Professional Guest Photographer

Photo by: Brett with Birdsong Photography (with permission)

 I was wandering along my Facebook stream, and I happened upon this... it's a view I've seen more times than I can count and it makes me sad.



It makes me sad for a few reasons; 1. This means that the Professional Photographer is missing a potential once in a lifetime image, that the bride and the groom are paying them to capture. And 2. This means that the guest(s) are really not "in the moment" they are too busy glued to their digital device to enjoy the actual moment and create a memory, rather than a less than stellar photo.



Here's the deal, this image sparked a really nice conversation amongst Professional Photographers, and I wanted to share this with you, mostly because I love ya'll so much. And becasue knowing your special day is coming up, you may want to ask Aunt Martha to P-U-T-T-H-E-C-A-M-E-R-A-D-O-W-N.



Your photographer is paid really good money to take amazing pictures of you on your wedding day and can miss something vital that cannot be redone, or reinacted, or restagged.



Brett (the photographer) also has a clause in his contract that states: "...you, the bride/groom, understand that well-meaning guests with cameras are responsible for missed shots." It totally bites that a photographer has to have something like that in their contract.



Some of the photographers weighed in:



"I missed a 'kiss' shot once because someone with on-camera-flash double flashed my nicer, softer, bounced flash. *sigh*." (said Photographer Megan)



"I missed the brides and grooms exit, with sparklers and everything, because of the grooms dad!" (said Photographer Michelle)



"...linebacker bridesmaid a couple of years ago that body-slammed me so she could get the bouquet toss with her iPhone..which I missed because of said body-slamming..." (said Photographer Brett)

I remember a couple of years ago Off Beat Bride did a post on An Unplugged Wedding. This is something to definitely consider.



What are your thoughts?

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March 18, 2013 No Comments

Elevator Wedding Pictures

Original Source: More than an Image

I just think this would be such a cool way to end your wedding album.



(and now, of course, I have Love in an Elevator stuck in my head)

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November 02, 2012 No Comments

Hire a Professional Photographer

I could get on my soap box right now, and tell you how important it is to hire a professional photographer, if you've read my blog for a while, you know that I didn't hire a professional for my wedding, and wound up with green photographs. Green. Like Green, Green.



Don't believe me... check it out!



Okay, so here you see why Aunt Martha may not be the best choice for your wedding photography. Cuz, she did such a great job at my wedding.



So, here are side by side images that were taken around the same time... the one on the left... professional photographer. The one of the right, a friend with a super nice camera.



In the interest of full disclosure - I stole this photograph from Planning...Forever Events

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October 05, 2012 No Comments

Rae Leytham: Amazing Photography

I believe that a photographer's sole job is to capture your wedding on film and tell a story, your wedding story.



So when looking for your wedding photographer, ask to look at their albums (digital or book or whatever) and if you can't really see a story, then well, you've been warned.



When I saw this wedding on Rae Leytham's site, I just knew I was smitten with this couple, and I hadn't even met them. Yet I felt like I was totally at their wedding.... maybe I was the Maid of Dishonor in my head... did I just say that outloud?

This was just a snippet from this amazing couple's wedding, check out Rae's blog for more gorgeousness!



What was your determining factor when looking for your photographer?

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October 04, 2012 No Comments

Ring Pictures

I kinda love pictures of wedding rings, they symbolize so much.



So, when I am looking for gorgeous images, I tend to go for the rings....



I was stalking a photographer's blog - Russell Martin, and I stole borrowed some of his ring pictures...

What do you love about your wedding rings?



Is there anything fun you want to do with your rings for your wedding pictures?

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September 28, 2012 No Comments

What size portrait should I get for my wall

Portrait sizing by Meg Fish

This example shows a baby, but really it could be anything... a wedding image, an image you took with your camera and want to get a print for the wall over the couch or mantle...



I just thought this was a great idea to show you just how small an 8x10 looks on the wall.



What do you think? Does this help you?

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September 19, 2012 No Comments