Tips and Tricks on how to Choose a Professional Wedding Photographer

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I am sure you all heard and read about lots of tips and advice from bridal sites, wedding sites or wedding directory sites, some of you may have asked your friends where and how to find a wedding photographer.

Your formal bridal photograph

Wedding related websites provide you with ideas and the necessary know-how so you can have a stunning wedding, of which you can proudly say "This is MY wedding". I've seen many "Bridal Portraits" taken in a small studio; the bride stood still looking at the camera, with all senses within her body, she managed to squeeze a sweet smile when the shutter "clicked". She looked like a dull plastic barbie doll on print, very unnatural.

Granted there are some old time photographers, who still prefer a studio for formal bridal shots; that's because it's more show than anything else. This is the 21th century, our life style has changed, and our technology advancements in photography no longer limit us to a studio. A formal wedding portrait no longer needs to be taken behind a closed door, with stiff, limited backdrop selections, while giant lights are beating on you during the photo session; no wonder all the studio photographs look fake. The famous fashion photographers are still working in studios for magazines or model shoots, but their studio set up is worth thousands of dollars, unlike the little room your photographer cramped you in for hours. The most beautiful photographs are taken outdoors, because the natural light allows the camera to capture the full color range and warmth of the skin. Try to have your format bridal portrait taken outdoors, feel the air brushing through your beautiful veil, let the wind, the natural surrounding contrast your beautiful dress, let the natural lighting be the perfect composition on your portrait. At this time, only this time, your emotions and feelings can captivate the viewer. In case you haven't noticed, celebrity bridal shots are never taken in a studio. Things to remember when choosing an outdoor bridal photo shoot

1. Choose the right background
2. Choose a photographer who has a special portrait lens - a telephoto-lens with defocus adjustment, its the bomb when shooting portraits.
3. Think about happy things during the photo shoot - your favorite song, your loved one, etc. these are the keys in capturing your most natural expression.
4. Choose a photographer with artistic flair in his/her work or your portrait will be just another cookie cutter shot.
5. Choose a photographer who knows how to use the natural light to bring out the best contrast in a formal portrait.
6. Choose a photographer with best equipment and solid knowledge in art.

Your wedding photograph:

3. How does your wedding photographer edit wedding images after he goes home? Be very careful with how and what he uses to edit and adjust the digital files. This is the final result of your wedding photographs, which will show when you order prints (unless you order everything less than 8" x 11"). The same old-wives-tales about Adobe RGB having a broader range of colors has been circulating on the internet since the 1990s. It does in theory, but not in practice.

We know this stuff because we work with all different types of software every day. Did you know the world's first dedicated digital colorspace converter chip? More than 10 years ago when professional photographers were able to start doing this at home we was all excited about Adobe RGB and a slew of other whacky, innovative color spaces. Adobe RGB is irrelevant for real photography. sRGB gives better (more consistent) results and the same, or brighter, colors. Using Adobe RGB is one of the leading causes of colors not matching between monitor and print. sRGB is the world's default color space. Use it and everything looks great everywhere, all the time. If your wedding photographer tell you he/she uses Adobe photoshop RGB color space. Before you click on the button for print, make sure the color displayed on your wedding photographer's website is not in RGB or you'll be very disappointed when you receive the print - The print will be duller in color. Only the professional digital camera offers sRGB in-camera setting as well as the high-end professional photo editing software.

4. When it comes to style of the wedding photography, think about how a good piece of music takes your breath away. A good piece of music takes you not just to another country, it physically takes you to another world, complete with sights all around you, smells, feelings, tastes, and everything as if you were there. Crappy music doesn't come close, but ask any music love, and good music does all this and more. If it doesn't do it for you, it's time to listen more carefully. Same goes with how to choose a photographer fits your style to a tee.

A good wedding photographer's work can take you away, it creates its own reality for the viewer, it can take you to another place and time - a beautiful place, a fantasy that never can be repeated. Wedding photography is not taking picture after picture and have thousands of them piled up your drawers in less than 6 months after your wedding, If you worry that you might be missing a second or minute of your wedding, why not consider hiring a videographer, this way you will have hours worth of film / files captured with every little thing that has happened on your wedding day.

Make a long list of things which are most important to you and ask your photographer to photograph them the way how you want to remember this day forever. It is your wedding, you know best how your want your wedding on photographs, if you let him take over this task, you will get a cookie cutter wedding photography - See one you see them all. Tell your photographer you want quality photographs on your wedding, not strings of clicking which will result in many repeated shots (this is how they make up the numbers). For thousand dollars you've spent, you shouldn't end up with a bunch of repeated / similar photographs.

The wedding style is a full description of your wedding in the way you would like to remember it for a life time, it can be glamorous, elegant, classic, casual, formal, etc. In any of these wedding styles, the photographer should capture a couple's unique personalities and characters as a man and wife. These photographs should preserve this day like a beautiful story with excitement, love, happiness in a once in a life time shot through the hands of a skillful photographer. A good photographs is timeless, don't let your wedding memory be forgotten and fade away, make sure your wedding photographs is uniquely you and not the reproduction of other hundreds or thousands out there.

5. If an image is a dud, it will be a dull blob as a thumbnail, and stay dull, even if the photographer tries to sharpen or reapply the adjustment or rework it, it will only do more harm to the image. The photograph is all about the forms, lines, shapes, colors and balance that make up every photograph, obvious at any size. A great image looks intriguing even as a thumbnail or slide on a light table.

A good photographer understands very well the relationship between light and dark, up and down, warm and cool, and big and small. How do the shapes, graduations, scale, angles and everything work together? Are these creating depth, balance and impact, or just a confusing jumble or junk? These dynamics are what give an image its WOW factor. A real image catches your attention and draws you into it to explore, regardless of size displayed.

This is why the best photographers tend to be those with an art background. Artists understand these basic and critical photography elements and know how to use them to create outstanding images. Most photographers have no clue and instead waste too much of their creativity fretting about lens sharpness, argue about RAW vs. JPG instead of understanding the equipment they are using, some of them enjoy talking about 16 to 14 bit redithering algorithm design instead of mandatory basics of image design. A great image that grabs attention is by getting the basics right. Details and sharpness are the least important part of an image. Face it, when an imgee is boring in thumbnail size, does it ever get more interesting blown up? NO.

This also applies to your wedding photography. if a blur image taken purposefully, this is an art, if your wedding portrait is out of this world, without looking straight into the camera say "cheeeeeese", you've got a very beautiful photograph, if your photographer endlessly clicks the shutter, rushing to get the job done, you are in deep trouble. A good wedding photographer always paces around trying to position himself in getting the best shot and he waits for the moment before clicking the shutter, his only goal is to get the perfect shot, and to then move on for the next shot.
If your photographer can't paint you should worry, if he knows nothing about art, you'll know what to do - RUN!
After you find a wedding photographer fits your style:

* Make sure your gown suits the style of your wedding theme, you don't want to have a modern mini wedding gown run around in a church ceremony or a extremely sexy gown in a traditional wedding photography.

* Have a hair do that enhances the overall look, dark hair roots on a blond is never good on a close-up shot.

* Find yourself a good make-up artist for a flawless make-up on your wedding day. Any caked up make-up or half hanging false lashes tell tales of the sloppiness of the entire wedding. Make sure you use one of those "ever-lasting lipsticks" , which won't rub-off on your groom's lips at the ceremony - not a pretty sight.