Friday, January 01, 2010

What to look for in a GREAT wedding photographer?...

What to look for in a GREAT wedding photographer?

1. Great lighting! Here’s how to look for it…
-Are there tons of shadows in weird places…that are not good?
-The quality of people’s skin…is it shiny or soft and smooth looking?
-The colors…. are they faded and grainy looking or bright and rich?
-Look at the reception images…are they out of focus or very dark, especially in the background? Or can you see detail behind the subject and the images are nice and sharp?

2. Expressions! What to look for…
Look for people who seem to be genuinely having a good time. This tells you that the photographer has a good relationship with his/her clients and is a particularly funny or fun to work with photographer.

3. Unique angles or creative poses!
Look for photographers that use a variety of lenses (macro, wide, telephoto)…you hired a professional photographer to get photos your friends and family can’t get…that often means using gear that frankly your friends and family would not likely have. Also be on the look out for shooting from a lower or higher angle, shooting through objects to give the impression of looking in from the outside or photos with leading lines (lines within the image that lead you into the photograph). These are the sorts of things that you may not notice at first glance but will give your photos an artistic impact.

4. Personality.
Make sure you like the person and can comfortably see yourself hanging out with them. The last thing you want is a photographer hanging around all day that annoys you or drives you nuts. If you are planning to get “getting ready” shots…meaning getting into your dress…make sure you are comfortable with the person seeing you get dressed. For many women the last person they want to see them slipping into their wedding gown is another man.

5. Insurance.
Many high end or well-respected venues require all vendors to carry a million dollar liability insurance policy and will in fact make you submit an original copy naming the location on the policy. Be sure you are working with professional and not weekend warriors by simply asking if they have business insurance.

6. Ask around…to determine the photographer’s reputation in the wedding industry.
Photographers are at the wedding all day long and will likely come in contact with all of your vendors at one point or another. If you ask around…the other vendors may give you a thumbs up or thumbs down as to how they like working with him/her.

I hope this helps you!!

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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Check out my guest blog post at www.kellyoshiroevents.com/blog...

Kelly Oshiro has a great blog with tons of interviews from leading wedding vendors. She has tips, great finds, location scouting, and much much more. This week is "Photographers week". She asked me to write a little something and share my wisdom with her readers. Check it out and let me know what you think!!

Thank you Kelly for the opportunity to share some wedding photographer tips!
Check it out folks...www.kellyoshiroevents.com

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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

We were featured on Style Me Pretty!!

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Engagement session at the Santa Barbara Mission

It's been a BUSY, busy summer in Santa Barbara...











Cindy and Janice enjoyed an awesome Santa Barbara day to share their vows. They have been together for 24 years!! Just a fun group of people. I had lots of fun!

Big THANKS goes out to Kelly Oshiro for putting it all together so perfectly.

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Thursday, July 17, 2008

Sit back with a latte...Santa Barbara wedding...


LOVE this Melissa Sweet dress!


Her eyes are amazing!







They are big coffee drinkers so they had a barista at the wedding...
I had a hot chocolate (I know it sounds boring)--it was the BEST hot chocolate ever!!!



This was such a FUN wedding! We had an hour and a half with the bride to get some getting ready shots and shoot some neat images at 2 different locations and we had about an hour with the groom as well (again shooting at 2 locations). They had limited group photos on their list which allowed us to spend more time getting creative images! And let me tell ya the time was well spent--I think everyone had a great time...I know I sure did!!

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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Private Ranch Wedding just outside Santa Barbara...