November - Photography

Photograph courtesy of capturingreallife.com

As November progresses, many of us start preparing for family get-togethers. As family gathers, share, laugh and love over family photo's. When planning your wedding, you'll want photographs to have, share and pass down.

You'll often hear newlyweds saying how the day of the wedding went by so quickly and how their wedding photographs helped them remember and re-enjoy moments you missed but the photographer didn't! So after the whirlwind of your wedding day, you'll be glad to be able to look upon your photographs and enjoy the day again and again.Photograph courtesy of katialo

Feeling nostalgic this November, we have features some of our Flickr favorite photographers (see our favorites here), tips, what style of photography might suit you, questions to ask, favorite articles and links to professional organizations. Be sure to scroll down and take a peek at post wedding photography with Trash The Dress!

Remember when shopping that you are looking for photo's that invoke emotion. Someday your family members will look upon your wedding day photo's, saying...'remember when...?!' A good photographer will bring you this gift, so here is how to shop for the most important artist you will ever hire!

Tips on Wedding Photography Shopping

Photograph courtesy of jamieschultzphotography

• Start early! Once your venue is picked out you should be on the lookout for a wedding photographer. A year in advance even? The answer is yes. So what are your waiting for?

• Where to start looking? Look first to family & friends. If there were some great pictures taken at family weddings in the past few years, ask who took them! Word of mouth can be a great way to find your photographer. If the photographer was easy to work with, prompt and attentive, made your family and friends feel and look great that that's a photographer to interview! Also ask your venue folks/ wedding coordinator. Having done tons of weddings, they probably have some excellent people to refer you to!

Photograph courtesy of johnrichvillas

• Internet Window Shopping! The Internet is fantasticic for window shopping. Period. First you can look and select a style of photography. It's great to roam through Flickr and see what style speaks to you! This is the best way to window shop all the different styles available these days from the comfort of your computer chair.

Types of Photography

Photograph courtesy of WeddingSavvy's Family Album

• Traditional photography will have you lining up groups of family in posed styles for those formal photo's that get passed down and displayed.
  

• Non-traditional photography is more of a documentary/photo journalistic style. This style is quite hip today. These candid shots can tell the story of your wedding day in pictures. Shooting while it's happening captures so much emotion it's no wonder this style is now so popular.
  

• Interviews You MUST interview every photographer in person. When you go to interview make sure the person you are interviewing is the person who will be photographing your event, if it is not, schedule a meeting with that person before signing any contracts. Personalities of the photographer and the Bride is of utmost importance in getting the great photographs you want.
  

• One last tip. Single use cameras that are left on the tables for your friends and family to capture candid shots. Although quite popular in the past, these are usually reported back as a waste of money. Almost everyone has a digital camera these days. Ask your friends and family to send you their shots via email, simple!

Our Favorite Questions To Ask Your Photographer:

Photograph courtesy of Starla Steward Photography

• How would you describe your style?
• Are you and may I meet the photographer and assistant that will be shooting my event?
• How many photographs are typically included?
• How many hours will you work my event?
• Do you use film or digital, or both & why?
• How many camera's will you use at my event?
• How soon after my event will I receive the 'proofs'?
• When will I receive the finished product?
• Who owns the right to the negatives (originals)?
• Will you be shooting another wedding on my date/weekend?
• How much to go overtime?
• May I see examples of your work from recent weddings?
• May I have 3 recent references?
• I have some examples of poses & shot lists, are your receptive to my idea's?
• How much do you charge? How much of a deposit do you need, when is the total amount due?
  

ALL of the above should be in your contract!
Do not overlook the importance of a good contract, for you and the vendor.

Follow this Google search and see sample wedding photographer contracts.

Online Resources!

Photograph courtesy of rougerouge

Over at the WeddingBee, you'll find they have put together a most comprehensive list of Photographer's Blogs! Check out the Bee's Photographer Blog list here! Thank you Mrs. Ant for putting this GREAT list together!

Here at the Wedding Vendor Guide, this post ' Make Sure You get all the Right Photos...'discusses wedding photograhy and has a great shot list!

Weddings at iVillage has a list of 88 must take shots here.

Digital Photography School offers this amazing article you must read on their blog; Wedding Photography - 21 Tips for for Amateur Wedding Photographers. But this article isn't just for amateur photographers, it a great guideline for us all. What to ask for, what to expect...exceptional article, bookmark it!

Answers.com has an interesting article chronicling the photography of weddings. Their article falls right into our nostalgic feel features some old photo treasures. The article leads into a wikipewdia explanation of wedding photography that's worth while to read.

Here at The Wedding Photojournalist Association this article is WEDDING MEMORIES AND BUDGET: A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES takes the perspective of the wedding photographer from the professional side of things. Interesting and thought provoking by Michael Roney for The Wedding Photojournalist Association.
There are also many articles of interest here and I would highly recommend reading some so you know what to expect when hiring!

Professional Photography Organizations

Professional Photographers of America
Wedding Photo Journalists Association
Wedding and Portrait Photographers International Better
Business Bureau
CNET

Trash The Dress

Take a look at these photographers on Flickr who have done great Trash The Dress photography sessions! These are our personal favorites! You can also go the Trash The Dress Photography Pool on Flikr, great inspiration!

stonesinthegarden, cute TTD here.
CardenPhotography fun TTD with hubby here and here.
sarahkchen, love, love, love this TTD session! Dancing in the fountain, oh lala! And a Thank You!
{Shelly} gives us creative cute and sexy TTD shots!

Stay tuned for updates before the end of the year, including tips
for choosing your videographer!

Enjoy the Holidays, your families and make memories!
~WeddingSavvy

After much surfing and research we have come up with the following websites that have helpful articles, great online galleries, wedding resources and communities of Brides.

Top Wedding Websites for Wedding Planning and Community

• Martha Stewart Weddings

Mrs. Stewart brought crafts out from Grandma's Den, updated and stylised the whole shebang. The queen of DIY. The advice she gives and the step by step directions are priceless. She has her team of very creative folks looking for new ways to inspire. From simple outdoor weddings to grand New York affairs, her advice and DIY articles are the best. We highly recommend checking he site out and getting a subscription to Martha Stewart Weddings magazine as well as Martha Stewart living magazine. the website is a treasure trove of advice, fantastic photographs and a community that embraces and shares ideas!

• The Knot
  

The top Wedding website in the country! With good local community boards, the "Knotties" themselves build the success of this site. Create an account and build your profile! Gather information and resources from other brides. The user profiles, the guest tracker budget and and checklist are very very helpful! What we are not crazy about on the knot would include the overpriced favors and high tactic selling that prevails. In a way it perpetuates what we all loath about the industry. Selling us on real weddings that on an average cost 20 to 25k for 150 guests is not real to a majority of Brides we get emails from. The Knot is the most popular in our option is, the users that make it so. The 'Knottie" community is grand, the networking that is done with other bride is priceless no matter what your budget. Being able to follow up with your 'Bridal Gal Pal's' via the Internet, and browse though users pages is a wonderful social outlet for Bride's who don't to want to bore their friends with wedding talk! Talk to other Brides, go to where everyone wants to talk Wedding!

• In Style Weddings
  

What we like about InStyle Weddings? Everything! This is a website that knows how to please it's readers and web visitors. You are not bogged down with ad's, you are given the freedom to peruse through some of the best photo galleries. These great galleries include fashion, showing rings dresses and shoes for just the start. The magazine's website is well thought out and easy to navigate. I love seeing the art of the style in this industry and InStyle weddings is best! Then to feed the little gossip bug in you, peek in celebrity weddings area and see what the famous are wearing, who is designing for them, who made and designed their cakes? It's our favorite 'celebrity wedding voyeurism' site out there!

• Bride's.com

Wow is all we can say for Bride's.Com. Very slick and stylish. Among the best. The web version for Bride's Magazine, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride. Message boards and local vendor resources, make your own wedding page. Their clipping feature to help keep track of photos you like, vendors and bookmark you favorite columns. Fanatic wedding gown fashion designers and videos make this visit a wonder experience. With a user community that is growing and getting better daily they offer advice in all areas of the process by the top in the industry. There is that lingering question of how real some of the weddings and ideas are, and the vendors are among the be$t out there. Their style section includes a color wheel you spin to help choose wedding colors! Supper fun and addictive! Their galleries are among the best out there. No lack of inspirations photo's here! If you want to be a lookie-lou this site is for you! Very inspirational, you 'll often see us link to their photos and advice forums!

• Wedding Channel

A great resource! A really in depth site with a lot of links to dress designers, a dress each feature that is truly beyond compare. Once you are a registered member the site is easy and quick to use! Their advice forum if full of superb advice from contributors, Real Brides here and practical advice. Other real helpful sections on their site would be the gallery of hair styles for every length, some great ideas to bring to the hairdresser with you for your trial, or try at home yourself! The galleries are fantastic, offer over 50 cakes to daze and inspire with information to the creative vendors. Their registry contains 17 stores from Tiffany to more...realistic.

• Wedding Details

Wedding Details has one of the best and very usable wedding planers, print out pages from the planner from a link of their page.
Lots of affiliate links but good advice if you dig a little deeper. We often link to their advice in our articles here. You can find a vendor in your area as their search function is nation wide. Their add a link for vendors is reasonably priced as well, so you can get a wide variety by searching the database.

• Frugal Bride

out of Canada, Frugal Bride is a fantastic resource, message board, tons of crafty ideas, and a photo gallery and tons of very practical advice. Although the design of the site is sometimes odd and hard to navigate at first, once you get the hang of it, you'll find all their great advice in the column on the left. A great resource. Highly recommended! Since they are based out of Canada, the vendor search wont help unless you're in Canada.

• Wedding Themes and More

This site site is what is says withing limits. It's categorised and there are themes to it, however it's all under the umbrella of a store. Their side columns are filled with them selling their books which to us, is a turn off. Their good advice is deeper and harder to find behind the big sell. They do have a blog with helpful articles and some great do it yourself advice. We admire this and their great resource for theme ideas is why we decided to add them to our top wedding sites list.

• Fire Your Wedding Planner
  

Stephie Stewart evidently saved thousands on her wedding and in her book she shares her secrets with you! If you are not interested in purchasing her book, that's okay! She sends out a newsletter that is super helpful. the newsletter features Bride's sharing their stories on how her tips helped save them $. Sound like an infomercial? Maybe, but our readers tell us they have gained great advice and inspired them to negotiate!

• One Wed

Find Vendors, Wedding Articles (limited), Wedding Chat & Bridal Shows. The best area of interest according to us and our readers would be their galleries of photo's. Looking for photographs to inspire your hair style for the day, they have many! Shoes? they have some features, but better a list of show designs and vendor information. the cakes are also fantastic to look at with descriptions to help! One Wed is a place to look!

• Bliss Weddings

A good website that is getting better. new message boards. Articles for wedding planning, and by real brides! Lot's of great question and answer sections quoting real brides. Some D.I.Y. resources, choosing colors, flowers, ideas for toasts and a budget planner. Not as great to navigate as others, but a lot here to find.

• My Wedding

Choose an area of the United States and find local resources & vendors at very reasonable prices. It's a top pick and one users agree get them to the information the want quickly and easily! In February they started a Blog and it's nicely written and has great potential!