Wedding Photography - Rules Beyond Picture Taking Part 2

Must read for professional photographers or those who want to learn to be a professional.

In previous article I wrote about some common rules that wedding photographers should follow. They were.. Be Professional, Be Early, Dress Properly, Check equipment before arriving, and introduce your self upon arrival.

Here are some additional rules that wedding photographers should adhere to:

Know the car routes for the day. The photographer should know the routes of the limos in advance. The processions can be delayed for any number of reasons and then take off suddenly. They generally do not ask if the photographer is ready. It is even a good idea to drive the routes before the wedding day especially if the photographer is not familiar with the area. You don't want people asking what happened to the photographer.

Predetermine best positions to take pictures. Once at the church or reception hall, the photographer should make a quick determination of the best positions to get the required shots. This way he can always be in a good spot to get the required shots without interfering with any proceedings.

Practice Crowd Control. Sometimes, the wedding party will draw a crowd while they are being photographed. For instance, after the wedding when the formal photos are being taken. Guests will run to get pictures of the great set ups by the photographer. Unfortunately, sometimes in their zeal, they will get in the way. The photographer should be polite in requesting guests to clear the way so he can get the shots he wants. This would be a good time to enroll the services of the wedding planner or the person you previously asked to help guide you through the events. Remember, a rude photographer will lose referrals.

Do Not sit down and eat. That is unless you are invited to do so by an authorized person. Even if you do, make it quick, because you don't want to miss something happening that you were not expecting.

Limit Socializing and stay away from the bar. Be polite to guests and keep it short and sweet. If they are interested in your services, give them your card or take their phone number and you can speak with them longer at a later time. They will understand stand that you are working. Any trip to the bar should only be for a non alcoholic beverage. You don't want to be perceived as partying and not working.

Let the Bride and Groom know you are leaving. When things are winding down, check with the bride and groom and ask if there are any shots they want that you might not have taken. (there is always that shot with Uncle Joe or Nephew Bobby that wasn't taken) This will show that you did a complete job and they won't be disappointed once you have left.

Following these rules should make a better day for everyone involved, and also make sure that you don't lose any referrals or extra sales because of your actions during the day.

Wedding Catering: Calculate Wedding Reception Total Cost Including Food, Rentals, Gratuities, Taxes

You set the date for your wedding, determined the approximate number of guests, reserved a banquet hall, and started shopping for a catering company. As exciting as it might seem, it can also get quite overwhelming and stressful. It is not easy to navigate through numerous menu options, compare prices and levels of service. Different caterers use different price structures. Some companies prefer packaged prices, others operate on a la carte basis. While looking for a caterer for your wedding reception and reviewing different options, it is important to compare apples to apples. You need to be aware of what is included in the price and what is not. Keep in mind that food cost is just a portion of your bill. Service charges, rental fees, taxes - all these extra charges can significantly increase your bottom line. Do not just look at the listed dinner price in the catering menu, call the catering company, inquire about extra fees, ask for a full quote. Be aware of the following items:

• China and cutlery - are they included in the price of the dinner?


• Glassware (water and wine glasses) - it's not unusual that plates, cutlery, and serving dishes come with the dinner (as they're required to serve the food), but glasses are not included in the price.


• Table clothes and napkins - unless you are looking at the packaged price, linens and napkins will be extra. Keep in mind that tables come in different sizes - traditional rounds of 8 and Jumbo rounds that accommodate 10 people. Table clothes also come in various sizes - standard and floor length. The bigger the table cloth, the more expensive it is. Ask if your catering company can provide linens and how much it will cost. It might be cheaper to do it yourself, but sometimes it's not worth the hassle as you'll have to deal with a rental company directly.


• Labor charges (servers, bartenders) can be a big expense. For a buffet dinner you will need approximately 1 server per 25-30 guests.Sit down dinners require more staff and therefore are usually more expensive. Catering company will calculate the total time (including travel, set-up, serving, clean-up, etc).


• Corkage fee - if you bring your own alcohol, ask you catering company if there's a corkage fee.


• Set-up and clean-up fees - most likely, if you're getting charged hourly for wait staff, it will include set-up and clean-up. But double check it anyways to avoid any unpleasant surprises.


• Gratuity can be anywhere from 10% to 20% of your invoice. Most caterers will charge gratuity on food subtotal only.


• Taxes - there's no way around it, and it can be a big chunk of money. Keep in mind that you pay taxes on total amount (including gratuity)

Let's look at the example. You're planning a wedding reception for 150 people. You've chosen dinner buffet ($30 per person) which includes food, plates and cutlery. You're planning a standard 4 hour reception. Banquet hall is providing tables and chairs. 150 dinner buffet will require about 5-6 servers for a minimum of 6 hours. You also need table clothes. Let's assume that you'll use standard (90") round table clothes ($10 each) and matching napkins ($1 each). You probably want to serve wine at the dinner table, so you would have to rent glasses (150 wine glasses and 150 water glasses). Is that it? Not quite - you need to add gratuity (15%) and sales tax (10%) Let's add it all up: Food: $30 per person X 150 people = $4,500.00 Servers: $25 per hour X 36 hours =$900.00 Table clothes: $10 per item X 19 items = $190.00 Napkins: $1 per item X 150 items = $150.00 Glasses: $0.5 per item X 300 items = $150.00 Gratuity: 15% X $4,500.00 (food subtotal) = $675.00 Subtotal 1 = $6,565.00 Tax: 10% X Subtotal 1 = $656.50 Total: Subtotal 1 + Tax = $7,221.15

The Problems With Photoshop Actions For Wedding and Portrait Photographers

Photoshop opened up a whole world of possibilities for photographers and image editing experts by allowing them to develop automation within their work flow. No more so than in the areas of Portrait and Wedding Photography.

At the same time though, it created an unprecedented burden on many to learn this new technology and perform like a pro. The trouble has always been that Photoshop is vast in its possibilities, and the task of learning enough of its workings a huge undertaking. Often times, it has become too much for some, and they disappear back into their shells. At least for a while.

My personal experience of this, as a photographer is that I was young and excited and very determined, and years on, I am still learning. Through this I have learnt something about identifying the challenges of specific types of image production, and then how to discover satisfactory solutions to reproduce them easily.

When you look at a beautifully edited set of images from a professional photographer, you'll see that they have had a lot of image enhancements made to them. For most Photographers, this is the primary way to create a noticeable difference between what they offer clients and what the clients can do for themselves. It adds a distinctive value to their work that clients can appreciate and are happy to pay for.

This makes professional image enhancement a necessity for Photographers wanting a successful business rather than just a fanciful luxury.

The challenges with this for Photographers are manyfold. For example, using Photoshop for this process is a given fact. However learning Photoshop requires a long term commitment as it is such a vast piece of software. Once you have learnt the basics, how far should you go with your retouching? What level of editing do clients actually like the best? How much time should you spend on editing the images? How much should you charge? What extras should you charge for? What is now expected as a standard level? Just what are today's customers expectations?

Some of these questions you will be able to answer instinctively. Others will require time and the feedback of your paying clients.

For the majority of Photographers the toughest questions relate directly to the photo editing side of things. Fortunately we have Photoshop, and then perhaps even better, we have Photoshop Actions!

The development of time saving Actions in Photoshop opened up a new arena for photographers wishing to improve the look of their work and compete commercially. These Actions are incredibly useful in Wedding and Portrait Photography, where dozens of images need to be edited in a short amount of time.

Actions are small (usually) bits of software that tell Photoshop exactly what to do to an image. Each Action is named according to its function and they are activated by clicking an onscreen button. These actions and their buttons are listed in a palette (a movable panel) inside the Photoshop work area.

Actions are designed to perform repetitive tasks at the click of a button. The sort of tasks they cope with can be wide and varied. Typically though, they will do things like add soft focus to an image, sharpen an image, add warmth to the colours of an image, or perhaps even to resize an image.

To the portrait and wedding Photographer, this can be a godsend. For example, as a Wedding Photographer, you may have 150 images or more lined up, and they all need work doing to them. Lets say you want to sharpen these pictures, then increase the color saturation slightly and finally bring out detail in the midtones! Phew! Doing each one manually one after the other takes hours as anyone who has tried will tell you.

Photoshop Actions to the rescue! With these Actions, you open one image, press a 'Record Actions' button to then log the changes you are making. When you are happy with those changes, you then easily 'Batch Process' all the other images on Auto with those same changes while you go for a walk or have a cup of tea!

Naturally, there are many tips, tricks and techniques involved with all of this, but in reality, these Actions make it commercially viable to output superb images to all of your clients all of the time.

Unfortunately though, there is a problem with all of this. Regular Actions have their limitations. In spite of what I have said, to edit your images to a satisfactory standard can still take a huge amount of skill and time. Time is expensive, and when you have established the processes you like to use regularly for your own personal style, you will still (inevitably) end up bogged down in tedious repetitive tasks.

So what is the answer to all of this? It seems that a new developer has produced some highly sophisticated Photoshop Action sets that have just been made available. Thes go beyond our normal expectations of what Actions are capable of. Amongst other things, they can be adapted to your personal style of imagery. These Action sets can enhance your images almost on complete auto pilot and they work at blisteringly fast speeds too.

Why Wedding Couples Should Choose a Vintage Theme! (From a Wedding Photographer's Point of View)

I don't normally wax lyrical about weddings, but both my wife and I were wowed by our experience of photographing Ant and Charlie's 1950's vintage themed wedding back in June 2010. It was kind of an epiphany for us, and an experience that I would like to share with couples looking for a theme for their wedding. We had both covered many different weddings themes, but the vintage 1950's theme really resonated with us. This was not only because of the understated but beautiful 50's dress, but also the little details that really made the day special-these included 1950's peep toe shoes, a stylish hair net, pearl necklaces and earrings, right through to the flowers, favours and even a Jukebox! The jukebox was a wonderful touch and a great alternative to a DJ or live band. It was wonderful to see guests going up to the jukebox and punching in their song selections. Elvis also made one or two appearances too!

The overall effect of the day was a wedding that felt homely, elegant and romantic all at once. It also helped that the setting for the wedding was Charlie's childhood home, in Kent, the Garden of England. There is something very magical about a couple sharing their wedding vows at a family home, as it adds a whole layer of extra meaning to the day.

We did our homework by studying literally hundreds of portrait photographs from the 1950's depicting legends from the era, including Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Grace Kelly. The key features that are common to this style of photography is dramatic yet flattering lighting (often employing beauty dishes), and an emphasis on beauty, fantasy and romance. There is something about the photographs from this era that encapsulate the grace and elegance of the times. Its perhaps these qualities that brides currently find so appealing about the theme.

As a pro wedding photographer I hereby implore more couples to consider a vintage theme for their wedding- From a photographer's point of view this kind of theme really fires our imaginations to come up with images that are creative, elegant and full of romance. Just look through the internet for 1940's and 50's portraits and you'll see an array of inspiring and dramatic images. Not only are you sure to get a beautiful collection of wedding photos, you will also have a wedding that your friends and family will remember for years to come.

Important Parts of a Wedding Reception

Everyone looks forward to certain parts of the wedding reception. If the ceremony took a little while, many look forward to the food. But once everyone has gathered together again, it is time to really get the party started. Most of the time there are certain events that the bride, the groom, or both participate in. Every couple makes their own choice as to what to include, however these are some of the more traditional parts that typically make the cut.

The First Dance

Every couple gets an opportunity to share their first dance with all of their family and friends at the wedding reception. Usually the couple chooses a song that has some type of sentimental value or significance. While the dance itself is fairly traditional, some couples choose to make changes, including asking the groomsmen and bridesmaids to join in halfway through. Photographers look to capture several moments of the dance to preserve for future memories.

Cutting the Cake

With a large cake ready to be shared, the couple steps up and cuts it together. The couple always shares the first piece, with each person feeding a portion of the cake to the other. A bride and groom can use this romantic moment of their wedding reception to get cheers from the crowd as they tactfully share their dessert. On the other hand, there are couples that tend to feed their partner a piece of cake in a less than dignified manner. When this happens, once again the photographer will be on hand to capture every messy moment.

Garter and Bouquet

At some point during the wedding reception, the groom removes the garter from the leg of his new bride. This garter is then thrown out into a crowd of single men, gathered up at the front. With his back turned the groom tosses out the garter and all of the men compete (or avoid) the garter, depending on their personal preference for what it is said to mean.

Shortly after, the bride turns her back to all of the single women in attendance at the wedding reception. She tosses the bouquet over her shoulder and into the hands of an often-willing receiver. Here traditions tend to vary. Some groups have the garter placed on the leg of the woman that caught the bouquet. Others leave it as is and just get a shot of the bride, the groom, and the lucky single man and single woman.

Regardless of the traditions incorporated into the event, the goal is to have some time to celebrate with the new bride and groom. It is a chance for people to come together in a pleasant atmosphere to enjoy the uniting of two individuals and two families.

Photo Montage to Eternalize Your Wedding Day

Your wedding day will undoubtedly be one of the most important days of your life. Traditionally, the wedding couple and guests would not be able to view photos and videos the day these were taken; they would have to wait for the film to be developed and that would cost at least a few days. Now, every photo can be instantly viewed, edited and printed.

The bride and groom naturally want good photographs of their special day, for keepsake and to share with friends and relatives afterwards. You can make the most out of the digital age by creating stylish and artistic wedding photo montages. It is not as difficult as it seems, and you don't need to be a pro in Photoshop to create your own photo montage! There are plenty of free photo montage software online that come with professionally designed templates and step-by-step tutorials to make creating your first artwork a walk in the park.

Wedding photos can cost quite a bit to print, so cutting up physical photos is literally cutting money away because any mistake made is almost irreversible. Besides, it can be rather troublesome dealing with paper, glue, scissors, tape, and dealing with limited space on paper. Rearranging to fit photos into constrained space can take up a lot of time, especially for busy professionals. Creating digital wedding photo montages help cut costs because you can upload your photos, select those to insert and arrange them the way you like BEFORE printing. More importantly, you can edit your photos - remove red-eye, adjust shadows, manipulate color tones - to produce the perfect wedding montage.

The True Value of Your Wedding Photography: 7 Reasons to Hire a Professional Wedding Photographer

With so many photographers available, how do you know who to choose for your wedding day? If you're basing your decision solely on price, you should remember that when it comes to wedding photography, you really do get what you pay for...

1 - Any price that seems too good to be true, is exactly that. With the accessibility of digital cameras on the market, these days there are literally hundreds of amateur photographers offering substandard service for bargain-basement prices. (Everyone has to start somewhere, but most professional photographers learned the trade by first assisting someone with more experience.) Amateur photographers are those who offer ridiculously low rates because they have no professional training and no professional equipment.

2 - Quality costs more because it's worth more. If you're considering hiring a hobbyist or amateur photographer because they're cheaper, you should bear in mind that the quality of the work will also be cheap. As will the quality of service. If you choose someone because they have the lowest rates, you run a very likely risk of getting photos you aren't happy with. When that happens, there's no way to reproduce or replace those moments. Remember, you only have one chance for fantastic wedding photos.

3 - How can we tell the professional wedding photographers from the amateurs? Although it means a bit of research on your part, the good news is that the difference is fairly obvious. In addition the difference in the quality of work, you want to look for a well-developed website. A key thing to check for, is a testimonials page with at least a dozen testimonials. And when it comes to the portfolio of work, check for a minimum of 50 separate images with many different people featured. An amateur photographer may have several images, but a dead giveaway is if most of the photos are of the same few people.

4 - What are some standard professional wedding photography rates? If you've been checking out several photographers, you'll have noticed that price ranges can really vary. But if you've done a bit of research, you'll probably have noticed that standard pricing for obviously professional, experienced photographers - those with good reputations/testimonials, good portfolios and good equipment - starts around $2500 (and can go as high as $5000) for 6 to 8 hours. Anyone charging less, is absolutely not a professional wedding photographer.

5 - Why do professional wedding photographers charge these amounts? Professional photographers base their rates on several factors. The simple explanation is because they've invested in high-quality equipment and the best photo-editing software, and due to their years of experience, skill and knowledge, they give the very best results.

6 - Other than taking photos, what are we paying our wedding photographer for? Your wedding photographer's work is not done once they've taken hundreds of photos at your wedding. You're not just paying for their time on your wedding day; you also need to consider the days or weeks they'll spend working on editing and finishing your images. Someone charging extremely low rates will not be devoting much time -if any - to putting the finishing touches on your pictures.

7 - Why can't we just pay less for someone to give us unedited wedding photos? Although it's a valid question, the simplest way to understand why not, is to ask yourself this... Would you ask a waiter at a restaurant if you could pay less for your food if it were just partially cooked? When you're paying for something, you receive a finished product. A professional wedding photographer will only give you high quality photos that have been painstakingly edited and worked on in Photoshop and/or Lightroom before they're ready.

Is hiring a professional wedding photographer really worth the investment? Five years from now, you may not remember exactly how your cake tasted, or what color your flowers were, or the songs your dj or band played. Your wedding photos (and video if you have one) will be the one tangible connection to your memories of that day. Don't you want those photos to be the best you can possibly have? If you do, then you'll understand the value of paying a professional photographer what they're worth, to do your wedding photography right and to do it well.