Wedding Photography: Tips to Preserve Your Day.

Wedding Photography Can Be the Perfect Way to Remember your Day.

Your wedding will likely be one of the most important days of your life, so capturing memories is vitally important. You want to find a cheap wedding photographer, but you also want someone who can deliver professional wedding photography. When searching for a photographer, you may want to ask the following questions. We got to speak to Mick from Vladimir Photography about his work and choosing the perfect photographer.

1. How can I find a great photographer when there are so many to choose from?

Start by narrowing your search down. Select a few photographers that really stand out for you and arrange to meet them personally. Make sure that you meet with the actual photographer and not a sales representative or consultant. These people will not be the one doing the actual work and may only be interested in selling their services. Get to know your photographer well so that you can develop a good working relationship.

2. How many photos will I receive?

Many wedding photographers typically deliver between fifty and 100 photos for every hour spent doing wedding photography coverage. However, you may feel that you need more or less than this. If so, be sure to discuss this with them.

3. How can I get photos with blurry backgrounds?

To get wedding photography with shallow depth fields, request your photographer to use special professional lenses that can create this effect by focusing tightly on the subjects.

4. It appears that some of the photographers I found have different types of images, where some of them use soft, pastel images, and others use clean images. Why is there no uniformity among all of them?

Each photographer has different methods of editing their images using computer software. This is known as “post-processing” and most of them use basic lighting and color adjustments to achieve certain looks. The three most popular image styles are:

Clean: when images are lightly processed to appear more natural.

Matte: using a low-contrast look with muted pastels.

High Contrast: vibrant images with rich colors.

Discuss the various styles with your photographer to choose a look that you like best.

5. Why does wedding photography cost so much?

Most full-time wedding photographers generally have to invest several thousands of dollars in equipment. On top of that, they also normally have to pay for insurance, taxes, digital software, advertising, albums, equipment repairs, shipping costs, and studio expenses. All of these expenses are included in the cost of your wedding photos. Many photographers generally do not earn a lot when they are first starting out.

6. How can I look my best for my photos?

Just try to relax and leave some breathing room in your schedule so you don’t feel too rushed. If you are rushed, you may be anxious and flushed during the photo-shoot. Get plenty of rest and drink lots of water the night before.

7. What is “shoot and burn” photography?

This is when a photographer does a wedding shoot and burns the images straight onto a CD without doing the post-processing. This is normally a very cheap way to do wedding photography; however, it means that the photographer cannot make any changes, such as correcting bad lighting and removing distracting elements. Digital files are good to have, but it is also useful to edit the images and have reference proofs printed as well.

8. Should we do a “first look” shoot?

The first look photos are taken when wedding couples see each other privately before the ceremony. It’s often a great way to get rid of the wedding jitters and spend a few minutes alone together. First look photos tend to be very poignant and emotional for couples.

9. Should I get a second photographer?

You do not necessarily need a second photographer, but they can often provide you with more images and a different perspective. Many photographers prefer to only work with their own assistants. You should ask your photographer how they prefer to work.

To find out more about Vladimir Photography you can visit their website here.

Christopher and Jessamine’s Vegas Wedding

Ever dreamt of a Vegas Wedding? Here is the wedding story of Christopher and Jessamine who were married in Las Vegas and then celebrated with a reception party in Australia with their closest family and friends. Here is their love story.

What you do for work

Jessamine: I work for Chandler Macleod Group- an international HR services company. I organize our internal and external events, am involved in project support, admin support and any cultural events.

Christopher: I work at UnitingCare Community for the Holiday Program. We provide care for children who have a diagnosed disability or special needs during the school holiday periods. I supervise the program during the weeks it operates, and facilitate its organization during the rest of the year

Tell us a little about the proposal and the lead up to the wedding?

We were engaged only two months after meeting, and married 6 months later! Christopher made truffle pizza and sat me down in the back garden where he delivered the most beautiful speech. I cried, and said yes obviously! I don’t have immediate family, and Christopher’s family travel with the circus so we were lucky in that we had a lot of freedom to choose where and how we wanted to get married, without upsetting any parents! We both felt strongly about getting married somewhere that gay marriage was legal, so we decided on the USA… which led to planning the ceremony in Vegas, under the ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign!

To celebrate with our friends, we decided to have a reception back in Brisbane when we arrived home. I did still want some bridal party-esque photos, so I sent notes to my best girlfriends asking them to wear black to the reception, so that we could get special photos together. (They called themselves my non-bridesmaids) I also had silver infinity knot rings made by an etsy store to give to all the girls, and our photographer was brilliant- he loved the concept and we ended up with the most amazing photos that captured our vision perfectly.

What was the inspiration behind your wedding theme / vibe?

Vegas was 40 degrees celcius, so we went with light comfort! I made sure the florist I was working with knew that we were getting married outdoors, so the flowers were appropriate to last in the heat for a few hours! We hired a town car to take us to the ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign, and met the minister and photographer there. My hair and make up was also done along the same lines- styled to withstand a few hours of overbearing sun!

When we got home to Australia for the reception, it was winter and rainy! We chose a restaurant on the Brisbane river that is hugely special to us, undercover (!) and had excellent photo op spaces nearby. The restaurant itself was a sort of French provincial style so the decorations we decided on were rustic and simple- flowers, mason jars, twine and wooden cutlery!

Favourite detail and/or moment of the day (besides becoming husband and wife of course! or Wife and Wife, or Husband and Husband!)

Oh my goodness there are so many! We both chose to repeat traditional vows, but insert our own few lines at the end. I loved that we were able to keep with tradition but personalize it a touch. Since we had the legal ceremony in Las Vegas, we found a website that links public webcams to a live streaming website. We gave the address to our friends and family so that they could watch it happen in real time!

Did you undertake any DIY projects, if so what?

With some help from an etsy provider, we made ‘hangover kits’ as our wedding favours, for guests to take home. These included a bottle of Fiji water, a lollipop, a sachet of hydralyte, a bandaid and two panado, all in a little hessian bag with our wedding details on the front. My bridesmaids and I made 60 of them a few nights before the reception! As people came in there were welcome cocktails (elderflower spritz), along with a sign asking people to take a cocktail on their way in, and a hangover kit on their way out! We also framed and hung photos from our ceremony in Las Vegas, at the reception.

Any family or religious traditions incorporated into your day?

No religious aspects. The only thing Christopher asked to be included somehow was something about the Chinese ‘Red String of Fate’ legend. It’s always resonated with Chris, who believes strongly in fate and kismet. I found a jeweler who makes titanium rings, with a strip of enamel colour set through them- so was able to get one with a red ‘string’ for Christopher.

What does marriage mean to you?

We spent a long time speaking about this before the ceremony. Both Chris and I were aware that we were getting married relatively quickly, but knew that it was the right decision. For us it was about celebrating finding that person, who you are a better person with together, than you are separately. And then making a commitment to grow together. Making these vows at the ceremony was definitely the most meaningful part of our wedding, and while we missed having friends and family there- we both felt that it was almost more significant, and special, that we got to do this by ourselves.

Talk to us about your dress, where is it from? how long did it take to find etc etc

I was so lucky with this aspect- because I wanted something short and lightweight for Las Vegas, and short but lined for Brisbane- it was a lot easier hunting for white cocktail style dresses than for a full blown bridal gown! As beautiful as wedding dresses are, my style is definitely less formal and much more casual.

My Las Vegas dress ended up being an Elise Ryan kaftan from the UK, and the reception dress was white lined lace cocktail dress from Vividress

Any funny stories in the lead up to or on the day?

I’ve racked my brain, but honestly everything was smooth sailing, and completely wonderful!

Advice for other couples planning a wedding?

If you can- elope! Then have a reception at home with your friends. You get to combine your ceremony and honeymoon, there’s so much less stress and pressure, not to mention huge financial savings, and you get to celebrate twice!

VENDORS

Ceremony – Public venue! “Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign, LV Nevada

Transport – Presidential Limousine.

Celebrant & photography – Reverend Daniel Peck & Pia Peck.

Flowers – Flowers of the Field, Las Vegas.

Hair and Make up – Kelly Moore.

Bridal gown – Elise Ryan

Shoes – Country Road

Grooms suit- Country Road shirt & tie, Tarocash pants, wife’s fedora.

Reception – Jude’s Kitchen, Brisbane QLD.

Stationery designer – Minted Design.

Photos – Bryce Harvey, Harvey House Photography

Hair and Make up – Katharine Donnelly.

Bridal gown – Vivid Dress.

Shoes – Witchery

Grooms suit- Country Road shirt & tie, Tarocash pants, Best man’s jacket after wife rubbed half her face of make up off on his shirt.

Catering – Jude Kitchen.

Cake – The Cupcake Taste, Graceville QLD.

Wedding favours – Clementine Weddings.

Metal Prints for Indie Lane Photography

Get metal prints of your wedding photos!

We recently worked with Indie Lane Photography to print some of their stunning wedding photos onto metal. Metal prints are a unique and effective way to capture and showcase special moments in your home. Metal photos look sleek and stylish! If you’re looking to add a metal photo, then all you need is digital image or digital artwork. Follow our friends at Indie Lane on Facebook to see more of their amazing work!