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Congratulations to all you newly engaged brides!! This time of year is the most popular for getting engaged. We know that many of you brides are eager and excited that you are now able to begin planning for your big day, and are looking for ideas and as much help as you can find in planning the wedding of your dreams. The last couple days we've been posting tips for planning your wedding to ensure the best wedding photos possible. Yesterday we talked about Communicating your vision to your photographer. Today we will talk about the importance of preparing your family and friends for the style of photography you have chosen. When it's all said and done, you will have spent quite a bit of time doing your research and meeting with Sacramento wedding photographers, to select just the right photographer, personality, and style that meets your vision for your wedding day. We talked yesterday about how to share your vision with your photographer, and find the right photographer for you. Once you've made that important decision, we encourage you to share with whomever is going to be with you as you are getting ready on your wedding day, (bridesmaids, groomsmen, mom, dad, etc.), who you've selected as your photographer, and why. This is your big day, and the photographs are what are going to stand the test of time, and serve as the visual memory of your day for all your loved ones to look back on.
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Why is it important to prepare your family & friends and share with them, prior to your wedding day, the style of photography, and the photographer you've chosen? It's important, because this will help your loved ones to better understand what to expect as your photographer spends the day with you. Share your photographer's website with them and blog, so they can see not only the style of photographs, but also I would hope your photographer's blog shows a bit of your photographer's personality. If the wedding photographer you selected has a documentary or photojournalistic style, they will be with you much of the day recording the events as they happen. The goal is to tell the story of your wedding day authentically through photos. They are not looking for your friends and family to be "cheezin'" for the camera during these moments. They will be taking a lot of photos throughout the day, and a good photographer will weed out the unflattering photos. Assure your loved ones of this, so that they can relax and almost forget about the camera to ensure those authentic photos.
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If your Sacramento photographer has a playful fun style, those that will be with you on your wedding day should know what to expect from the photographer, as well as what you are hoping for and wanting from your wedding photos. If your loved ones know that this is important to you, even if they may not understand the photography style, they will know how much you love this style and be more open to the photographers lead.
The same goes with any other style of wedding photography, whether it is traditional, or has a high fashion flair. If your family & friends know what to expect, and that you trust your photographer, they will much more open to following the photographer's lead, thus giving the photographer the opportunity to do their magic, and provide you the best photo possible. Along with preparing your loved ones for the style of photography you've selected, it's also important, if you want certain people to help you (the bride) into your dress, to prepare them prior to the wedding day. Let them know what time you plan on getting into your dress. This way they can be dressed and ready enough to feel comfortable in front of the camera in time for you to get into your dress, since they too will be in of these photos. You don't want to be late getting into your dress because you were waiting on your bridesmaids to finish their hair or makeup or getting themselves ready, because they were unaware of what time they were needed or that they would be in these important photos.
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We also suggest they go with you to the final dress fitting if possible, so the dress designer can give them any special instructions about the dress. Regardless of if your "dress helper(s)” are able to make it to the final fitting or not, it would be beneficial to have a trial run a day or so before the wedding day. And don’t forget to take your dress out to air out/relax according to your dress designers suggestions to minimize wrinkles. The last thing you want to be worried about a few hours before your ceremony, is a few wrinkles in your wedding gown.
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And finally prepare any family members that you will be wanting in the family formals, whether that's just the immediate family of mom dad, siblings & grandparents, or also includes aunts, uncles & cousins. Let all family members you want in the family formal photos know that you will be needing them for the photos, as well as what time they need to be ready for the photos, and where the photos will be taking place. There is nothing worse than when you have everyone you need for a photo except one person. We suggest you talk to both your mom and mother in law about not only what combination of family photos you and your groom are planning on, but also what photos are important to them. If they want a photo of you your mom and grandma (a sort of generations photo), because it's a family tradition, find that out before the wedding day, and make sure to communicate that to your photographer. This way you can give your photographer a list of the different photo grouping you are planning on for the wedding day, and everyone will know what to expect at the wedding and your photographer can move through those photos quickly. Also remember to talk to your photographer if there are any "issues" that you feel would be helpful for the photographer to know prior to the wedding day. There is nothing more awkward, for all involved, if the photographer invites your mom's boyfriend into the family photos, if there is going to be an issue with that. If mom and dad can't stand in the same photo next to each other, or if it's best that they are not in the same family photos together at all, it's best to diffuse that situation prior to it ever happening, by letting your photographer know. Let your photographer know not only what photos you and your family want, but also those important extenuating circumstances so they can be sensitive to them. If you prepare your family and friends on what to expect from your photographer and style of photography you've chosen for your wedding day, they will come into your wedding day prepared, and help your day run smoothly and add to the photographic experience! We will be taking a break from blogging for the next few days in order to celebrate the New Year, but we will be back on Monday with the next installment in our series, where we will be talking about "Planning The Timing Of Your Wedding Day Thoughtfully". Happy New Year everyone!! 2009 was an AWESOME year for us, and we can't wait to see what God has in store for us in 2010!!!
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Yesterday I started a series on "How To Plan Your Wedding Day To Ensure The Best Wedding Photos Possible". Today we will be talking about Communicating to your photographer your vision for your wedding, or what photos are important to you. You've probably spent many hours if not many days invested in researching your Sacramento wedding photographer. You've visited their website, their blog; you met with them and looked at their albums, talked about their photographic style and your vision for your wedding. And it wasn't until all of that fell into place that you chose the right photographer for you. But many of you are wondering, how do I convey my vision for my wedding, or what I'm looking for in my photos? Most of you brides out there have been dreaming about your wedding day in some shape or form for many years. Sure not all of you have been dreaming of the princess dress and had your colors picked out since your were 4. But you have some sort of idea of what you want for your wedding right? Share those thoughts with your wedding photographer. Maybe you are envisioning a comfortable affair that your guests feel free to mingle and celebrate with you as one big happy family. Something simple, you want your gown to be simple, yet timeless. Your colors, flowers and decor are all simple clean yet beautiful like the black white and green color pallet of this wedding.
Or maybe you have a theme to your wedding, like a vintage old Hollywood movie premier. Combining your love of all things glamour, and his love of fishing, like this wedding, where the movie they premiered, "The Perfect Catch"
No matter how simple or how grand you plan your wedding to be, the more you let your wedding photographers in on your vision, the better they can capture that for you. If you have a binder of your wedding inspiration, we recommend sharing that with your photographer. Bring it to the initial interview; if the photographer captures that vision and is on the same page with you, then you know you've found the right person for the job. But if they don't seem to get it, or are missing the mark on your vision, you know you may need to keep looking. Take a good look at many different Sacramento wedding photographers' websites, and note which photos you are drawn to, which ones you like. Is there a consistent theme to the photos you like? Are you drawn to the photojournalistic photo? The one that is completely unplanned, that is just a moment captured spontaneously? Or maybe they are the photos, that while posed, are capturing an emotion, a closeness, a passion. Do you like fun playful photos, or maybe photos that have a high fashion feel to them? Do most of the photos you are drawn to have a natural color/processing to them, are they black & white, or is there a lot of Photoshop effects done to the photos your like? Are you drawn to a more modern casual style of photography, or a more traditional posed style of photography?
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All of these things are good to make note of, and share with the photographers you are interviewing. Even show them samples of the style of photos you are drawn to. Do you see that style reflected in their work? If there is a particular wedding that they photographed that captures the style you're drawn to, talk to them about that. A true professional will not give you a carbon copy of those photos you're drawn to, but use that inspiration, coupled with your groom's and your personalities to create your own unique wedding photos. You could have the best photographer in the world, but they aren't a mind reader. Make sure you communicate to your photographer if there are any "must have" photos. Sure they know to get a photo of the 1st kiss, the 1st dance, a photo of you and your groom together. If they are good they are not going to need to be told to get a photo of you with your parents, or your 1st sight of each other. So throw out that list from the wedding sites that has a million photos listed that would make a 3 year old say, "DUH, of COURSE they would want that photo!" You don't want your photographer so focused on a 5 page list of photos that they miss a spontaneous moment. You've also selected the photographer you did, hopefully due to their artistic style and professionalism. If you give them a list of exact photos, and poses, they will be so focused on that list; it will remove their ability to tap that creative energy and inspiration that you hired them based on. Instead share with your wedding photographer anything that holds significance or special meaning to you. For instance you have a family friend who took on an almost grandmotherly role in your life and you want that special bond recognized in the photos. Or your great aunt & uncle flew in from Russia to be here, and you want to make sure you get a photo of them or with them. Are there any details that you planned that you are really excited about and want recorded in the photos? A "legacy" table that honors loved ones that have passed on? Or maybe you and your sister in law spent days folding paper cranes and have all your guests' names on the cranes for your seating assignments. Or maybe you just LOVE your candy bar, make sure to let your wedding photographer know about these details.
We can't stress enough, the more you share with your photographer the plans and vision for your wedding day, the better they can capture that, and personalize it to you! Check back tomorrow for another post in this series. We will be focusing on the importance of preparing your family and friends.
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Congratulations, you've gotten engaged, and you've found, or may even still be looking for the Sacramento wedding photographer that fits your wedding & personal style, but is that it? Is selecting the right photographer for you, all you can do to ensure your wedding day photos are the best they can be? No! Included in the next several blog posts will be some tips to keep in mind when planning your wedding day; tips that will help you to ensure that you set your wedding day up, so that your photographer can capture the best wedding photos possible. Good wedding photographs don't just happen; they are a fusion of a talented photographer, good composition, the perfect moment, enough time and great lighting. Any good Sacramento wedding photographer will know this, and look for these key "ingredients" for their photos. But what can YOU do, so that as many of your photos as possible, have these ingredients? We've put together some suggestions for you to consider when planning out your wedding day. These concepts come from our experience in Sacramento weddings. If you plan ahead, it will lessen the stress of your wedding day, and have the added benefit of providing your photographer with as many of the key ingredients to successful, emotional beautiful photos.
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Over the next several days we are going to be posting our first ever blog series. We like to give our couples a packet of information to help them as they plan their wedding day. I recently expanded on that packet by writing an article that I posted here. But as I was writing that article I was thinking about how each of the points I touched on, I could write a whole blog post on, there is so much I wanted to say, that I didn't for the sake of keeping the article short and to the point. SOOOO, my lovely blog readers, I'm going to do just that, break that article down, and write a blog series to expand on those tips! We will go over: So come back tomorrow for the next part of this series!! :)
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12.22.2009 by Chris | in Family |
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Everyone, I would like for you to meet The Kennedy Family!!! This family was amazing. Seriously made me realize once again why I love what I do. The love that they share and fun they have together, just spreads out all over, and you can't help but smile and laugh with them. Emily, their daughter was home for the holidays from college, so they wanted to get some family photos done. Jen actually shot Emily's senior session a few years back which turned out amazing!!! We ventured from their house out to Newcastle then to Auburn to shoot their session. The weather was overcast which is perfect for pictures, cause the clouds act as a HUGE softbox. YEAH!!! It was so much fun. Even when we finished the session we enjoyed a cup of coffee, homemade pumpkin pie, and some great conversation. Lisa, Lon, and Emily, you were so amazing and I had tons of fun photographing your family. Enjoy this teaser. Have a Merry Christmas and maybe your gallery will be up soon. Never know ;) Seriously how cute is this.
One of my favorites!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!!!!
And this too!!!!
Way too cute!!
oops.........ok nevermind this is WAY too cute. ;)
one of the things they love to do is Ice cream cones so duh.....we had to get some.
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This Christmas vacation has been wonderful so far (yes I know it's only techinically started today!). But this last weekend, and today have been wonderful. We've had family movie night almost every week, snuggled up together as a family and laughed, it's been WONDERFUL!! The other night however, Aiden didn't make it to family movie night, right after dinner (as we were all getting ready for our movie, Aiden could stay awake no longer (poor guy has been fighting a cold all weekend) and crashed out. And where did he fall alseep you ask? Not on the couch, not in his bed, not even in the middle of the floor, but under the coffee table! It actually took us a minute to figure out where he was hiding and that he was asleep! I LOVE that my kids drop like flies wherever they are when they're tired!! :)
Hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas vacation as well with your families!
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