We really enjoy the relationship we’ve built with our photographer. How do we make his life easier come the wedding day?

It must be Christmas!

First of all, I hope I’m your photographer. Secondly, speaking for all photographers, thank you for caring enough to ask.  Here’s a quick top 5 things you can do to make your photographer’s life much easier.

  1. Be clear about what you’re expecting. Don’t show up with a shot list of 1,000 specific images you want captured. Hopefully by the time the wedding comes around you should have a good amount of faith in your photographer. However, if there is something you’re looking for specifically, don’t be afraid to address it.
  2. Pay on time. That one may seem harsh, but the last thing anyone wants is confusion about payment to cloud up the big day. Our contract states that the final balance will be closed out at least 2 weeks prior to the wedding date. Take the time to go over your contract and know your deliverables.  Your photographer should be doing the same.
  3. Have someone to be a liaison. In particular, if you are going to have formal portraits with family members, make sure someone who knows them is there to help wrangle everyone and speed up the process. You will have just been married, you’ll have enough going on and your photographer doesn’t know Uncle Tommy or Cousin Sherry.  It’s very easy for someone to be left out. I didn’t get a photo with my Aunt, Uncle, or 1st Cousin at my wedding through no one’s real fault. It just got lost in the shuffle.
  4. Know your time limits. If you paid your photographer for 8 hours, don’t assume that you’ve purchased 8 and a 1/2. A photographer sells time and while some are more lenient than others, don’t abuse their good nature.
  5. Make sure your photographer is fed. It’s very easy for people to overlook the fact that 12 hours of wedding coverage can pass by very easily without the photographer getting a break to sit down, let alone eat. Some photographers put meals into their contract, but even if yours didn’t, make sure they get a meal (or meals).

BONUS

  • Help to set the tone for amateur photographers. Those relatives who love photography and want to give you a very special image that they captured are common place at any wedding. The problem is that in doing so it’s very easy for them to over step boundaries and in turn lower the quality of the images your photographer can provide you. If I were to worry that someone could out shoot me then I would probably be in the wrong business. My worry is with interference with moments we can’t get back. We have been fairly lucky so far and haven’t lost many shots because of this, but I’ve heard horror stories of people jumping into aisles for the 1st kiss and causing the hired photographer to get a shot of the guests bald spot. If you’ve got friends or family who consider themselves photographers, casually try and set some ground rules for them. It’s always an awkward position for the photographer. We don’t know them, are usually on a tight schedule, and never want to offend anyone associate with our couples.

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