Tuesday, August 18th, 2009...3:50 pm
Wedding Photojournalist Tips: Wedding Logistics Part I
The title sums it all. I’ve discovered some small things will make a big difference in your working day.
Being at the right place and the right time is crucial if you’re a wedding photojournalist. Tangent: I’m more of a fauxtojournalist (Coined by Jerry Ghionis). I like to create moments as well as capture the moment.
The Truth: We’re not perfect. You can’t get every shot Mister/Madam Wedding Photographer
Nonetheless, you can’t always be in the right place in the right time. It’s a part of life: You cannot optimally capture 100% of the shots. Even if you do you might have to throw away a lot of the shots you took. We’re all not robots and we’re not perfect. It’s why the photo gods created photoshop (I wasn’t referring to erasers silly!). Leaving the joking aside, you shouldn’t rely on photoshop and that’s a total different subject.
We may convey this to our brides to the utmost certainty; the harsh reality is that you cannot capture all the shots. Even voodoo won’t be able to save you this time. On the positive note, if you’re prepared and the photography gods are on your side your odds of getting more perfect shots will increase.
I’ll cover the duh’s and the do’s on getting optimal shots.
Part I: Getting to your bride
Ok so the following are pretty obvious sometimes and even funny. But it’s the damn truth. Make sure you get these down. You can’t shoot great pictures if you’re not on time or even near your bride.
- Ask your bride some good questions for the wedding. In the next blog post I will provide a templated list or form you can print out that’ll provide you a worksheet where you can write in some standard questions for wedding logistics.
- Make sure you know where the wedding occuring – Make sure that you have all the information that will allow you to get there on time. This is an obvious duh; but sometimes it might cross your mind because you’ve waited till the last minute to write down where her wedding is.
- Confirmation – Have the bride confirm the venues a couple days before the wedding. Wedding cancellations are common in a recession like this. Make sure everything is still on.
- Check traffic the day of the wedding – I know some of you might live in areas where traffic may not exist; but for me (I live in Detroit) and traffic and construction are a major headache sometimes. Make sure you get your self a good gps as well. This is one of the good habits of wedding photographers i’ve mentioned previously. You may also want to use google maps to consult the
- Use monuments to visualize your route - Use google street view – I’m a visual guy. I need to see thing where the wedding church may look like.
- Location scouting – This is a add on to the previous point. Do location scouting through google street view. If you live near a metropolis where most weddings may be held; most likely google has the street level view of how buildings may look. This may allow you to know where to position your bride near the venues where the wedding maybe held: reception hall, church/place of worship, parks for in between shots.
- Own the town you live in: Keep a log of some great places around town that you know are great shots.
Part II to be continued later…
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