wedding photography

[OtterXO]

I absolutely love photographers who have the talent of capturing really great candid shots. I think the posed shots can be nice too, but I prefer them to look as though the camera isn't there.

One of my friends hired a great photographer and there was some mix up with scheduling and she ended up with this awful guy. He had no idea how to deal with lighting (especially since it was outdoors!) and most of the photos ended up with severe shadows across everyone's faces. It was just terrible, I felt so bad for her. If I get married that is definitely the one thing I'm not going to scrimp on, especially after seeing her try to desperately make an album out of the 5 good shots and a bunch of shadowed shots.

[PhoenixAzul]

This is coming from my photo training and my just married bridal self.

Talk to your photographer, show them examples of what sorts of pictures you like (like the cool group shot above, or if you want the dramatic "demure bride" pictures). But understand that each photographer has their own style, and it isn't really on to ask them to reproduce another photographer's shot. Generally, they'll use it as inspiration and take your advice, because hey! you're the client. It's all about striking a balance between your needs and wants and the abilities of the photographer. If it's possible, try to schedule some sort of "tweener" session with them...not your engagement photos, but maybe just some couple shots, before going whole hog on a contract for a wedding. They might be brilliant in the portfolio, but you may find that their personality just doesn't jive with yours and all your pictures end up looking like you were eating sour apples. It is all about the balance.

On the shots...my favorite shots of the whole wedding are of the Chicken Dance and the hokey pokey (it's Pittsburgh, it ain't a wedding without without a chicken dance). The kids are happy and smiling, we all look silly, we're all holding hands, and it's a mix of everyone...family, friends, young, old. So throwing in a goofy song can yield a brilliant picture opportunity.

We asked our photographer for a lot of journalistic shots, but we also requested some traditional formal portraits at the church to satisfy the parents/grands.