How to Plan Your Wedding Photography

Taking steps to ensure you have the best photography possible at your wedding can be a tedious and daunting task, but it’s a task that leaves no room for error. Putting in the time and effort to get the right venue and photographer is one of the most important things you can do before your big day. Here are some steps to plan your wedding photography.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• venue
• budget

1. Sit down with your fiancé and determine what, exactly, you wish to get out of the photography at your wedding. You will need to know how many pictures you want, where those pictures will be taken and who will take them.

2. Get an idea of the kind of place you and your fiancé would like to get married. Consider the lighting, the ambiance and the space in which a photographer would be working.

3. Go through the steps of hiring a wedding photographer. Determine who you want to hire based on cost, experience, and ability. Hire the photographer, and reiterate the date of the wedding often. You will have consultations with the photographer prior to the date, so gather ideas and questions.

4. Book a venue you and your fiancé want, keeping your eyes out for photographic appeal. It shouldn’t be your main criteria for holding your wedding at a particular venue, but you will want something that can be photographed very well--i.e. has adequate lighting and an appealing backdrop.

5. Bring the venue information--location, size, ambiance--to the wedding photographer you hired, and discuss with him/her and your fiancé different ideas on pictures or specific scenery you would like to have.

6. Set a plan with the photographer, and make sure all of you are on the same page in terms of what is expected. When the big day comes, the photographer shouldn’t have a problem in simply taking the pictures per your requests.

Tips & Warnings

• Most photographers will charge a flat fee to attend the wedding and shoot pictures. You then purchase the specific pictures you want at the sizes you want after it.
• Lend equal weight to both the backdrop of the venue and the cost. There could be a location that would look beautiful when captured in a picture, but costs a huge amount. You can find a place that has both.
• Look at references for the photographer, along with his/her portfolio. You may want to look for someone else if the photographer cannot provide these things.