Choosing the Right Wedding Photographer

Just choose me and you won't have to read the rest of this blog.  Just joking...but seriously choose me...just kidding.

I'm sure there are several blogs that hit on this subject but after an awesome meeting with a bride today I thought I would blog about this topic and offer just a few solid suggestions about choosing a wedding photographer.

#1. You should See and Like the photos from an entire previous wedding.

It is easy to create an impressive portfolio of 20 amazing photos from 20 different weddings.  Make sure to see an entire wedding so you know what your end product will look like.

#2. You should Meet and Like your wedding photographer.

Your wedding photographer will be with you anywhere between 4-12 hours on your wedding day.  If you don't like your photographer...it's going to be a long day.  Make sure to meet with your photographer before the wedding and if you can do an engagement session to make sure you like the photos and the way you interact with each other.

There are many other components to choosing the right wedding photographer for you, but if you can't get past step 1 and 2 you should start over again.

Photography Tutorials - You Choose

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Meredith + Doug = Sneak Peek

I love small intimate weddings and I especially love them when I get to team up with Leigh from A Delightful Day and photograph all of the awesome details she designs.  Meredith + Doug had their beautiful wedding at Cragfont which despite the not-so-pretty name is a gorgeous venue out near Gallatin.  The day was laid back with lots of kids, dogs, and fun to photograph.

Pray.

Little Light = Big Difference

 

A few months ago I dropped a money bomb at BH photo and invested in a new lighting system.  I wanted something that was more reliable and light weight that still gave me a similar look to the larger strobes that I was using.  I am so glad that I invested in the new equipment and have loved getting creative with this small light set up.  It is amazing how much a little speed light can add to the depth of a photo.  This shot was taken with a Nikon D3s using an SB700 speed light held by my assistant on a stand shot through a small softbox and triggered by Pocketwizards TT5.  The first shot below was the original test shot.  The settings for this shot were ISO 400, aperture at f/4, and shutter speed set at 1/10 of a second.  I was happy with the way the light looked but I wanted more of it and I wanted to incorporate more of the scene into the photo.  By the way...it really was what dark outside.

In order to brighten up the light coming from the flash I opened the aperture up a few stops to f/2.8.  To bring in more of the ambient light in the background I slowed the shutter speed down to 0.6 sec.  This is pretty slow for a handheld shot so I held my breath and braced myself on the trunk of the car.  I didn't have to worry about Dannie + Jonathan being blurry because they were in total darkness so the camera wouldn't pick them up.  Here is the final shot again...