Cheap Wedding Veils Made to Look Expensive

Weddings become very expensive in a matter of minutes so what I thought I would do is share with you how to make cheap wedding veils look expensive. In my quest for an ivory wedding veil, I was amazed when I started shopping as to how expensive this one item can cost and thus was determined not to go overboard yet still make sure the veil was elegant and beautiful.

When I started looking for an ivory wedding veil, I was determined to match the picture I found in a magazine of my wedding dress, and I wanted to make sure that it t didn't take away from the majestic long mermaid dress I was going to wear. However, when I started to shop I nearly dropped! The wedding dress shops wanted $175 to $250 for a plain simple veil plus it would take six to eight weeks to get the veil. Where were the cheap wedding veils I asked?!

So, like everything else these days, I went to the internet and typed in cheap wedding veils and found quite a few stores listed in downtown Los Angeles. They were all located within the same square block making it easy to park and start hunting. It didn't take long to find my ivory wedding veil. I found it at at store located on East 9th street, downtown L.A. They had a large selection, were very friendly and helpful and best of all took credit cards!

I found the exact tulle veil I wanted and then took it to the seamstress that was shortening my dress. Since she was cutting off the bottom, I asked her to take off some of the lace appliques that were stitched onto that part of my dress and sew them onto the veil. What started out as a $15 ivory wedding veil (plus $25 for the seamstress) turned into an expensive looking wedding headpiece that comparatively could have cost hundreds of dollars!

Other helpful hints to make cheap wedding veils look expensive is again to start off with a plain tulle or lace veil and add crystals to the veil. Or you can find a decorative hair piece and add some lace or tulle to that as well. My mother actually had a white flower hair comb and all she did was add an extra couple of white silk flowers to it as well as a few crystals and it turned out beautifully. Better yet, I still wear it to this day!

Finally, looking for a real bargain? Ask around to borrow your veil. That is how my quest for my veil started. Until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, stylish, fun and economical to all!

Wedding Photo Album Versus Wedding Photo Book

Following many threads on social media and wedding forum web sites, I repeatedly have come across the question of where to go with your photos if you want to make your own wedding photo album. One common advice is to go to blurb, Shutterfly or other photo book makers. Also, it is often noted that many wedding photo album makers, like Queensberry, do only business with photographers. But should you really get a photo book for your wedding photo album? This article is trying to highlight the pros and contras of photo books in comparison to proper wedding photo albums.

Pros

There are several reasons in favor of photo books. For starters, they are easily available. You can chose between a multitude of different providers, they come cheap with prices starting from 10 Dollars and they are delivered very quickly with e.g. blurb delivering most books within 7 to 10 business days after ordering. Proper wedding photo albums on the other hand are much harder to get your hands on. It is true that a lot of firms do only business with photographers and other wholesale customers. Prices are considerably higher and delivery times vary from 2 weeks to 6 months.

Also, if you want to make your own design, photo book companies often provide a design software, which allows you to put together a simple album layout within minutes. Often the software has an integration into the ordering process, so after designing it is a piece of cake to upload your photos and submit your order. Wedding album makes usually don't provide this feature for two reasons: often the companies are too small to develop their own software and in most cases those programs are not sufficient to create the sophisticated layout design required for a real wedding photo album.

Contras

While all the points mentioned so far are more or less in favor of getting a photo book, there are also some pretty good reasons against it. As said earlier, wedding photo albums are more expensive, but their still are good value for money, if you consider what you get. You get a proper heavy cover made of real or faux leather, which has a substantially better feel to it than the hard or soft-paper cover of a photo book.

The photos in your wedding album are developed with a chemical process. Their resolution is perfect and their colors never fade. This might be true for some high-quality photo books, but the majority of them uses laser-jet printing resulting in a notably lower photo quality. The pages in a proper wedding photo album are made of solid paper or carton (true only for flush-mount albums). Again, this leads to a much nicer feeling when flipping through the album, than the floppy thin pages of a photo book.

And finally regarding the design, if you really want to design your own wedding photo album, it is not at all a bad idea to use a professional software for it like DG Foto Art, Photoshop or Gimp. This requires some practice and skill, but only pro software provides you with the sophisticated fading, transparency, shadow and photo touch-up effects you will need to make a state-of-the-art album layout. The simple self-design software of the wedding photo album makers gets you only half the way.

Conclusion

A wedding photo album is one of the most important safekeepers of the memories of your wedding day and you will look at it again and again, possibly for the rest of you live. Therefore, all the money you invest in it is invested very well. Therefore, I would advice you to go for a wedding photo book, only if you don't care too much about all this "wedding day fuzz" or, if your budget simply does not allow for more. Otherwise, get a proper wedding album, because on the long run it is worth it!

Wedding Photography Lenses That Every Photographer Can't Do Without

There are generally four kinds of photography lenses that every wedding photographer should have in his or her gig bag:

• Wide-Angle Zoom


• Wide-to-Telephoto Zoom


• Image-Stabilized Telephoto Zoom


• Prime/Portrait Lenses

Wide-Angle Zoom

Wide-angle zoom lenses are one of the most important photography lenses that every wedding photographer should have, typically 17mm to 35mm in length with a fixed aperture of f/2.8. They provide a large depth of field, making it simple to have foreground and background in focus. They are an indispensable wedding photography equipment which allows versatility in confined areas such as a small banquet room or crowded dance floor. While shorter photography lenses allow you to capture more details, wide-angle zoom lenses allow you to capture more reactions and atmosphere to tell a richer story.

To elaborate further, wide-angle zoom photography lenses allow you to shoot a wider perspective of moments happening around the major subject, hence providing a bigger picture of the entire event. For example, wide-angle photos have the capability to tell "stories within a story", allowing you to reveal more of the story behind the shot. This is essential for a good photojournalistic wedding photography. As events surrounding weddings are so time sensitive, good photography lenses will allow you to capture as many actions or emotions in the quickest time as possible.

When used in a venue such as the church or ballroom, wide-angle zoom photography lenses also magnify the grandeur and spaciousness of the area, which encapsulates the creative feel for a photojournalistic wedding photography.

However, you need to be selective of the scenes or actions using wide-angle photography lenses, as a caveat to shooting wide is that it creates some body distortion, particularly when a subject is photographed close-up. Generally, people tend to look heavier and shorter on the edges, while arms can look huge. The last thing you want is to have the bride cursing you for making her look like she has put on 10 pounds! To get around this problem, you should as far as possible avoid putting the bride and groom at the edges of the wide-angle distortion. In addition, wide-angle photography lenses might also introduce distracting or unwanted elements into the frame, which would otherwise ruin a picture perfect moment.

Wide-to-Telephoto Zoom

Wide-to-telephoto lenses are the single most important photography lenses that a wedding photographer cannot do without. They should ideally be lenses that cover somewhere around the 20-70mm focal length range with an aperture of f/2.8. This ideal range lets you get wide enough to take a group photograph and close enough to capture facial emotions in your candid shots or a three-quarter portrait of a couple without the undesirable effects of wide-angle perspective distortion. They also double as good lenses for portraits. Given just this lens, you would be able to capture most of the shots needed for a wedding decently well.

Image-Stabilized Telephoto Zoom

Image-stabilized telephoto zoom lenses are also essential items in your wedding photography equipment checklist. The 70-200mm focal length is an important range for wedding ceremony photos. It allows you to give your subjects more space in situations where you don't want to get in the way. As you will often be photographing down the aisle from the back of the church, image-stabilized telephoto zoom lenses will come in very handy. 200mm is long enough to be able to take 3/4 length images of the bride and groom exchanging their vows while staying at a reasonable distance away from the action and 70mm is wide enough to take in the bridesmaids or groomsmen as a group without switching photography lenses.

A good point to note is that when using such photography lenses, nice blurred background can be achieved with maximum wide apertures of f/2.8 and long focal lengths of 200mm or 300mm, whether you are using a full-frame or a small sensor body. This allows you to isolate the subject from its background, and to focus attention on the image as the main subject you want to portray. Such photography lenses are especially useful for shots where you are unable to get in close and for intimate and private moments, where you want to be an unobserved stranger at a distance. Some examples include a stolen glance, a mischievous grin, a kiss - the details that are effectively conveyed by the emotions. Image-stabilized telephoto zoom photography lenses hence play an important role in capturing such moments.

These image-stabilized telephoto zoom photography lenses aren't only good for blurry backgrounds or shooting events from a distance. They could also be used to photograph stunning facial close-ups from creative angles above or below the subject that don't exhibit the normal distortions of large chins or shrinking heads that come from wider photography lenses.

Yet another advantage of such photography lenses is that you can use the small-sensor camera's 1.5x crop factor to your favour. The 200/2.8 long end of the standard zoom effectively becomes 300/2.8, a lens that would cost $4000 for a full-frame camera. The effective 300mm length allows for more creative photo angles than shorter photography lenses, such as tightly cropped images of the groom's hands lifting the bride's veil or the bride and groom's hands while they put rings on each others fingers.

The obvious disadvantage of image-stabilized telephoto zooms is that in many cases, long photography lenses tend to disconnect the subject from the main scene and there might be little to no context as to why the subject may have had expressed how they were feeling, the whereabouts of the subject and who else was there.

When using a small-sensor camera as your primary or backup body, the other disadvantage of image-stabilized telephoto zoom lenses is that neither Nikon, Canon or Sony make an f/2.8 lens that gives you an effective 70-200mm focal length. Hence, you would have to pay the high price and carry the weight of photography lenses designed for a full-frame camera.

Canon's Image-Stabilization, Nikon's Vibration-Reduction and Sony's SteadyShot INSIDE systems are indispensable in allowing you to hand-hold these large and heavy long photography lenses, especially in low light situations. Every wedding photographer should ensure that the image-stablization and vibration-reduction features are available on their long lenses. You might also want to consider using a tripod to ensure continuous, accurate subject placement and sharp photos. Such telephoto zoom photography lenses are huge investments and if you have a budget constraint or an amateur just starting out, you might want to consider rental instead.

Prime Lenses

Prime lenses are essentially photography lenses with fixed focal lengths, as opposed to zoom lenses, which have variable focal lengths of say 24-70mm or 17-55mm. Prime lenses generally have a better optical quality than zoom photography lenses, and usually come with wider maximum apertures such as f/2.8 or f/1.8.

Good prime lenses are must-have photography lenses for any wedding photographer, as they are excellent for taking good portraits. Although you will be adequately equipped for a wedding shoot with the three zoom lenses in your lens kit as discussed above, it is worth including two to three fast prime lenses in your bag as well. These photography lenses are compact, light, and fairly inexpensive and would probably be needed in about 10 to 20% of a wedding shoot.

Faster prime photography lenses are ideal in situations where f/2.8 aperture is not enough to get the motion-stopping shutter speed or shallow depth of field desired, whether for artistic or technical reasons. For example, an image that requires a 1/20th of a second shutter speed at f/2.8 will only require 1/60th of a second at f/1.8, forming a distinction between a sharp image and a blurry one. Many professional wedding photographers actually include prime lenses in their gig bags as an economical backup to their zoom lenses. Not many people could afford to purchase an additional 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto lens as a backup and you also want to prevent a frantic situation whereby your photography lens fails on you during a crucial moment.

There are many prime lenses available on the market but most photographers would include a 28/1.8, 50/1.8, and 85/1.8 in their prime photography lenses kit to be used on a full-frame body. The 28mm is wide enough to cover most ceremony locations and confined spaces, the 50mm is good for small groups or a priest blessing a couple, and the 85mm is long enough for ceremony vows and exchange of rings. A wedding can be successfully photographed with just these three photography lenses.

7 Wedding Day Makeup Tips From a Wedding Photographer

Ah hair and makeup. The thing you do every single day, that comes so simply. Little eye liner, light blush, pale lipstick, cover up for that stupid little pimple that decided to pop up over night, and out the door! FAIL!

Your wedding day makeup needs to be bumped up. If you go for your normal day look - the browns, beiges, nude lips, pale pink, etc. that's gotta come up a couple notches. First, pictures look SO much better when you have depth in your eyes, cheeks and your lips can sparkle. My biggest recommendation for a bride on her wedding day - OUTSOURCE. Get a makeup artist in there to do your makeup and hire a hair stylist to come to your hotel and do your hair! Better yet, find someone who does both! Don't make yourself fret about this detail when the cost is usually nominal. On a budget? You could work out a plan with the Makeup Artist to do your ladies for a specific amount each, and they pay that amount. This is your day, all eyes will be on you. Do it. Oh, and I know people so let me know if you need referrals.

Of course, some of you won't heed my advice. So here's my basic makeup tips for the bride trying to be a Do-It-Yourselfer.

1) Color color color is NOT always your friend. Choose ONE feature you want to emphasize. Your eyes, or lips, or cheeks. (Emphasizing your cheeks is difficult to do without looking like a clown, so I would stick to the first two!)

2) Even if you don't *emphasize* the eyes you still want to be sure you give them depth. What do I mean by depth? Give the eye shape dimension. If going natural, use a dark brown, medium brown, and a light brown. The dark brown gets applied in the crease. The medium brown on the outside edge of the top lid and fading into the other corner of the eye. The light brown goes from the crease and blends upward to the brow bone. You will also want to blend some of the light brown color in the part of your lid nearest to your nose. Dab at that crease and blend the color up towards your brow bone to open up your eyes.

3) Get your eyebrows waxed, threaded, plucked, tweased, trimmed, Nair'd, or something! You don't want those cutsie lovey dovey close-up photos ending up with crazy, erratic eyebrow madness! (The trimmed part can definitely work for the gentleman too!)

4) My favorite makeup is M-A-C. It's more expensive, but DAMN it does a great job. Get yourself some high-definition makeup and make those M-A-C reps show you how to do it! It's what they are there for - but make sure they don't think you want to look like a drag queen!

5) False Eyelashes. NOT the Halloween ones!! Use the separates. They are little clusters of fake eyelashes that you press into place. And don't press them all over your eye lid. Use them to emphasize the outside corners of your eyes. Your eyes will pop, sparkle, and shine all over the place.

6) SHIMMER POWDER! It's amazing. Put it on the area right under your eyebrow to emphasize the brow bone.

7) Practice makes perfect. Practice before the day of so you can hone your skills and have your makeup perfect for the actual day-of.

Choosing the Best Digital Camera For Wedding Photography

You have now been an amateur photographer and would like to advance your career into shooting wedding photography. The question is which is the best digital camera to buy? There are so many makes and different models on the market that choosing the best camera is a difficult process.

The leading brands in digital wedding photography include Nikon and Canon. You will see many photographers using this equipment due to their excellent manufacturing quality.

In this article we will outline the key points to look out for in selecting the appropriate camera to use when shooting wedding photography. Understanding the terminology and then comparing makes and models can then narrow down your decision. Buying camera gear is not cheap and careful research is required.

To get a feel of what a digital camera is composed of you must know certain factors to consider when making that final decision:

Megapixels

The resolution of an image is based on the mega pixel specifications of your digital camera. The higher the megapixels the higher the resolution a image will appear. To understand this easier, when you are to enlarge a high resolution photo you wont get graininess and distortion. On the other hand the lower the resolution then the image is limited to the enlargement capacity.

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)

The LCD is the viewfinder which allows you to see the image immediately after taking the photo. The better digital cameras have larger LCD screens which have great quality.

Zoom - Lenses.

You will find that digital cameras have 2 ranges in zooms. One is the digital and the other an optical zoom. The greater the optical zoom attachment the more expensive the camera usually is.

Memory Card

Memory cards are the memory storage units that will store your photography images until you upload onto a dvd or computer. The size of the storage will depend on the work you are shooting. In wedding photography having 16MB and 32MB cards is required as you are shooting well over 1200 images a session. There are now 1G memory cards that can store enormous amounts of photos.

The best digital camera should be based upon your specific usage. There is no need in spending thousands of dollars on gear if you are shooting the occasional party. On the other hand photographing a wedding requires professional equipment. The Nikon and Canon range have an excellent reputation in providing high quality digital cameras. Research and then select wisely!

Capturing Moments in Life

With Compliments

5 Wedding Photography Tips For A Shy Bride

If you're looking for stunning wedding photography but find it difficult to feel photogenic in front of the camera here's a few tips from a professional wedding photographer.

1. Wedding photography is all about relaxation and confidence. You'll get this confidence by focusing less on trying to get great photos and more on having a fun time with your loved one and the friends in your bridal party. Have a chat with your photographer and emphasise your keenness to enjoy the wedding photography shoot. A professional wedding photographer will know how to help you laugh and stay comfortable. After all that's what creates impeccable imagery.


2. Forget about the photographer without really forgetting about them. OK sounds a little crazy. But be conscious that they're there and listen to their instructions, while concentrating on enjoying your photo shoot with your partner and best friends. The photo shoot time can be the most enjoyable part of the wedding with your favourite people. Or it can be a ball of nerves and tension trying to get 'the perfect pose' for the wedding photographer.


3. Get an engagement photography shoot before your big day. We'll often do engagement shoots with shy brides a few months before the wedding. It helps you get to know your photographer and quickly teaches you how to take professional instruction without it imposing on the fun of the shoot.


4. Don't be too serious. Every bride really wants stunning photos to remember their perfect day. That's completely expected and achievable. The wedding photos only come at risk when a bride or member of the bridal party is 'dead set' serious on getting 'the perfect image', causing a trail of grumpiness around them. Remember that you will get amazing photos if you've chosen a great wedding photographer, communicate well together and can trust them to make the wedding photos look stunning. If you're shy this is particularly important as you may find the photo shoot a little more tense than others.


5. Think about what you'd love before your big day. Browse through magazines or photographer's blogs. If you get a little passion for photography before the big day you won't be so put off by it. Everyone is more confident when they know a little more about the game they're going to play.

Why Choose Sikh Wedding Photographers?

Do you want your wedding to be a memorable one? Then get a Sikh wedding photographer so that your wedding pictures are photographed by someone knowledgeable in Sikh tradition.

Sikh weddings reflect Indian traditions and values in the most beautiful manner and are comprised of the following religious and cultural ceremonies: Akhand Paath, Engagement, Mehndi, Sangeet, Mayian, Anand Karaj meaning "Blissful Union" or "Joyful Union," and Four Lavaan (wedding vows or marriage hymns which take place during the marriage ceremony). Sikh photographers are sensitive to the needs of families for the most traditional practices and ceremonies and that is reflected best by professional Sikh wedding photographers.

Professional wedding photographers offer various packages from which you can choose depending upon the coverage you desire. It is to be remembered that wedding photography is not just about taking a series of photographs of bride and groom. Any perfect wedding is not complete without covering all the events that take place long before the marriage process begins. Sikh wedding packages can include still photography, videography, albums, CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs in your choice of standard or high definition and can be modified and personalized. Your preferences are always taken into account so that your wedding day and associated events can be preserved for your lifetime.

Sikh wedding photographers, because they are familiar with the traditions and ceremonies, are better able to capture the mood and gravity of the various ceremonies. Sikh weddings are joyous and festive events in which families and friends from both sides are heavily involved. Sikh Photographers understand and respect the ceremonies that take place in the Gurudwara as well as those that take place in the homes of various family members. They are also more familiar with traditional wedding attire and are prepared to adjust lighting and lenses to better capture the photographs that will make your special day memorable.

Sikh wedding photographers are also better able to produce Sikh wedding video DVDs that encompass the various ceremonies and traditions using traditional music and traditional dance and to edit these into movies that you will want to watch again and again.

When choosing any event photographer, it is always a good idea to ask about the equipment he or she uses, the amount of experience he or she has, and to see recent samples of the photographer's work. Once you have decided based on these factors, you need to decide whether you have a desired level of personal comfort with the photographer. If, after all of these considerations, you have decided to contract the services of the photographer, make sure you get a written contract spelling out exactly what services the photographer will provide for you and how much these services will cost. It is your responsibility to let the photographer know the exact dates, times and locations of all events and any special requirements you may have. In addition, you should discuss the payment requirements with the photographer so that you are both in agreement. All of these things should be written into the contract, which should then be signed by both parties and you will then be assured of the best possible photographic services and outcome.

If you would like to cherish your wedding moments for a lifetime, there is no better way than to consider Sikh wedding photographers.