We're not going to get everything.

     A photographer can work off a list or just capture a little bit of everything. When you work off a list you are trying to remember what is not important to the bride. In fact the bride may not even know what is the most important parts of the day, this is her first go at a wedding. That’s why I think it’s best to just cover every aspect. 

   So before the wedding you have loaded up your head with amazing images from Google and Pinterest and featured Buzzfeed articles. You’ve forwarded these links to your photographer and informed them that these photos are to be captured. This is all very doable, but when it comes to your wedding day and you incorporate this into the mix it’s sometimes impossible. So I say impossible, it’s not really impossible; it’s undoable for you as the bride and groom. The photographer can most certainly do this, but he won’t be able to do all of these requests in the twenty to thirty minutes he may have with you following bridal party photos.  I can only speak from my own experience in this of course. I would love to recreate photos and make the bride and groom happy but often during a wedding day you're busy with friends and family. Another thing to take into account is that some photos you see on the internet are purely circumstantial or in fact not even from a wedding. Some photographers will have models pose as a bride and groom just to create breathtaking photos. For the bride and groom I really suggest trusting their photographer and let photos take a backseat to being in the moment.

  So to follow up and summarize. The photographer is going to do his/her best to capture everything. We want to immortalize your wedding day in photos. We want to provide a seamless, enjoyable experience and not get in the way.  If you’ve hired a photographer because you like their work then the best thing to do is trust that they’ll capture your wedding day so you can sit back and enjoy it.

Here's the reality of it.

When you hire a wedding photographer you sometimes have these amazing expectations. You’ve seen their photos, their work, their great attitude. You’re hiring them to capture the one of the most amazing and memorable days of your life.  Here’s what he/she is going to be able to capture, not everything.

     Another reason to capture everything is you don’t know what’s important to the bride and groom. Sometimes they might not know what was important until after the wedding. Let me give a few examples of this. Let’s say you take the time to get photos of all the cousins, maybe they move away in three years and aren’t reunited until a family reunion in ten years. How about an Aunt and Uncle who come to your wedding that move away the following year. The most common thing i’ve come across is my focus on grandparents. Not to sound morbid of course but we do expire and these photos are a huge trigger for your memories. One more thought, how many times does your family get together. I’m talking about everyone, not just for the holidays which sometimes can be tough with visiting everyone. You have everyone in a room so why not take advantage of this.

    Here’s the upside that you can really work with. If you have a great photographer who is willing to be adventurous, persistent and do a little bit of poking and prodding; he/she can liberate you from your wedding reception for a few minutes to take some amazing photos and give you a moment to breath away from everyone. During the formal photos for the bride and groom you’ll also be able to get some of the shots you’re looking for but to reference or have those same exact circumstances to recreate can sometimes be tough. The photographer is going to pose you a bit and move you to different locations.  What i’ll do typically is run through all my tried and true poses that work. We only get one shot at getting your wedding photos and I do experiment and innovate but before I do that I make sure to get the memorable photos that you’ll hang on your wall. I only have a short amount of time and it would be selfish of me to ask more of the bride and groom while they’re trying to enjoy their wedding day. The same way a DJ wouldn’t keep asking for suggestions for playlists on your wedding day or a venue wouldn’t be consulting with the bride about sides during before the meal is served on the big day. 

Thanks for reading. I've been a wedding photographer for around ten years now and every year means a little more experience and a lot more equipment to play with. I would love to meet with you if you're getting married in 2017 or 2018. 508-471-0069 or www.unitymike.com to see more of my work. Have a great new year.