KNOW WHAT YOU WANT FROM YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
The date for your wedding has been finalized and you are super excited about it. You can hardly wait to feast your eyes on your beautiful wedding photographs.
So, what’s the first step you would be wondering? If you thought it was all about picking the right photographer then you need to reconsider. Don’t get me wrong here, the decision to hire the best wedding photographer is undoubtedly a crucial decision (we will cover this point in detail in the next blog) but, before that the first step is to really ask yourself how should my ideal wedding photographs look like ? If you are wondering why should this question be so important. The answer is, starting with the end in mind is a powerful tool to get instant purpose and clarity at anything. I have been shooting weddings for almost a decade now and i have photographed many many brides. What i have found is that all brides who have this kind of upfront clarity are much more likely to get what they want.
After-all, why would you want to risk one of the most important days of your life? By doing this little exercise you will be better off than 90% of the other brides who would not do it start with this important question.
The next question that would be playing on your mind would be when should you start this exercise? The answer is as soon as possible. Because the sooner you have clarity the sooner you can start interacting with your photographers at a deeper leve.
To give you a little background, basically there are three main types of wedding photography styles:
1) Photo journalistic (mostly candid, on-the-fly shots; photographer acts as observer)
2) Traditional (mostly posed and semi staged pictures; photographer acts as coordinator), and
3) Artistic (unconventional photos at creative angles; photographer acts as artist).
Once you decide on the style of photography for yourself, its time to create a mood board for yourself.
Whats a mood board you would ask? A mood board is nothing but a folder where you keep all your favourite wedding pictures for inspiration and reference. You could even create this board on Pinterest. Have a look around in Pinterest and keep saving all the pins on your pinterest mood board. Now, all you have to do is share this mood board with your wedding photographer.
This little exercise is very important for you as well as you are now training yourself to see and find out what actually resonates with you. I know many wedding photographers( myself included) who will not like someone telling them what pictures they want. and I would agree with them because every best photographer worth his salt would like to shoot in a creatively unique way . The idea here to create a mood board and your inspiration folder is not about copying ideas from other photographers but to actually find out in as much depth about your likes and preferences.
Once both the photographer and the bride exactly know what each other has in mind it makes life a lot easier for both.
One hot tip : If you are feeling a little overwhelmed looking at all the millions of pictures on pinterest/google the i would recommend that first you zero down on your wedding/reception venue and also the location for your couple shoot. I know this is jumping the gun a little early but believe me this will limit the infinite possibilities of your wedding into a much more manageable list of ideas.
Another tip : If you guys are looking for some great venues for your wedding , then do check out this link here “ wedding venues” . There are some lovely options to choose from .