Wednesday, May 12, 2010

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Since most of you reading this already know it, it’s probably redundant for me to tell you that I LOVE pictures.  They only cover all of the walls in every apartment/dorm room I’ve lived in. And now they cover my cube as well.

When planning a wedding, you have to decide what is important to you. Some people go all out on flowers. Others on food. Well I’ve decided pictures are going to be a priority for me.

I’ve heard from many a brides that your wedding day travels so quickly, that you often remember it based on the pictures.  So I am thigh deep in information about photographers.

I know I like more of a “photojournalistic” style than traditional wedding. Sure, there will be the posed shots of the families and everything, but I really like fun and creative pictures.  Cool color lays and/or framing can take a standard picture from nice to WOW – THAT’S COOL!

I’ve decided the big things for me are:

  • I want the photographer to be there pretty much all day.  I love the photos of the bride getting ready with her bridesmaids. And getting dressed. And doing her makeup. And having her necklace put on her.
  • Digital negatives and copyright – I want it. Being such a picture person, I want to be able to put the pictures on my computer. And print/order copies of them whenever I want.  Getting tired of that framed photo of the reception, oh look, here is another one to replace it.  Then I can also make the picture books how I want them. damn type-A personality :-)
Things I’m not so sure about.

  • Do you really need two photographers? Do they really get two different stories from the wedding, or do you just end up with a lot of dupe photos?
  • Packages that come with photobooks/large framed pictures. Do they really end up saving you money to buy the package? Or are you better off getting things done separately?
Any advice on negotiating with photographers and selecting packages?

3 comments:

  1. Hi Anna!

    I have found my photographer, who has the photojournalism style with an artistic flair. (I was wicked concerned about the photos as well.)

    Joe and I are opting not to go with the album because 1. it's expensive and 2. we think it will be fun to make our own album.

    Our photographer is giving us rights to the photos, which he will give us on a DVD in addition to the proof book. Also, as part of the package, he is going to do an off-site engagement photo session to get to know us better. (We're not really planning on buying photos from that, but the session itself, he said, is helpful for him.)

    I don't know if that helps at all, but I thought it may be informative at least.

    Hope to chat soon!

    Lindsay

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  2. First I will say I am really excited for both of you (Anna and Linds) for all your wedding planning, because I know come the fall and I see your updates about planning I will miss it!

    On to photography...That was one thing that took a long time to cross off my list. Maybe I started the searching process a little late, but many people were either booked or too expensive. We actually found our photographer through another photographer I really liked but was booked on our wedding date. He was glad to recommend fellow photographers with similar styles, so don't be afraid to use photographers as resources to find other photographers.

    We are getting all the rights to our photos too, getting them on a CD, and we aren't doing the album in our package, but we may add it later, I just don't have my heart set on having one.

    Having 2 photographers was kind of important to me...more so at the ceremony when you will be walking down the aisle looking at him, he will be looking at you, guests will be looking at you and each other so you can capture all that w/ 2 ppl. And before the ceremony we might have one photographer come w/ the girls, and one w/ the boys. And it's somewhat of a big wedding, so the more ppl you have, the better off you are w/ 2 so you don't miss anything. I wouldn't say having 2 was a MUST, but luckily the photographer I found offers a second photographer as standard in her package. Also no time limit! There all day whenever I want them there.

    My advise would be to look around, and then keep looking...it's easy to get your heart set on someone after you see their website and talk to them, but remember there are so many great photographers out there and some are just as good, just not as well known, and their packages may include more. Good luck!

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  3. I'm with you, Linds and Jess on this one. I totally splurged on my photographer; I think he cost as much as my venue! And it was worth every penny. I'm still working on my album (I now understand the goal of having it done by the first anniversary, in fact, that goal seems daunting). Since I'm working on my album, you probably guessed we didn't order one. They are wicked expensive and I personally am not wild about the weight of them. I'm using Blurb's Booksmart to create one on the computer and then they'll print it coffee table book style. Hard cover, dust jacket, the whole shebang. I did smaller ones for our parents for Christmas; they were beautiful and affordable ($25 each including shipping).

    As for two photographers, I think that could go either way. I only had one and I'm exceptionally pleased. Maybe consider two for the ceremony only so like Jess said, you can have both angles of the aisle walk etc. I met with many photographers who offered that option (mine included).

    My only other photographer advice is this - don't be afraid to be demanding. No reason to be a diva, but I think you can be very clear in what you want. I told my photograher I wanted to frame a photo from our first dance so I HAD TO HAVE an amazing one. He obliged. I also, and this is terrible, had him remove my MOH's ugly tattoo from all the pics she was in. And looking at my work-in-progress album, am so glad I did. I think requests like that are totally reasonable and you should make them. It is after all your special princess day.

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