The importance of formal photos
The majority of couples planning their wedding want more candid and journalistic style images. I am a documentary photographer, and much of the time spent at the wedding is photographing the events as they play out, without any intrusion or direction on my part.
And as much as I love photographing weddings like that and looking for moments and candid relaxed “portraits” a good formal photo of the couple is super important to take as well.
This photo is from quite a while ago.
Thanks to Facebook, I got reminded of this moment the other day and I decided to write about it because of what Sandra and Dave said about this image.
formal portrait of a married couple with their two dogs by their feet
“We LOVE all our photographs from our wedding that Andreas captured. Years later, we continue to get compliments on your lovely work. Sadly, sweet Toby & Mixer have both passed since our wedding when they were so young and full of beans…but they live on in our hearts, and in our many pictures, and this is one of my favourites that you made of us”
A Tale of Two Wedding Photographs.
A Standard family portrait in Greece
This is nice photo. It’s a fairly traditional wedding family group portrait.
Here, we have bride and groom, her two sisters, her father, his parents and brother.
It’s a nice, standard, respectable and classy image of the immediate family.
I make this image at each wedding in some variation.
Bahamas - Tara Morley, Diane Cole Morley and Laura Morley
This image however, is one of a kind. Unrepeatable, and unique to just this family.
In this image taken in the Bahamas, the bride, sister, and mother are sitting in the back of the same Rolls Royce that the brides mother used for her wedding.
They had just arrived at the church and were waiting together while waiting for the last of the guests to enter the church.
At this point I’d covered the inside, taking photographs of her soon to be husband and guests, and I knew that there was a lot of nostalgia and importance around the fact that Tara at her mum where in the same limo that she’d used years earlier for her wedding, so I waited for them to arrive.
This is a family portrait as well, but one that can’t be replicated in any way. The glow on Tara and Diane Morley’s faces say it all.
While I do make the standard images of people standing together, what I focus on is finding portraits within scenes as they play out in real time.
Images that can never be repeated or staged, and I do so because these are the images that are chosen and downloaded the most by family members, and the ones that resonate most with those in the photograph.
When to book your Wedding Vendors | Wedding Planning Tips |
I know - there are hundreds of blog posts from every wedding vendor telling you to book them first - naturally.
However, there really is an order that works, and if you stick to it you’ll have less stress in the planning process.
Who gets booked first depends on what direction you’re going in with your wedding designing and planning. Are you doing it all yourself? Or are you outsourcing the design and management of the day to a planner?
If you are - then there are two vendors that you hire early on.
The first is the venue - without that you don’t have a date set in stone. You also don’t have a place to host the event…so find a venue, book it. Or, if you’re working with a wedding planner, they can do that for you early in the process of working together depending on the service you’re having them do for you.
A wedding planner is in my opinion, a worthwhile investment - depending of course on the type of wedding that you’re hosting.
So once the venue has been booked, the two other vendors that you hire are your wedding planner, and the next vendor who is a sole operator who may also be in demand. That could be anyone - the florist, DJ, musician, or even the photographer.
The best way to put together the wedding that you want, is to pick two or three people or businesses in each category and then interview them. Once you have your short list, book them all that day.
Why that day?
Because we all book up quickly.
Even if your wedding is over a year away.
Even if the service you’re hiring is only “day of planning” - booking the most important people early gets you the vendors you want.
There are vendors that have multiple options to choose from - some venues have more than one space that can be rented out, some photography studios hire students each year so they can book out multiple weddings each weekend - those types of businesses don’t need to be booked right away.
But if you’re hiring an individual - then you need to book right away.
The Best Way to find your Ideal Wedding Vendor.
With so much choice in every category of wedding vendor online, the process of finding the right service provider for a wedding is more difficult than it’s ever been.
So many choices.
So similar in presentation.
Sometimes when presented with too many options there isn’t a clear choice at all and we end up picking wrong.
Or, not at all.
That’s where the old school way of communicating wins.
Texts and DMs and quick email forms with a PDF of info and pricing is fine, it serves a purpose of providing a little info.
But the absolute best way of knowing if a florist, caterer, the DJ, photographer is the right person for your event, is to simply pick up the phone and have a conversation.
Why?
Because what you’re doing is inviting people into your inner circle for one big emotional rollercoaster of a day.
So find a few options of each vendor and then find a comfy spot in your house and start dialing those numbers!
The conversations you have will play a big part in the decision making process and will make things much easier for you.
You can reach me Monday to Thursday 10-4 at 416 474 5014
How do you know if wedding photography is “Good”?
Is it the location?
The dress designer?
The location and quality of light?
Is it the amount of photos delivered to the client?
I think the value comes from something more than volume, or how an image was styled, or what preset was applied to the image.
It comes down to connection, and being intentional in what is being captured.
Which is why for me, a huge part of what I do is get to know my clients as much as I can throughout the months (or years) before the wedding day. That’s why I always go to rehearsals or family dinners before the wedding day to get to know and understand the family dynamic.
Because for me, as a photographer of people at weddings, my interest is documenting the relationships present.
Yes - the dress, the suit, the decor, the location, all the pretty things are photographed as well, but what matters, and what will carry more weight in your life will be the images of you and your people and the time spent that one day together.
Dress Code for Vendors.
A few years ago I was working a wedding at a very high end golf resort in Muskoka. The guests were all dressed to match the theme of the wedding - Caribbean island chic. So lots of beautiful dresses and tailored jackets and loafers on the guys.
It was a hot day, being mid August but we were all dressed to fit in.
Except one vendor. Somehow, the videographer failed to tell his second camera operator about the importance of looking professional because he showed up in shorts, crocs and a Metallica t shirt.
Around mid way through the reception I was talking to the catering manager about the event and she commented on my outfit - and then said “the headbanger with the Metallica shirt will never work here again…I can’t believe they don’t know how to dress appropriately”
I’ve always dressed in a suit for weddings. There are times I often feel over dressed for a wedding, but I think it’s super important that we show up in the right outfit, not just because we are representing our business, but more importantly it’s a reflection on the couple, their families and the image of the venue.
Just because we think we own our own business and can do what we want, when we show up at a wedding we are part of a team and part of a vision set up by the couple for how their wedding should look and feel like.
So if you’re reading this and are a vendor, and are working at a venue you’ve never been at, a quick phone call to ask if they have outfit expectations for their vendors is a good way to make sure you fit in when you show up to their house for the day.