The Art of a Wedding
How to Get Award-Winning Photos at Every Wedding
By
Cherie Steinberg Coté
SMASHWORDS EDITION
Copyright 2010 by Cherie Steinberg Coté
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If the photography is the most important thing to you on your wedding day, then this book is for you…
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 – Working with the Photographer, Who is Now Your New Best Friend
Chapter 2 – Right Place, Right Time
Chapter 3 - Fashion Tips for the Bride – Ooh La La – Who Said a Pair of Shoes Can’t Change the World?
Chapter 4 - Make-up &Hair: How to Make Sure You Have a Good Hair Day
Chapter 5 - Getting Ready: Remember the Room
Chapter 6 - The Ceremony
Chapter 7 - The Dreaded Wedding Formals: How to Make it Work and Have Fun
Chapter 8 - The Reception
Chapter 9 - Pre-Wedding Considerations
Final - Posing Tips for Bride and Photographer
Resources
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Introduction
Have you ever gone to a wedding as a photographer or a wedding guest and thought, “Wow, that is so strange! Why would they put the ceremony in that spot?” or “Wow, they put the tables in such a weird way in the room...” The purpose of this book is to help you not make mistakes on your wedding day.
While no wedding goes perfectly according to plan, this book will help you see, understand and think about things that you would never have thought of before… And why would you? It is not your business to plan parties or events...
Since I have been attending and photographing weddings for over 13 years now, each time I came home from attending or photographing a wedding, I would put suggestions in a little box, knowing that one day I would be giving all this information to my Brides.
As an award-winning photographer, my entire being is about making award-winning images – not just for myself but also for my clients. Over the past 13 years, I have seen so many things (both good and bad). Planning could have made the difference between an average photograph and a magical, amazing image. Isn’t that what your Wedding Day is all about? Who wants average? As the photographer, ‘exceptional’ is what I live for, as do the Bride and Groom. This book is primarily for the Bride and Groom to direct the visual artistry of their Wedding Day, or at least to provide the tools as you consider photographers you may want to work with.
Of course, I have also written the book for all the Wedding photographers who want to make award-winning images for their clients. I truly hope you find the information in this book to be of benefit to you. It is intended as a gift to you, the Bride. I hope my years of experience make things better and easier for you. Years after your wedding, as you enjoy your wall portraits and albums with your husband, you can remember the moment and experience the love between you – and not get distracted by the less than outstanding details in the photograph…Your wedding photographs will become a family heirloom and part of your legacy. You will be able to cherish your images for a lifetime.
You might find one or two tips “repeat”, that is intentional; those concepts are so important, that I might state them in slightly different ways, so if they are not clear in the context of one chapter, they may be clear in another.
I wish you a lifetime of happiness. Let it begin with great wedding pictures.
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Chapter 1: Working With the Photographer Who is Now Your New Best Friend
1. One of the biggest tips I can give you is – and it’s so important I am going to boldface it and shout – DO NOT SKIMP ON THE PHOTOGRAPHER! Find one you REALLY like and pay the price – even if you hire them to photograph the wedding now and you have to wait to buy the album or images. And by all means, HIRE A PROFESSIONAL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER! I have heard a thousand stories how couples hired their friend's friend or a cousin to photograph their wedding, and at the end of the day there was not even one image that they liked. A very sad story.
Choosing the photographer is probably the most important step you will make after you choose your Bride or Groom. Please don’t laugh here. The photography industry does not require any kind of a license or a degree. Therefore, there are many people that pick up a camera, create a business card, have good marketing skills and are likable. But they are not good photographers. There are many stories of people that did not get even one photo that they love from their wedding. This is a tragedy!!
2. The photographer can make the wedding. They are like the psychiatrist, the fashion photographer, the stylist, technical engineer, psychologist, mother, father, friend and comedian. They are your eyes and your ears. They may even make or break the wedding. The photography decision is the one where all your guests will either say, “Wow, what an amazing team of people you chose. They were incredible, capturing every detail of the day.” Or they will be the people that the guests will say, “Hmm, what a jerk the photographer was.”
Love your photography studio and then love their images. The relationship between you and your photographer needs to be very personal. It’s like choosing the right doctor or the right house. It is a very important decision. If you have to get a cheaper cake or get chicken instead of beef, do it!! Take the $1000 savings and transfer it to the photographers. Again I urge… Please – do not skimp on the photographer. Your photographer will create your family heirlooms. That is why you need to get the best photographer you can afford. To give you some perspective of how important this person will be in your life, I’ll share with you that many of our clients become personal friends. Our studio later photographs their pregnancies, their children, and their families. We are included in all family functions and photograph them for years to come, and oftentimes photograph extended family, neighbors and friends. We become woven into their lives.
3. This is most likely your first party that you have ever planned. It is not an easy task. It can be overwhelming and daunting. Please, please, please hire professionals! I suggest to all my Brides to hire a wedding planner at least for the day of the wedding. There is nothing worse that trying to photograph a Bride and have a good time and make romantic images of her and her Groom, only to have her being hounded by people asking questions about where the candles go and where are the flowers and how is this or that done.
These are all things that need to be put in the hands of the planner. She is the go-to girl for the day. This day of your wedding is for enjoying, being with people you love and looking (and feeling) like a princess.
4. Talk to the photographer about the timeline well in advance of the day’s activities. Involve them with the day's organization so they can add to it. A good photographer will have valuable input about the timing of events and the best way to plan the photos. I have seen some Brides give this power to the wedding planner. Not the best plan. Would you ask the florist about cake decorating? If it were up to others, you might be taking the pictures in the dark outside but you do not want to do that. The timing is crucial for the best images. The lighting will make or break an image, so the photographer who has shot hundreds of weddings knows all about timing, lighting at different times of the day and in different places in the venue; they should be involved with this process right from the beginning.
One bride and groom got married at sunset and into the dark. This is a Jewish custom. The image is a fun image for sure but not great circumstances for the photographer. If you can get married in the day near sunset, that is the cherry time for magic wedding photos.
5. If you want great photos (which we know you do), give the photographer time to get them. You give the make-up and hair people lots of time (hours in fact); do the same for the photographer. Plan a half hour for “getting ready” images, after you are all made up. Why take photos of you when you have no makeup on? Have most of the makeup finished by the time the photographer arrives for “getting ready” shots. Also a half hour for photos of just the Bride and the Groom. Do not get annoyed. It might take a few minutes for them to set up to get what will be your shots of a lifetime. The lighting is the most important thing to make pictures really great, and photography is a technical job; setting up for a shot is sometimes a necessity. Give the photographer the time and the respect so they can do the best job possible.
6. If you want great photos, do your homework. Look at fashion magazines and wedding magazines for inspiration. Practice posing. When you do your couple shots, you will make great poses naturally without having to rely the photographer to look at every single detail (for example, the placement of your hands). They will be in the right place. Natural poses add to the moment.
7. Look at movies. My favorite is "Funny Girl.” Barbara Streisand and Omar Sharif do some of the greatest posing for pictures together and alone. It is a feast. Watch and learn from the best.
8. Do an engagement shoot with the photographer. This is a very important step on so many levels, and a great way to get to know the photographer. It is also a time where the photographer can study you both to see how you are in front of the camera and give you pointers, all while bonding together. During this session, get your makeup done with the makeup artist to check on what makeup you want for the wedding day, this has the dual purpose of looking fabulous for the engagement shoot, and for you to know the best makeup for your wedding day. More on makeup later.
There are times when you cannot meet with the photographer prior to the wedding day. You are in a different state, cannot do an engagement shoot, etc. There are all sorts of reasons that this is not part of the program. For higher-end photographers (or higher-end Brides), it might not be possible with timing and scheduling. In that case, you have to get a sense on the phone and through emails of the vibe of the company and how you are treated and responded to. That will tell you a lot about your wedding day experience.
9. Look at photos that you like and send them to the photographer so he or she gets an idea of the photographs that you might want for yourself. Do this for the engagement shoot and the wedding. I had a client who was a lawyer, and she spent so much time finding photos and ideas that she liked, which in turn gave me a ton of ideas. When she did the engagement shoot, she and her fiancé and dog all got dressed up and we went to a local mansion. We created some amazing images that they used for the program. She had this in mind when we shot the engagement photos and they really worked out well. These images are on her wall five years later.
10. Film or Digital? This seems to be a question that some wedding sites have on their list of questions that Brides should be asking. It is really not an important question in my opinion. As photographers, we all make a decision to shoot either film or digital or both, but the bottom line is the final image and how it looks. It makes no difference if it came from film or digital. A good photographer makes those decisions for a variety of reasons, trust that they have studied all the various ways and have chosen film or digital based on certain criteria, and that it will be the most beneficial for you.