Chicago Wedding Photography

Your wedding day will pass in a hectic blur. Finding the right photographer to capture all the moments you'll want to remember - such as the bride's walk down the aisle, the father-daughter dance, the best man's toast, and all the rest - is important. A professional wedding photographer can capture the most heartfelt and genuine moments, and make it possible for you and your family to relive your wedding day every time you look at the pictures.Choosing the right wedding photographer can seem difficult, not to mention expensive. A good rule of thumb is to realize that the most expensive photographer doesn't necessarily mean your pictures will be the best. Look for a photographer that has many sample pictures, as well as one with a list of satisfied references. It can also help to ask family and friends if they can recommend anyone.Be sure to let the photographer know any specific pictures you want to take beforehand. There are usually a standard set of pictures that wedding photographers take - groomsmen, bride and mother, etc. Anything out of the ordinary should be discussed with the photographer beforehand to make sure the taking of the picture can be worked into the photo shoot. Also let the photographer know of any pictures that you do not want him or her to take. Letting your photographer know this before the wedding will give him or her time to plan and schedule a set of pictures so the wedding day photo shoot goes quickly and smoothly.Find out exactly what is included in the photographer's price. How will the pictures be sent to you and when can you expect to receive them? Many photographers offer wedding packages, some including pre-assembled photo albums. Look through the packages and decide which you'd like best. A professional photographer can also customize a package to better suit your needs.You may want to ask your wedding photographer if you can purchase or have a CD or DVD of the original photographs, or the original negatives if the photos were taken on film. This will make it easier for you to make extra prints in the future.Make sure your photographer has first hand knowledge of the venue before the wedding day. Some photographers will go to the rehearsal to get a feel for the setting and plan out certain shots. This is also a good time to let the photographer know of any aspects of the venue that you do not want to see in photographs.Finally, make sure your photographer and you enter into an agreement - or contract - that includes all the services that he/she is providing, as well as the price and cancellation policy.Finding the right photographer and having a specific picture-taking plan will help you enjoy your special day. With the right wedding photographer, you'll be able to enjoy the moments for many years in shots that capture the excitement, love, and sentimentality of your wedding.

Photographers: Dealing With Divorced Parents at the WeddingI had a beginning photographer send me an e-mail with this question:"I am photographing a wedding this month and will be dealing with divorced parents/step-parents. There is animosity between the divorced parents and the children involved. When doing the formal photos how do you deal with this type of situation. The bride says she only wants a picture of her and her mother. She does not want the mother in the formal family pictures. Suggestions???"Divorces are tragic and heart-rending. A wedding is a celebration of two becoming one, and most weddings with a history of family divorce will be a bit more complicated than one without. Not only may the bride/groom have to deal with emotions and feelings that have perhaps been buried for years, but the divorcee's will have challenging emotions to also address:

perhaps the wedding will remind them of happier days
perhaps seeing a former spouse at the wedding will be difficult for them.

When you enter a wedding reception venue, you probably first will notice the tables. For this reason, the bride and/or the wedding designer should carefully select the wedding centerpieces. Fortunately, rental stores carry the right equipment to create personalized, wedding centerpieces. Renting wedding centerpieces instead of buying them can save money and eliminate the hassle of having to find a place for the centerpieces after the wedding.Look at all that rented wedding table pieces can do for you:繚 Match your wedding colors. Why limit your color theme to the ceremony only? Rented centerpieces holding colored candles can carry your colors through the wedding reception.繚 Reflect the season. A rented centerpiece vase can bring the outdoors inside when filled with a seasonal arrangement, such as willow branches or sunflowers in the fall and tulip or hyacinth blooms in the spring.繚 Make a social statement. For example, what better way to tell your wedding guests about your concern for the environment than to have a rented bowl filled with edible vegetable greens or fruit for your wedding centerpiece?繚 Expand on a theme. Rented palm tree candlesticks might be an appropriate centerpiece for a wedding reception that has a tropical theme. Whereas, a centerpiece vase that reflects a desired culture might work best for a wedding that has an ethnic theme.繚 Display food. When table space is limited, a rented tiered food display can hold appetizers or desserts for your guests, while doubling as a table center item.Contact your local, ARA-affiliated, rental store for information on available rental products and services to meet your wedding centerpiece needs. To locate the rental store nearest you, use the Rental Store Quick Locator above.http://www.rentalhq.com/Article.asp?artid=201&cat=wedding

In the past, photography has been looked at as a very boring and limited way of expressing your idea through pictures, especially when it came to wedding photography. Talking about models and media, you see their pictures have an absolutely different flavor, brightness, color and flamboyance which were never really there in the ordinary wedding photographs. It was however realized by some photographers that they need to put some life to wedding photography and the result of those efforts was fine art wedding photography. The ways pictures are taken and edited in this form of photography make it a completely different thing than the conventional photography that has been done in the past.Fine art wedding photography is the use of coloration, discoloration, blurriness, prominence, dimness and a number of other effects that are used to make the pictures look special. This is a completely different way of taking pictures and the photographer who takes such pictures works in an entirely different way as opposed to how conventional photographers used to do. It is not about telling the family to stand together, asking the short ones to come forward and taller ones to go in the back and taking the picture. It is not about telling the couple to stand hand in hand, look towards the camera and give a cute smile. These things have gotten old and photography has moved on.In fine art wedding photography the photographer makes use of everything that comes into the camera lens and even those that don't. He will make use of shadows, reflections, deflections and elevations to come up with a photo that speaks for itself. What difference did it make in the conventional and old photography whether you were laughing or crying because the pictures looked all the same? In the modern photography techniques, every expression on your face changes the whole look of the picture. For example, the photographer will make use of some black & white colors, dry leaves and dark shadows in a picture where the bride has tears in her eyes just to make the impact of the picture powerful.Use of bright colors, greenery, birds and flowers in the pictures where the couple is laughing and smiling makes the pictures memorable. Modern softwares and tools are used for editing to enhance the pictures. Hundreds of new effects are used to make the pictures look more than wedding pictures and fine art wedding photography is thus the best choice in today's weddings. At the same time, you will notice that these modern techniques don't focus faces only. Wedding is not all about faces and if it was, why would people buy the most expensive dresses they can to wear on the weddings? So if you have spent thousands of dollars on your wedding dress, jewelry, shoes, venue and preparation, why not giving them some highlight in the pictures as well? This is only possible through the new fine art photography

One of the most essential elements of a wedding is the photography. This element preserves the memory of the couple's special day forever. Wedding photos record every detail of that day beginning with pre-wedding preparation, ceremony, reception, and the couple's send-off. Wedding photography also involves a wide range of photographic skills and equipment. Skills involved include a keen sense of timing as photographers must watch out for the ideal lighting condition, a heartfelt moment, an unforgettable expression, and the perfect shot of the bride and groom.Wedding studio promotion can encounter several challenges due to competition with numerous other photographers. Studios need to learn how to stand out from the rest using effective marketing materials and strategies. Since the product or service sold is photographs, printed marketing materials are essential in conveying the concept and philosophy behind the studio's style.The following are examples of printed promotional materials for wedding photography studios.Booklets - Booklets are practical and handy marketing materials for a wedding photography studio. These materials can feature a collection of photos and captions illustrating the studio's concept. For studios with several wedding photographers, booklets can feature sections of the photographers' work including profiles, a list of services, equipment used, and field of expertise. Bulk orders of booklets can easily be printed through online commercial printing companies.Catalogs - Catalogs can be used as helpful, in-house informational and promotional materials for a wedding studio. Studio owners can print them with larger photo prints accompanied by descriptions of suggested themes and details such as type of wedding, equipment used, venue, and date of wedding. A catalog can also be used to show several profiles of photographers in a wedding studio. Customized catalogs can be printed through the services of online printing companies.Posters - Poster printing can serve as large-format, in-house promotional materials for a wedding studio. They can feature the studio's best wedding photos combined with powerful taglines. They can also be used to promote the studio at wedding fairs, trade shows, and exhibits. Online poster printing companies offer customized poster printing using digital or offset printers.

The ceremony and reception venues are booked. You have an idea of the style of dress you want, colors and who will be your maid of honor and best man. The excitement is building! Next up is photography. You know you're going to want wonderful pictures of your big day. But a cursory glance at wedding photographers and their prices can be an exercise in sticker shock. Photography without a doubt is expensive. But why? They're just pictures for pete's sake!Here are eight reasons good wedding photographers are so expensive:

They are qualified -
When considering photographers and their fees it helps to remember you are not paying for merely a photographer's time on your wedding day. You are paying for the ten, 15, or 20 years of commitment which is required to create wonderful images in the handful of hours they will shoot pictures during your wedding day.
By paying more than you might have expected for a qualified, experienced photographer you are granting yourselves the extra reassurance you will enjoy your wedding memories for years to come.
Like most professions, becoming a consistent quality professional photographer requires years of hard work. Many photographers attended college in photography, cut their teeth working for years as assistants or as newspaper staff photographers. They also spent countless nights surfing online forums talking about the latest and newest ways to improve their work. They are always networking and reading countless books just to keep up to date. They have shot many millions of pictures of a myriad of subjects.
Your wedding shouldn't be a long slog up a steep learning curve for your photographer. Your wedding pictures and overall experience ultimately will suffer.
Important one-time events require serious responsibility -
This is a once-in-a-lifetime event that is a culmination of months or years of work. There is no chance for a reshoot, not with so many important people in your lives coming from so many far away places to be with you and your future spouse for this one day.
What happens if your photographer drops their camera? What happens if one of their camera disks is corrupted? What happens if your photographer breaks their ankle two days before your wedding?
At each wedding, a truly professional wedding photographer has to be prepared for the risks of covering a one-chance event. That means keeping multiple disks on hand, image recovery software, multiple good quality cameras and a list of contacts that can fill in for them in the event they can't shoot. The contingencies are numerous. Such preparedness can be costly and time consuming to maintain, hence the higher fees for clients.
Seasonal nature of work -
Photographers can only reasonably expect to have one wedding per week. These almost always take place on a Saturday. For many markets, including the market my business serves here in Kansas City, the winter months are not a popular time to hold a wedding. Weather can be very unpleasant and make travel downright hazardous. Hence photographers outside of the Sun Belt can expect to be busy only seven to eight months of the year.
A photographer is having a very solid year if they have 20 to 25 weddings. In order to provide you and future clients an excellent service, photographers have to protect their business' margins for the entire year with those 20 to 25 weddings.
A single wedding represents a major time commitment -
Your wedding is more than a commitment by your photographer for working the day of the wedding. They will pour many hours into the planning, editing, processing, presentation and shipping of the pictures, not to mention albums and other photography products included in their quoted packages. Your wedding will easily require 80 hours of your photographer's time if not more.
Tools are expensive -
A qualified photographer will be carrying $10,000 or more in equipment on their person during your wedding. The digital camera gear will usually have to be replaced every few years. That's expensive, considering professional caliber camera bodies cost more than $2,500 to replace. The photographer must also upgrade computers and software just as frequently. Add to that burden the normal wear and tear on all equipment and the costs become eye popping.
Commitment to you -
As a wedding photographer I can tell you it is much more pleasant to explain prices to clients once rather than apologize for the quality of their pictures forever. Ten years from now when viewing your wedding album, you will not be concerned with how much the photographer cost but you will be concerned with the quality of their work.
Good is almost never cheap and cheap is seldom good. A good photographer understands this and builds their business with a priority placed on a commitment to your pictures and experience first and foremost.
Growing the business is costly -
A wedding photographer does not receive much repeat business from our clients. If we did that would mean a lot of failed marriages! Referrals to family and friends are not uncommon but there are only so many friends and family about to be married.
Word-of-mouth business from happy clients is important, but it rarely is sufficient to fill a photographer's calendar. Photographers, more so than other businesses, have to invest more into marketing plans that introduce their businesses to new potential clients. Many of these advertising efforts are expensive. A page 1 placement on The Knot's photographers website listing costs more than $5,000 annually. That's not cheap.
Integrity -
Imagine trying to decide between two photographers for your wedding, one photographer plays by the rules and doesn't cut corners to save a few extra bucks but they have a higher price. Another photographer has a lower price but cheats the rules and cuts corners so they can low ball the competition. Which one is more likely to have your back when you need it?
For some photographers integrity is sacred. They understand the long-term success of their business is impossible without it. Integrity requires them to deliver on their promises on time and exceed expectations. Their internal business affairs are conducted with integrity also. They pay their fair share of income taxes like you do and carry adequate liability insurance. Integrity requires them to collect sales taxes and pay them to state governments in their entirety on time. Such ethical practices are not always easy to maintain and often require us to pass on some of those costs to clients.
Unfortunately for some integrity is seen as an inconvenience or an impediment. While these issues may not seem relevant to your decision in photographers, a person or a business which honors all of their obligations is much more likely to honor their obligations to you.
A more expensive photographer doesn't guarantee such integrity but it makes it far more likely.

From a wedding Photographers point of view one of the most important shots of the day is an excellent confetti shot. And it's easy to achieve this with a little bit of organisation and help from the photographer.Buy why do we throw confetti at the bride and groom, and where did the custom originate? The word confetti originates from the Italian word for confectionary and it was very likely to consist of sweets and almonds. We use sweets and almonds as wedding favours today, and at Jewish weddings it is common to throw sweets at the bride and groom.The Assyrians believed that rice, grain and other seeds thrown over the newly married couple would mean that the marriage would be as fruitful as the grain. The Egyptians also believed this and threw rice in the hope that not only would the marriage produce children, but also success in married life. The Hebrews would also throw grain and seeds, and depending on the social status of the couple they would throw more exotic material such as petals if the couple were wealthy or had wealthy parents.The Italians also believed that 'coriandoli' or coriander seeds would wish the couple well and help produce many children, particularly boys, from the marriage.Throwing rice was a pagan tradition in many ancient cultures, and today we also throw petals, paper, silver and gold foil, shredded coconut and in some modern cultures folded paper airplanes.Throwing confetti at weddings is a great way to signify the end of the ceremony and the beginning of the party. Most Registry Offices encourage brides and grooms to have their guests throw confetti outside, and by the end of a busy Saturday the steps are almost ankle deep in rose petals and coloured paper and foil. Some churches are a little more strict on what they have to end up sweeping up after the wedding guests have left, and often make an announcement at the beginning of the ceremony about what is allowed. In my experience dried petals are generally ok.For the best confetti photographs get your guests to line up either side of you and ask them to throw it up into the air not directly at the bride and groom. Get the throwers to throw several handfuls at 5-10 second intervals but not the whole bag at once!For more information on Weddings and Wedding photography go to http://www.weddingphotographerslondon.uk.com/

So, you've decided that you are interested in becoming a wedding photographer. You have a nice camera and you love taking pictures of family and friends. So, you have everything you need to quit your job and become a wedding photographer. If only it was that easy. I think that is one of the biggest problems with the wedding photography industry today. You have too many photographers who think because they have a camera that they can call themselves a wedding photographer. There is a lot more than just taking great pictures to succeed in running a wedding photography business. If you have the talent, but feel a little uneasy about starting a wedding photography business. I've come up with a few tips that should help you get your wedding photography business off the ground.The biggest challenge in getting any business off the ground is start-up cost. A camera would be a good start. The problem is that the majority of professional quality cameras start at about $1,800. Why that might not sound like a lot. That's just the camera body and does not include any lenses you will need. The lenses you will need to start can vary in price range, but a good start would be around $500.00. This would be the bare necessities to get started. Flash equipment and off camera lighting are a need, but not from the start. You can work on building up your equipment as you grow.Setting up a home office is very important. This is where you will keep tracking of your clients as well as other important paperwork. For tax purposes you will need to keep all of your receipts. A home office provides a centralized location to keep it all together. It also provides you a place to edit your photos and meet potential clients. I will get into editing your photos a little bit later.You will need to apply for a business license. Check the area you are in to see if a business license is even required. It's not really difficult to get one and in most cases can be done online. You just have to make sure that if you shoot a wedding in another city or state to obtain a business license in those locations as well. It gives you credibility as well as protects you from fines if you are caught doing business without a license.You will need to open up a business checking and savings account at a bank. It's best to keep your personal and business accounts separate. For one it makes it difficult to keep up with personal and business expenditures. It also can cause major headaches if a tax audit is accessed against your business. The fees are usually minimal so that shouldn't discourage you from opening one up. Shop around and see if the banks have free business checking or some other programs for small businesses.You will need to obtain insurance. This will cover you from any liability and malpractice suits. Malpractice would come from a client suing you for not full filling your obligations. Liability will protect you from any damage that may occur while you are shooting a wedding. You never know when your equipment could start a fire or someone trips over your equipment. These are things you don't think about until it's too late. There are many professional photography organizations out there that offer very inexpensive insurance.In the past you could get by with a business card and word of mouth. The reality is that today the internet and social media marketing are an important part of any wedding photography business. You will need to have a website setup and make sure you have e-mail as well. You don't want to use a yahoo or g-mail account as your business e-mail. This doesn't look professional for one and also may scare aware potential clients.Put together a marketing plan that includes sites that you want to advertise with. There are wedding sites that cater to brides looking for wedding photographers. These sites do charge you to advertise, but your return on investment can be rewarding in the long run. If you haven't already joined twitter or Facebook you should. This is a great way to drive potential clients to your website and give you even more exposure for free. You should also familiarize yourself with linking your website to other wedding professionals. This will also get you out in front over potential brides for little to no cost.Part of your marketing plan and one of the most important parts or having a profitable wedding photography business is referrals. You probably haven't shot any weddings or if you have your portfolio probably doesn't contain much material. So, you are going to have to take advantage of each wedding you do have by making your customers happy. This will allow you to get referrals and even obtain repeat business. You would think making your customers happy would be obvious, but not all wedding photographers care. In most cases quantity over quality is the norm. Your quality will translate into happy customers and repeat business.

How to market wedding photography business and beat your competitors? Here you will find the answer for that question. Wedding photography is paid awesomely but not many businesses in this field can survive. Plus, there are many competitors right now so you really need to market your business greatly. Thus, how are you going to market your business? Let's find out.1. Networking!This is your business and it is your responsibility to get as many customers as you can. Improve your social skills and make sure everyone that knows you, know your job. It is pointless if you know many people but they don't know what you are doing. How to market wedding photography business if people think photography is not your serious job?Make sure everyone knows wedding photography is your serious job.In any successful business, communication is the key. Always be polite to your clients and they will recommend you to their friends.2. Bring freshness to your pictures.Are you using the same techniques while taking your photos for years? Hopefully not. In order to survive in photography business, you need to always improving your techniques and learn new thing.
It will give freshness to your pictures and your clients definitely will love them. Are you updated with the latest poses for wedding? Always check out what are the poses the bride and groom really asking for.

Not having an outstanding wedding photography portfolio could be the make or break for any photographer. Business is hard in today's economic climate and every job counts, losing one job mid wedding season, could easily put a wedding photographer out of business. It is imperative therefore for the wedding photographer to have a first class portfolio.To ensure that you have a first class wedding portfolio there are two things you can do. The first is by taking good photos. It goes without saying that every photographer will try their best to take the best possible photos for their clients, it is in their interests to do so and it's their job. The second is to ensure that these pictures go one better than the other wedding photographers out there. How? The answer is to have the images retouched by a wedding retoucher.Wedding photo retouching is not new but few use the service as many prefer to do retouch their photos themselves. The problem with this is the wedding photographer must devote much of his time to learning the techniques, when he needs to be concentrating on finding new business. In the unlikely event that finding new business is not needed the wedding retouching should be left to a professional who has developed their skills over time. The photo retoucher can structure the work to produce the shots that 'wow' the clients and gain their business and trust.The wedding photo retoucher can improve your photos by removing fly away hair or stray confetti. People can be removed from the foreground or back ground. New compositions can be made from two or more photos to form new photos. This can save the embarrassment to the photographer should he forget to take an important group photo, two or more photos can be merged to make a wedding group with all the right people standing together.Further techniques used to improve wedding photos are smoothing creases in clothes and removing unwanted shadows. For the close up portraits of the bride and groom a magazine make over or studio style background could be added. With your imagination and communication with the wedding photo retoucher, anything is possible.If you want to stay ahead of the wedding photographers out there then make the smart move to a wedding photo retoucher and get your photos to the very best standard they can be. Impress your clients with outstanding photos with that glitzy magazine look, contemporary feel or classy candid. Ensure you 'wow' potential customers into choosing you above the rest.It may be the best decision you make to get your wedding photos retouched by a wedding photo retoucher.