After the last bridal show in Austin Tx, we got together with some friends for dinner and the conversation shifted to the cost of wedding photography and why it can be so expensive. When someone books a 5-6 hour wedding with us they may not be aware that our true time commitiment to our customer is about 30 hours.

We want our customers to understand that a professional photographer does more than “just shoot and burn a disk”. The wedding day is just the beginning. As professional photographers we always photograph in camera RAW format. This means that our workflow after the wedding is a day or so to process the 800-1500 images. Yes, we do check/adjust each image for color balance, exposure, composition etc as part of our processing. Then, we upload the entire wedding to the internet so family and friends can enjoy the photos. It takes quite a bit of time even with page templates and upload scripts to create/upload the 800-1500 thumbnail images, larger images and web proof pages.

A few months after the wedding, our happily married couple contacts us to go over their initial selection(s) for inclusion into their album and for prints. Many times we meet again and go over the 1st draft list, then select album covers, inserts or work up album page layouts. The images then go “off to the lab” for printing/processing. The appointments, lab transportation, phone calls, emails, etc add a significant amount of time to a wedding client.

Anyway, as you go about selecting your photographer or vidographer, please consider how much time and commitment your photographer is including in the “5 hour job” as you look at the cost for capturing your most special day – your wedding.

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Authored by Raymond of EverafterImages.Com

Who else would like to know the difference between photojournalistic and traditional style wedding photography?

There is a much confusion surrounding the different styles of wedding photography that professionals are shooting today. Most couples want the style and glamour that they see in magazines. They often don’t know exactly what that style is called and how a skilled photographer can make them look as good as the bride and groom in the latest trend-setting celebrity wedding. Other couples are looking for a more traditional style of wedding photography.

These are the two most common types of wedding photography; traditional and photojournalistic. While similar equipment is used in both, there are significant differences in technique and approach.

Traditional photographers concentrate most of their efforts on posed portraits, and rarely capture candid moments. The quality of traditional photography is usually judged by sharpness, lighting, correct skin tones, and the use of the background. Most traditional photos are instantly recognizable, as many poses are standard for all weddings.

The more glamorous, or modern style of photography is called Photojournalistic. It is also called documentary photography. While similarities exist between traditional and photojournalistic approaches, the main expectations of each style are very different. Traditional style is portrait oriented. Photojournalism is candid oriented. The photojournalist’s goal is to take pictures while people are not aware they are being photographed. By blending with the crowd, a photojournalist is able to capture the action as it unfolds - the true emotions, the real expressions, the happiness and joy. Instead of the traditional formal portraits and posed photos, this approach produces a more intimate, artistic take on a wedding. Photos will reflect a fleeting, unposed moment that conveys the emotions of the day.

Photojournalism means to capture the real, true thing. Visual perception of an experienced photojournalist will add a unique charm to your pictures and you will end with up emotional and artistic photos capturing the very essence of your wedding day. The Album will resemble a storybook, rather than just be a series of posed portraits.

If you are a bride that loves wedding photojournalism, it is still a good idea to choose a photographer who recognizes the value of certain aspects of traditional photography and will work aspects of that style into their wide variety of shots. The photographer will gently coax a situation, and with a little guidance and interaction with their subject, get the shot that has the look and feel of a candid, photojournalistic shot, but the compositional beauty of a traditional one. A few familiar wedding poses, mixed in with the glamorous photojournalism, can also satisfy the desire for traditional portrait style poses that many people grew up with without taking away from the overall photojournalist style.

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Renee Leveille, the principal owner of Wedded Bliss Photography, is a lifetime resident of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada. She is a graduate of the prestigious Western Academy of Photography and has combined her rigorous photographic training with a unique artistic flair. She has spent years traveling the world looking for that “perfect shot” and it shows in her world class portfolio. Renee’s academic background also includes a B.Ed. from Trinity Western University and she has taught photography internationally.

Her work has been hailed as, “the perfect blend of craftsmanship and artistry”. A quote that Renee is happy to live with, as her goal with Wedded Bliss Photography is to transform every precious memory into an actual work of art.

The most important thing you can do as the bride to ensure great wedding photography is to have a photographer you feel comfortable with! Having fun on your special day is paramount to relaxed and “real” images that you will enjoy for years to come. If the bride is relaxed and having a good time, everyone in the wedding party as well as family members will enjoy themselves, too.

Before the wedding, have an engagement session and a bridal, if possible, with your photographer so you will have a personal relationship with her. Wearing your dress during your bridal will help avoid those last minute “OMG, the zipper won’t close” panics that have and do occur! The practice session with hair and make-up will all play a role in your comfort level during the wedding and reception.

See your groom before the ceremony and get all the photos finished so you and your groom can go to the reception and have fun!

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Authored by Gretchen Birdwell.  Gretchen Birdwell is a wedding and portrait photographer located in the Birmingham, Alabama, community of Helena. Gretchen B Photography is a husband-wife team with many years experience in both film and digital photography. Gretchen has studied with a variety of international wedding photographers. She and her husband consider their style to be “freestyle” in that they blend photojournalism, illustrative, and classic photography styles. Her website is gretchenbphotography.com.

The Wedding Day! You spend months and thousands of dollars planning it: choosing the perfect theme and colors, the perfect wedding dress and shoes, the perfect venue, the perfect menu… the list goes on, not mentioning the preselected perfect groom who must at least look perfect for the day. His best men are the lost cause and you just hope for the best.

With all the gargantuan efforts that you put into this production that will fly by like one moment, what do you still have years after? I mean besides your husband?

You have your great memories of that perfect day and your photos. Especially today, when wedding photography has gone journalistic style and you can relive that perfect day in all its excitement. That, of course, if the photos turn out well.

This rarely happens and you can’t always blame your wedding photographer because things like unfavorable angle shots, smudged makeup, bunched up clothing, squinting eyes, ominous shadows, glare on eyeglasses can and do occur.

The truth is that all photos need some correction. And luckily these days photo retouching is quite affordable and easily accessable through a number of online services that will charge you about $5 or less per photo. Skilled professionals will do complete cosmetic retouching that includes fixing your hair and makeup, removing the appearance of any skin imperfections or double chins, or swipe the perspiration from the groom’s forehead. For a little bit extra they’ll slim you down, adjust your wedding dress or “open” squinting eyes. They can even remove any annoying objects or your sister’s ex-boyfriend from the picture.

They’ll keep your memories of that day perfect. After all, this is how you remember it.

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Authored by PhotoHand.

PhotoHand will retouch your wedding photos at the starting fee of $3.50/photo for complete cosmetic retouching. Also, on offer there are custom-designed save-the-date cards and wedding invitations and wedding photo books from your photo material. With professional photo retouching, skillful cropping and art effects, your book becomes an outstanding memorable piece.

You may think it’s a good idea today to have your uncle who is fairly good with a camera take the photos of the important days of your life. I’m sure uncle Harry is going to do a great job ~ you’ve seen some of the nice pictures Uncle Harry has taken on his trip to the Caribbean - you’ve seen some pictures that he’s taken while visiting friends, or being a guest at a friends Wedding.

You may even be so wrapped up in other events going on in your life that you think by just giving the “treat” of Uncle Harry the responsibility of taking care of This ONE special event for you, Whew.. that’s one thing you don’t have to think about. Uncle Harry is probably thrilled and honored at the idea of being able to give you the Gift of photographing your special events -

There are a couple of things that you may not have thought of ~ Is Uncle Harry going to be on time? Does Uncle Harry know where you’ll be at times of your day ? Does Uncle Harry really know how to use his Camera, especially in different lighting situations? Is Uncle Harry going to be hugging his Aunt Ruthie while he’s missing special moments that can’t be recaptured?
and since uncle Harry is doing this as a Favor, is he going to determine when he’s taken enough pictures? or who they are of?

When you choose your wedding Photographer you are picking the person that will be in charge of preserving the memories of your special day. This is a day that will happen once for you, it’s a day full of amazing memories that can only be captured at the precise moment. Make sure you really think about this part of your wedding planning. Photographers come in many styles, personalities and price ranges. Don’t let not being able to afford a photographer keep you from getting some great shots. Talk to your photographer and let them know if you can’t afford much ~ if it’s a photographer that takes pictures for the sheer joy of Photography, then I’m sure they’ll come up with a budget that will work perfectly for you.

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Authored By Natascha’s Photography

I am the mom of 6 wonderful children. I have always loved capturing their special expressions. I have enjoyed photography since a young age and love to capture the special moments in your life. I work a full time job during the day and I get to enjoy my photo passion in my free time. I became a Professional Freelance Photographer about 6 years ago and set my sights on Weddings and Capturing amazing moments in peoples lives. My Goal is to provide you with incredible photographs at prices that are truly affordable.. I keep my rates low because I Love what I do, and I never want something like money to stand in the way of you getting beautiful pictures and amazing memories.

How much should wedding photography cost compared to the entire wedding budget? - Almost every bride has that one thing that she will consider the most important part of her wedding day, and will usually spend the most amount of money on it. What that one thing is, depends on the bride. As far as your wedding photography budget goes, it comes down to this one simple rule: Once the cake is cut, the guests are gone, and the dress is cleaned and preserved, all you really have left afterwards are your photos.

There is no real answer as to how much you should really be spending on your wedding photography. I have talked to brides after their wedding was over, who made the mistake of spending all their money on the wedding day festivities, locations, attire and decorations. They skimped on photography. They hired a photographer with poor equipment and insufficient wedding photography knowledge. Even worse, some asked a friend or a relative who had an expensive camera, thinking he must be good, to take their wedding photos. As a result, they received bad photos. All these brides that I’ve talked to regret their decision. All that money and effort spent on making everything perfect will never be remembered properly.

…picture this:

On your first anniversary you sit together with your family and close friends around the table. You open your wedding album and you all relive page by page your wedding day by looking at all the wonderful memories the potographer created for you. You remember how you felt doing the first dance with your husband. You see the beautiful flowers, can almost taste the cake. This is what wedding photography should be all about and you can’t put a price tag on this.

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Authored By Hardy Klahold

With his 28 years of experience as an international award winning photojournalist, Hardy Klahold is trained to tell stories with his photos.
Trained in Germany as a photojournalist
Hardy is a people person. During his job Hardy turns into the fly on the wall and captures all of the emotion of the wedding and he create life long memories for the bride and groom. Check out more of Hardy’s work at hardyklaholdphotography.com

Every photographer has his own style of shooting to capture memorable images, but what makes these images truly great? While the content of the image itself plays a large role, whether an image is presented in color or black and white can also have a significant impact on the photograph.

If you were to look at an image captured in color, then look at that same image as black and white, chances are that it would speak differently to you, with an entirely different message. In fact, the whole mood of an image can be changed by the decision of how to show it. Images full of emotion might be better presented in black and white, whether its a tearful bride receiving that last kiss from dad as they walk down the aisle or the excitement of being announced as husband and wife for the first time. Without color, the background elements and environmental distractions are eliminated and the emotion of the scene becomes clearer.

A photograph of a couple walking on the beach, or frolicking in a field of sunflowers would probably present better in color, as the color is very much part of the story. In these situations, color helps to narrate the event by offering a sense of place and conjuring up a feeling of what it would be like to be there. It is likely that the portrait of a flower girl in her new dress would have more appeal to family when it is presented in color because there is an emotional attachment or characteristic such as the youthfulness of the little girl, and its a representation of how beautiful she looked that day. However, the image of the same little girl in the arms of her daddy, exhausted from dancing and the excitement of the day, may better tell the story in black and white.

Typically, the overall the choice of black and white vs. color is subjective and based on the content of the image and the story it tells. Often, opting to use color may be the best way to convey subjects and scene better, but if the image lacks impact in color, you might find a stronger message in black and white. The choice can be tough, but if you look closely, one version will clearly present itself as the best representation to you.

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Authored by Mark Gardner from Mark Gardner Photography

Mark Gardner is the owner and principal photographer at Mark Gardner Photography based in Maryland serving the entire mid atlantic region as well as Metropolitan areas worldwide.