How important is great wedding photography to you? Your wedding day is a once in a life time experience that offers a fantastic situation for capturing friends and family, producing images that will wow and entertain not only you but also your family and friends. Speak to any bride and shell tell you that the day passed in a blur and when the champagne bottles are empty and only the cake crumbs remain your wedding photos are your lasting record to delight in. Choosing your wedding photographer is both an exciting and important step in planning your perfect wedding so as an experienced wedding photographer heres my advice to ensure you get stunning pictures!

Where to start? – Most people will find their photographer through a recommendation or website and with so many websites to choose from, where do you start? Did you know you can read a lot between the lines of a website? Do you like the design and operation? Do the people in the images look as if theyre enjoying being photographed? Most websites will feature a tightly edited selection of favourite best shots, so be sure to also view whole albums in person or complete online weddings to see how well the whole day has been captured. With a little bit of information and internet research, you can draw up a shortlist of photographers with which to meet and discuss your requirements.

It is important to consider the genres of photographer you will want and as with everything, there are photographers to suit your individual taste and budget! The traditional to photography is useful if you want a photographer to control proceedings. This is more about posing and looking at the camera in carefully orchestrated photos. More recently, the style is for documentary or photojournalistic photography, and this means hundreds of natural and emotive pictures being taken. If required, a few more formal pictures can be done with a minimum of posing and intrusion on your day. If you’re considering this, then choose a documentary photographer who is adept at handling people, and is quick, efficient and enjoys the rapport with guests. The formal approach means that the photographer is in attendance for a much shorter duration of the day, and therefore prices can be less than with the documentary approach, though of course there are more accomplished and therefore more costly photographers in both categories. Since a photojournalistic photographer is likely to be with you from bridal preparations through to the evening dancing, be sure to choose someone with stamina and personality whose company you enjoy!

What about chemistry? There are many wedding albums which may be perfect technically but seem to be missing; the pictures might look too posed or the smiles a little forced. To get pictures full of genuine emotion and fun you need to have a great rapport with your photographer and enjoy working with them. After all, to get the right pictures for you, your photographer will be with you at all the key moments throughout your day. One idea to build a rapport with your photographer, gain confidence and discover just how easy it is to be photographed well is to organise a pre-wedding shoot.

So what is a Pre-Wedding shoot – Photographers can get much better results if they know how couples work together, and so this informal photo shoot takes place on location typically some months before your big day. There’s no pressure – you can enjoy ourselves and also chat more about your wedding day.

A significant number of photographers are now using digital. This has the advantages of being able to do any natural beauty re-touching, adjust tonal ranges for artistic effect, supply high resolution files on disc etc. as well as shooting as many shots as they want on the day without regard to processing costs of use of film. It also makes it easy to publish a website gallery so your guests can view your wedding pictures from home and even order their own copies online. For those who are considering the use of film, it is still a wonderful medium and if you like the image youre looking at, it really doesnt matter whether it was shot on film or digitally.

Location is so important, and probably took you longer to decide than almost any other aspect of your wedding! lt’s always worth talking to your photographer about how to plan your wedding photography to make the most of your venue, and it’s also useful to check if a photographer has experience of your venue. The character of a venue can be brought out in different conditions, for example on a fine summer or spring day, or on a moody winters day with log fires and intimate atmosphere. And what if it rains? Are there opportunities for pictures if everyone stays indoors?

The weather! It’s your perfect day and it’s raining! Well, if youre happy and can laugh your way through adverse weather conditions, your guests will pick up on your vibe and follow suit. Plenty of award-winning images have been created in some of the delightful and unpredictable situations that can occur when nature has its way. Large windows for copious amounts of natural light, archways and beautiful interiors ” all provide great and creative situations for photographs if it rains.

More and more couples are asking for their photos on CD, but think about the great story that a wedding album can provide. A large full-page image followed by a collection of small images on the next, brings drama and energy to the viewing experience. It’s important to realise though that albums vary in style and quality and to find one to suit your style and budget. If you go for the CD, you can make limitless quantities of prints at the best prices, but now quality control will be out of the hands of the photographer. Certainly discuss this alternative to an album with your photographer, though not all will be prepared to offer the high resolution files.

And finally – Dont forget to enjoy your Big Day! – after all the planning and preparation, this is your time to celebrate your marriage. Not only will your pictures reflect this and the happiness of the day shine through in your photographs, but also and most importantly, you deserve it!