their day and that vision is put into action by the amazing vendors that are hired.

When I sit down with a bride and groom a couple of months before their wedding, we put together a very detailed timeline, as every wedding coordinator does. And I'm talking detail - like down-to-the-minute detail. It lists everything from a vendor arrival to the 10 second announcement the bride would like made during the evening. And while I know that the wedding will never go exactly as planned, down to the minute, the timeline is a necessity.

Personally, I like the order of events to go something like this:

- Ceremony
- Cocktail Hour
- Grand Entrance
- First Dance
- Dinner is served
- Toasts during dinner
- Mother-Son + Father-Daughter Dances at the end of dinner before dancing
- ...cake cutting, bouquet, and garter some time later in the evening.

And while my timeline template is set that way, not all weddings go just like that.

I have had some weddings where the "dancing" area was different than the "dinner" area. So in that case, we didn't do the first dance until after dinner. I've had couples whose parents couldn't stand to be in the same room, so we had the father-daughter dance right after the first dance, so the dad could leave the venue and the mother of the bride could arrive in time for dinner to enjoy the rest of the evening. I've had brides who only have their photographer for 6 hours so in order to get everything captured, we have to do the cake cutting during dinner and then serve it after dinner is completed.

Leia Smethurst Photography

And while all of those little details of why we set the timeline as we do are not listed in there, there are very specific reasons why every timeline is set as it is, in order to complete the wishes of the bride and groom. Makes sense, right??

So after the timeline is all set, I then contact each vendor who is part of the wedding, to go through the timeline, verify their arrival and departure times are all correct, and ensure everything in their contract with the bride and groom is covered. Of course we all have to be on the same page, so this step is a necessity.

But in the process of contacting vendors, I ALWAYS have at least one vendor who doesn't like how the timeline is set. "Well I think it's better to do toasts after dinner" or "I think the first dance should be later in the evening." And every single time, I am baffled by this.

There is no right or wrong way to run a wedding, so why is it so necessary for a vendor to "have it their way"? When I meet with a couple, believe me, I present every possible option and describe the pros and cons to each, for them to make the finalize decision. And I've had vendor after vendor call the bride and groom after the timeline is set and sent out to everyone, trying to convince them to change the timing or move something to a different spot on the timeline...just because they want it that way and for no other reason at all.

I mean, really??

Is this really going to make or break the wedding? Is it really necessary to take up the bride and groom's time when their end of the planning is done, just so you can have it your way? Of course if there are necessary changes, I make them. But personally, I think it is silly for a vendor to change something around "just because that's how we usually do it." We set everything as it is, for a very specific reason - a reason that may be beyond our control!

I know it's sounded like a bit of venting, but I promise, we are now at the moral of the story.

Kurtis Cross

Before hiring your vendors, make sure they are flexible. Ask them, "I have a month of coordinator who will be setting my timeline. Are you flexible with how the wedding day is run?" It's as simple as that! No, I am not saying I know it all, and that is why I contact each and every vendor to ensure all details are taken care of before sending out the final timeline. But the more un-flexible vendors you have, the less smoothly your wedding day will run. And even in some cases, the more some vendors will stress you out!

Of course every vendor is unique and some of their styles and ways of doing things are what make them great. So I am not talking about the style of their photography, for example. Because that is what they do best and shouldn't be changed. I am talking about the flexibility in working together with other professionals, to make your vision a reality.

So choose vendors who are willing to work with others, who are flexible, and who can adapt to anything and everything. No wedding has ever gone exactly to the timeline, and it is our job to make it work, get all of the photos you asked for, and to ensure you have a great evening. So do everyone a favor, and make sure the vendors you hire aren't "set in their ways" and are willing and able to adapt to those quick changes or potential "weird ways of doing things" due to outside factors that are beyond our control. Because last minute changes are basically the definition of a wedding day.

And as wedding vendors, we are all just one piece to the puzzle. Without every single one of us doing our part, a wedding doesn't work. So we all must work together, adapt to the differences and needs of each other, and make whatever we need to make work, work.

...and we will even sit on the floor to make it happen :)

Leia Smethurst Photography

Don't Judge A Photographer by Their Lens

So many brides and grooms out there think they know all about photography. While you may own a nice camera, that doesn't mean that you are an expert. And in most cases, when a couple does own a nice camera, the first thing they do when they meet a potential wedding photographer, is to ask about their camera.

What kind of camera do you use? What kind of lenses do you have?

If I were to ask a photographer these questions, the answer coming out of their mouth would sound like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to me, like a foreign language! And for most of you, it would sound the same.

But you ask, "because the internet told you to" in the latest article on "Questions you must ask your wedding photographer."

But today, instead of giving you a list of questions to ask (that won't even help you choose a wedding photographer), we are going to talk cameras. Because let's be real, if you like what you see in their portfolio and you like him or her as a person, then that's all you need to make your decision.

 

Does the camera or the lens really matter?

Instead of just writing about it and hoping you believe me, Theresa Bridget Photography and I came together to demonstrate this better.

We had a day full of photoshoots with three photographers present - two were professionals and one was not.

And guess what?? They were all using the same (professional) camera!

And here are some of the results:

The Photographer Behind the Lens

From lighting, to posing, to the editing after the wedding, there is far more to photography than the camera.

It all has to do with the photographer behind the lens.

Give me the most expensive camera in the world, and I wouldn't be able to snap a beautiful shot. But give a professional an iPhone, and I'd bet everything I own that their shot will be far better than my "professional camera" shot.

Of course, you want to be able to blow up those beautiful wedding photos and decorate your new home together, and you definitely want the quality to be great. But more than anything, judge the photographer BEHIND the lens, rather than the lens itself.