Tag: photography

Wedding Day Photographer Tips

Posted by admin – July 13, 2009

Most couples making wedding day plans have a lot of things that they do take into consideration. They coordinate the date according to vacation times from work. Or they coordinate the wedding day for the family to be able to make it into town. Or they make plans according to the availability of the church or restaurant.

But one of the biggest things they fail to plan for on the wedding day is the photographer.  This is no small matter.  And I am not just saying it because I am a wedding photographer. 

No planning the wedding day with the wedding photographer in mind could mean all the difference in the world. Especially when you realize that the photos are what are going to last a lifetime.

What are the things to think about when making plans with the photographer in mind. The date and time.

Let’s start with the time.  How many couples would want their photographer rushing through the photo shoot? I am pretty certain that most people, couples especially, will not raise their hand to that thought. 

Not even thinking about your photographer, most of the times the bride and groom will do just that. The couple or family basically rush the photographer to try and take all the pictures. 

How so you ask? A good amount of times, for instance, a couple will have a time let’s say 1-2 pm. With the reception beginning at 2:30. How many photos can the photographer really take with only half an hour to work with?  Not many.

Even worse, let’s say he does take all the shots? Do you think they are going to take good quality shots when they are rushed? No way.

So plan the wedding and reception with enough time in between to take the photos.

Second thing to consider when planning with the photographer in mind is your photographer’s availability.

Most probably don’t realize this, but most good photographers will be booked months in advance.  And if you are dealing with let’s say a large photography company, they may have several photographers.

Well without considering your photographers availability on the wedding day could turn into a disaster. Because when you reserve that special day, without making sure your photographer is available, come wedding day you might get a shock when you find somebody totally different.

This can happen when dealing with a large photographer company. You may not even realize that they have a staff of photographers and if the photographer you liked is booked, unless you ask, they might not tell you.  When your wedding day comes, they might just outsource their work or a second rate photographer might show up.

So be prepared and don’t let this happen.  Planning your wedding day is wonderful. Be sure that you also plan it thinking about your wedding photographer.

Lighting Tips to Help You Take Better Pictures

Posted by admin – June 10, 2009

In this day and age of digital cameras, you’ve probably heard or thought that all you have to do is push the button and great pictures magically appear.  Not so fast.  The truth is you can have the top of the line digital camera, but if you don’t know what you are doing, you will take lousy shots.

I would love to give you some good tips to help you improve your photography skills.  These tips are coming from years of experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.These tips are all about the lighting and they will some of biggest reasons for you success in taking photographs.

First great tip in regards to lighting.Now if the shots you will take are going to be outdoors during the day, the natural sunlight will be some of the best lighting possible.  Now you are probably thinking, “that’s easy, when you are a San Diego photographer since it is always shiny there”, when in actuality really bright sunlight can cast harsh shadows.Or it could blur the details of faces when the sun is overhead.

Overall, you are going to want to take most of the shots with the sun behind you.This stops any harsh shadows in your photo caused by the sun.But there will be those times and instances when you want different angles to get those shadows into the shots.

Now that we have addressed the shots during the day, what about those night shots? 

The trick to taking night shots is to turn off your flash.Now if it is pictch black, of course you will need it, but if there are some lighting, use it, but make sure the shutter speeds are slower to let the light in.  Also you want to stay steady when taking the shot or you will blur the photos.Applying these couple of techniques will make a dramatic difference for those nights shots you take. 

The final tips to using lighting for great shots is using the golden hour.  There is something photographers call the “golden hour” or magic hour, and that time is sunrise and sunset.

These times of day you wll be able to capture great shots because you will get the more warmer and inviting colors.  You will be able to capture that golden lighting you won’t catch any other time of day.

There you have it.Probably the biggest tip in taking beautiful photos is to make use of the natural lighting around you.  Knowing what techniques to use for different parts of the day, or just scheduling a photo shoots to capture those times of day will help you become an excellent photographer.