My Favorite Outdoor Wedding for 2008

Okay, so any of you who know me well, know that I love bright bold colors and I love a beautiful outdoor wedding. So, I am posting the album pages from my favorite outdoor wedding of 2008. Avon Gardens is absolutely beautiful! They have so many different places to take photos - I wish we had all day!! The ceremony went over about 25 minutes, so we ran out of sunlight. However, the formals had just enough light to have that sunset glow. The reception was adorned with candles lit all around the tents and garden that glowed in the darkness. It was beautiful.

This was April and Todd's wedding at the Avon Gardens in Indiana.
Enjoy!





















Angel and Steven Canary
Angel Studios Photography LLC
Greenfield, Indianapolis Wedding Photographers
317-467-4963
www.angelcanary.com

What every Bride and Groom need to ask when Shopping for a Wedding Photographer

There are a few basic questions that you should jot down to ask a wedding photographer when you call and meet with them, and we will also give you some pointers to help every bride and groom save time when shopping for their wedding photographer.

1.Believe it or not, the first question you should ask is if your wedding date is available. This will save you a lot of time! Imagine calling 5 wedding photographers, and giving them the run down on what you are looking for, listening to their rates and what they have to offer for at least 15 minutes, then to be asked what your wedding date is only to find out they are already booked. If all of them were already booked for your date, you wasted an hour of your precious wedding planning time. When we receive calls and emails from prospective clients, that is the first question we ask them.

2. Ask the wedding photographers what their style is. This is important. If you are looking for very traditional old school style wedding photos for your wedding, and that photographer only performs photo journalistic style photography, it won't be a reflection of who you are and what you want your wedding to be reflected as. There are photographers, like myself, that are versatile with their photography and can do both traditional and modern, eclectic, and contemporary style wedding photography. This comes in handy for us when we have the parents of the bride and groom that want traditional wedding photographs and the bride and groom want one of a kind, artistic and unposed photographs. We simply take both throughout the day, and everyone is happy.

3. Are you my Photographer?
Sounds silly I know, but many companies contract out other photographers. There is nothing wrong with this. If it's important to you, simply ask if you can meet with the actual photographer that they are contracting for you, get it in writing, and ask to see that photographer's work. If you don't like their work, simply ask to see another contracted photographer's work, and so on. If you are still willing to book with a company that contracts other photographers, make sure that you have a signed contract by both parties. It is common for photographers to collaborate their services to better accommodate the bride and groom's needs.

4. Do you have a Business Insurance Policy?
This is not to be confused with a home owner's policy, etc. A lot of photographers are DBA's and are not actually licensed businesses. There is nothing wrong with this, as long as they have insurance. This is important because, God forbid, if anything goes wrong, they are covered. A lot of people are not aware that if they do not have a business policy and their equipment for their business is in their home, that it will not be covered on their home owner's policy. We have a business policy that covers our equipment and a liability of up to two million dollars - hopefully we will never need to use it. We are also a member of the PPA which also covers their members with insurance and benefits.

5. What type of Equipment do you use for Weddings?
This is very important. There are different type of lenses and cameras. With the right skills, it's possible that the wedding photographs would turn out just fine with lower grade cameras, but the print quality would show. The more expensive lenses are heavier glass and can capture more light so that your wedding photos aren't as dark. You need to ask the wedding photographer if they have and use back ups of all of their equipment. Because most people don't know a lot about camera equipment, I will try to simplify this. The most popular and common camera wedding photographers use are Canon 5D's and the most popular lenses are a zoom and prime lens with apertures of 2.8 and 1.2, 1.4, 1.8 and so on, most of which are L series (professional grade for Canon.) This of course is why photographer's fees are high - to have reliable equipment. Also, ask to make sure they are using digital. There are still some photographers that use film. There is nothing wrong with that, but it's not the same as digital, and it takes a lot of skill to use film - so if they use film, make sure they have experience in wedding photography of at least 5 years.

6. How long have you been photographing weddings?
Notice, it states weddings, not photography. Wedding photography is a type of photography like no other. The locations and lighting and distance are changing, constantly. The photographer has to have experience with wedding events, church rules, working with planners and coordinators, wedding schedules, etc. These are very important. You don't want a photographer that has no idea what the generation dance is or that is taking photos during the wedding ceremony behind the preacher and over his shoulder (that's a sure fire way to never land a job in a church again for all of you photographers out there.) I would say to ask how many weddings that have photographed, but like myself, most lose count and some weddings are for ceremony only. The bottom line is that it takes a special person to handle the stress and chaos of a wedding day, and with all of the photography skill in the world, if a photographer can't handle the pressure of a bride freaking out, mother yelling, etc. (which happens a lot when flowers don't show up, etc.) and schedules changing every minute, it won't matter.

7. If your Vendor or Planner recommends a Photographer, ask the Photographer if they Advertise with them or Pay any Money to Them or Donate Photos to them.
We so often get sales persons that give us the option to advertise with them. With the ad, we get placed under "Top Recommended" or we will receive referrals for exchange of photos of their venues. The only thing that I do not like about this practice is that it is for enterprise purposes, only. The planners and vendors are not basing the recommendations based on the photographer's work, but rather how they conduct business with them. There are many vendors and wedding planners that absolutely do not practice this. The best way to know, is to simply ask.

8. Do I have to pay anything extra for Artwork, Airbrushing for my Photographs, Travel Fees or Anything at all? If so - What, how much, and what are the guidelines?
Units and wedding pricing packages can be very confusing. The bottom line, ask if they charge for art work, air brushing, color correcting, resizing, etc. If they do, get the details, and get it in writing. Our artwork is complimentary with all of our photos, but we explain that it is at our discretion, limiting the number to say 50 photos verses 1500 photos. Some wedding photographers charge extra fees to travel to various locations, even if your contract states all day coverage. So just ask, for example, if there would be any extra charges for stopping at a park to take formals in between the ceremony and reception, etc. If they tell you that there are extra charges, get it in writing.

9. Will you be Photographing Alone or will you have an Assistant or Another Photographer?
This is a simple question. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a photographer that shoots a wedding on his or her own. It is a peace of mind to know that there are two photographers with two different views and angles to offer. It also helps the photographers to have an assistant to unload and set up their equipment and basically be in two places at one time. This gives you more time for photos, and not so much on time lost from the photographer loading and unloading and setting up equipment and lighting. Call me spoiled, but I won't photograph a wedding without an assistant or other photographer. The bride and groom and their family and friends love seeing the different view and angles and the photos of different events taken at the same time - they love the variety it offers.

10. Will I Receive the Photos on a Disc and if so What is Involved?
This is our most popular question we are asked. For example, our packages that offer the photos on the disc include all of the digital negatives (that means the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful) of all of the photos we took on the wedding day. We also include any and all we did any art work to or touch ups. We print out a contract that is a self explained copyright release for the happy couple to have with the guidelines. They can then take that disc and release and have the photos printed by any lab of their choice (not Walmart, PLEASE!) We recommend Roberts Imaging for affordable and quality photographs for consumers. You can easily pop your disc in your computer, and upload the files online and have the prints delivered to you. Simple as Pie. Make sure that if your photographer puts your images on a DVD, that it is not a "slide show only" and the photos are separate. A lot of people I have spoken with have been burned by this. They thought they were receiving the DVD with all of the photos on it, but they had a slide show of all of them and they were not printable.

Of course there are more:
What will you be wearing?
Do you help with our photo schedule and plans?
How will our family and friends get prints from you?
How will we view our proofs?
How long do we have to pick our selections?
When do we have to pay our final payment?
What if we want to save our money for an album in a year from now?
How long do you store our photos for us?
How do you back up our photos?

I hope this helps you select your wedding photographer! This of course, is just from the view of a wedding photographer.

How to get that Look from your Wedding Photos

How do they do that?
Believe it or not, our best photographs are not posed! They are not scripted, they just happen!! This is a few tips for Brides and Grooms that are looking for ways to get natural photos on their wedding day, effortlessly.



The best ways to get great photos from your wedding day:
1. Relax!
Don't sweat the small stuff. Remember, this is your wedding day - the happiest day of your life. If you are worrying about every single thing that goes wrong - you are not going to enjoy your day. So take a deep breath, exhale and relax!




2. Have Fun!
Just laugh and play and have fun! Be yourself! It's that inner beauty wedding photographers want to capture - so let it glow!!



3. Don't worry about your pose - really!
If the photographer asks you to pose a certain way, and you just don't understand or can't do it - don't worry about it! Just laugh it off and just do a silly pose. Of course, if you are trying too hard, it will show and you won't like that photograph anyways - so why stress out over it, right?



4. The most common mistake you can make - NOT touching!
Make sure you can't keep your hands off each other, huh humm, you know what I mean. There is nothing that shows the love and emotion in a photo better than that soft touch of the groom's hand to the bride's chin as he leans in to kiss her, or the bride's hand on his shoulder, etc. We find people are so focused on a pose, they forget to touch with their hands and they just leave them flopped down and hanging. That's not showing the love - so just grab your bride or groom by the hand and start showing the love. That's how you get those photos that make people say, "aww!"

5. Talk to each other and look into each other's eyes!
But don't talk too much - make sure you have a lot of pauses so that your mouth isn't open in all of the photos. We tell our clients to stand in front of each other or sit beside each other - put their hands on each other lovingly, and just talk. They always end up laughing at some point and that is how you get a natural, but loving wedding photo.



6. Again, just act natural!
Don't watch the photographer all day, or all of your photos will be of you looking in the camera. Just focus on your love for each other, and the moment that is happening, and have fun. The photographer will get your attention and let you know if they need you to move or pose.

How to get that Look from your Wedding Photos

How do they do that?
Believe it or not, our best photographs are not posed! They are not scripted, they just happen!! This is a few tips for Brides and Grooms that are looking for ways to get natural photos on their wedding day, effortlessly.



The best ways to get great photos from your wedding day:
1. Relax!
Don't sweat the small stuff. Remember, this is your wedding day - the happiest day of your life. If you are worrying about every single thing that goes wrong - you are not going to enjoy your day. So take a deep breath, exhale and relax!




2. Have Fun!
Just laugh and play and have fun! Be yourself! It's that inner beauty wedding photographers want to capture - so let it glow!!



3. Don't worry about your pose - really!
If the photographer asks you to pose a certain way, and you just don't understand or can't do it - don't worry about it! Just laugh it off and just do a silly pose. Of course, if you are trying too hard, it will show and you won't like that photograph anyways - so why stress out over it, right?

4. The most common mistake you can make - NOT touching!
Make sure you can't keep your hands off each other, huh humm, you know what I mean. There is nothing that shows the love and emotion in a photo better than that soft touch of the groom's hand to the bride's chin as he leans in to kiss her, or the bride's hand on his shoulder, etc. We find people are so focused on a pose, they forget to touch with their hands and they just leave them flopped down and hanging. That's not showing the love - so just grab your bride or groom by the hand and start showing the love. That's how you get those photos that make people say, "aww!"

5. Talk to each other and look into each other's eyes!
But don't talk too much - make sure you have a lot of pauses so that your mouth isn't open in all of the photos. We tell our clients to stand in front of each other or sit beside each other - put their hands on each other lovingly, and just talk. They always end up laughing at some point and that is how you get a natural, but loving wedding photo.

6. Again, just act natural!
Don't watch the photographer all day, or all of your photos will be of you looking in the camera. Just focus on your love for each other, and the moment that is happening, and have fun. The photographer will get your attention and let you know if they need you to move or pose.

2009 - A New Season - A New Look!

We want to start by telling everyone THANK YOU for a wonderful year in 2008!!

We have made a few changes for this season (improvements) and with that comes new software, equipment and methods. We are excited about these changes and we thank our happy couples for their patience while we master these changes. One of our biggest changes is our software that we use. We have invested a lot of money into many new programs to give us the freedom to provide our art work with our photos - still free of charge - at a faster pace. We have updated our album software to provide quick changes and wonderful spreads!

The biggest change we have made for 2009 is our Albums! We now offer Finao albums with our packages (unless you have the magazine style) and they are AWESOME!!

You can order any of their products through us - just go to http://www.finao.com/ and check our their products. Also new this year, for all of those bride and grooms with orphaned wedding photos that are looking for a premium flush mount album or a magazine style or coffee table album, you are in the right place! We will work with your high resolution photographs that you received on a disc from your wedding photographer, and create a custom designed album just as if you were our client!! Just send me an email for more information! It's super easy, just fill out a form, put down a deposit and mail us the disc with your photos. We'll give you an online gallery to view your designs! We also put all of our designed photos for the album on a disc for you to keep!

http://www.angelcanary.com/albumhome.html

Also New This Year are our Guestbooks!">
These are like our Finao flushmounts, but they are made to be used as a wedding guestbook. We add your photos from your engagement session, baby photos, what ever you'd like, and you can use this at the reception for your wedding guests to sign - how cool is that!!
Again, we don't have to be your photographer to design and provide these albums for purchase! We offer them to anyone, including other photographers (it won't have our logo on it.)

http://www.angelcanary.com/albumhome.html

We are going to do our best to keep this blog up and going. We will be posting photos, tips for planning your wedding and more!

2009 - A New Season - A New Look!

We want to start by telling everyone THANK YOU for a wonderful year in 2008!!

We have made a few changes for this season (improvements) and with that comes new software, equipment and methods. We are excited about these changes and we thank our happy couples for their patience while we master these changes. One of our biggest changes is our software that we use. We have invested a lot of money into many new programs to give us the freedom to provide our art work with our photos - still free of charge - at a faster pace. We have updated our album software to provide quick changes and wonderful spreads!

The biggest change we have made for 2009 is our Albums! We now offer Finao albums with our packages (unless you have the magazine style) and they are AWESOME!!

You can order any of their products through us - just go to http://www.finao.com/ and check our their products. Also new this year, for all of those bride and grooms with orphaned wedding photos that are looking for a premium flush mount album or a magazine style or coffee table album, you are in the right place! We will work with your high resolution photographs that you received on a disc from your wedding photographer, and create a custom designed album just as if you were our client!! Just send me an email for more information! It's super easy, just fill out a form, put down a deposit and mail us the disc with your photos. We'll give you an online gallery to view your designs! We also put all of our designed photos for the album on a disc for you to keep!

http://www.angelcanary.com/albumhome.html

Also New This Year are our Guestbooks!">
These are like our Finao flushmounts, but they are made to be used as a wedding guestbook. We add your photos from your engagement session, baby photos, what ever you'd like, and you can use this at the reception for your wedding guests to sign - how cool is that!!
Again, we don't have to be your photographer to design and provide these albums for purchase! We offer them to anyone, including other photographers (it won't have our logo on it.)

http://www.angelcanary.com/albumhome.html

We are going to do our best to keep this blog up and going. We will be posting photos, tips for planning your wedding and more!

Wedding Dress & Make-Up Tips from a Photographer's View

Makeup - On a Budget?
If you can afford it, hire a professional. If you can cut anything else in your wedding to ensure you have the $30 or $40 to have your makeup professionally done, do it. Why not pay someone $30 that can make you look like a million bucks? This is the most important and most photographed day you will probably ever have, why not look the best you ever will? Besides, don’t you want your husband to look back on his wedding day and think, wow, I’ve never seen her glow like that.

Less is more. This is the digital age and trust me, the camera picks up everything. There are important things to keep in mind to tell the person doing your makeup. They will need to know if your event will be indoors and or/outdoors and if it will be dimly lit, etc. For example, if you are getting married on a beautiful summer day at 2 p.m. outdoors, you would want your make up to be a little bold. The more lights and the brighter the lights, the more the lights will wash out your color. This is the opposite for dim lit conditions.
** Let’s say that you are getting married indoors and the church is very dimly lit, not a lot of windows, and the lights are a yellow tint. If you told this to the professional doing your make up, they would try not to use makeup with a yellow tint, and would make sure that your make up was modest. Do not wear bright lipstick, really dark eye shadow and especially watch the blush. You can, but I assure you that you will probably look on the “clown” side because dim lights exaggerate the colors. Now, that’s not saying you can’t wear bright colors with dim lights, a professional makeup artist can use bright colors in a way that is flattering, but a friend or family member will more than likely end up making it worse because of their lack of knowledge. Okay, you’re probably thinking well, should I have good lighting for the formals? Well, or course, but unless you want big umbrella lights and light stands on at your ceremony, your pictures will be in the normal lighting of the church or location. Most receptions are also in dim lit conditions. It’s better for your makeup to be in accordance of the settings without lighting assistance, as we as photographers for your formal pictures can adjust our lights accordingly to flatter you as best as possible.

Always bring clear lip gloss and touch up makeup with you. Through out the day your makeup will “melt” and/or fade out. We strongly recommend bringing oil blotting paper in lieu of powder, because every time you reapply powder, it will start to look “caked on.” Most professionals will offer you samples to use throughout your day for purchase or complimentary.

The Dress - Don't be in a Hurry!
Make sure that the top portion of your dress is not too tight. When you try it on at the fitting, move around in it in the mirror and make sure it’s not cutting in and making bulges that you normally don’t have.
Make sure that it is also not too loose – you don’t want to be pulling it up the entire day. We often see a Bride’s frustration throughout the day, constantly pulling up her strapless dress.
Make sure that if your dress shows cleavage, that you look in the mirror and bend over. Ask yourself if that is the amount of cleavage you want your family members and guest to see (and all of your pictures to show) because most brides comment when looking through their pictures that they had no idea that they were showing that much cleavage when cutting the cake, leaning in and/or over for poses for the photographer and family members, dancing, etc.

**We also suggest taking a small handheld mirror with you. Sounds silly right? But having two teenage girls I often make them do this – take the mirror and hold it above your cleavage – now look up into the mirror looking down your dress. Wow right? Often women forget that men are taller than most women, and their view is, you guessed it, the same you see in the mirror, straight down your dress.

Even if you have already purchased your wedding dress, you can always get these things altered. We understand that you are planning a wedding with a budget but the dress fitting is not something to skimp on. How you look and feel in your dress is always reflected in your photographs whether you like it or not. Too many times we can see the bride’s frustration in her dress being too heavy, too tight, too loose and flat out uncomfortable. If you can afford it, or course we would suggest purchasing a separate wedding dress for the reception if your ceremony dress is too big and awkward for dancing and having a good time in. If you are like most brides and cannot afford a second dress, we strongly recommend that at your fitting you ensure you have a good bustle to tie up your train.

And please, don’t wait until your wedding day at the reception to figure out how to do it. Too often we have seen guest waiting for 20 minutes for a bride to get her dress bustled up because the person they delegated did not practice before hand. Brides, if your maid of honor or mother, or whom ever is the person that will be doing this task for you, make sure that you take them along with you when you purchase your dress and at your fitting and have the professionals there show them how. You cannot possibly show them how to do this with your dress on. We have seen time after time a bride become so mad because their mother or maid of honor cannot tie a bow right, knot or button, zip or bustle their dress. Why ruin your happy joyous mood? Don’t make the mistake in assuming that it’s easy and they will know exactly what to do and can do it fast, always do a test run and make sure they can do it and do it right and fast. You’ll thank yourself later and you’ll have pictures of you relaxed in your dress, not pictures of you giving your maid of honor or mom a look of frustration.

Of course, these are my opinions, from a Photographer's view - Angel Canary from Angel Studios Photography.

Wedding Dress & Make-Up Tips from a Photographer's View

Makeup - On a Budget?
If you can afford it, hire a professional. If you can cut anything else in your wedding to ensure you have the $30 or $40 to have your makeup professionally done, do it. Why not pay someone $30 that can make you look like a million bucks? This is the most important and most photographed day you will probably ever have, why not look the best you ever will? Besides, don’t you want your husband to look back on his wedding day and think, wow, I’ve never seen her glow like that.

Less is more. This is the digital age and trust me, the camera picks up everything. There are important things to keep in mind to tell the person doing your makeup. They will need to know if your event will be indoors and or/outdoors and if it will be dimly lit, etc. For example, if you are getting married on a beautiful summer day at 2 p.m. outdoors, you would want your make up to be a little bold. The more lights and the brighter the lights, the more the lights will wash out your color. This is the opposite for dim lit conditions.
** Let’s say that you are getting married indoors and the church is very dimly lit, not a lot of windows, and the lights are a yellow tint. If you told this to the professional doing your make up, they would try not to use makeup with a yellow tint, and would make sure that your make up was modest. Do not wear bright lipstick, really dark eye shadow and especially watch the blush. You can, but I assure you that you will probably look on the “clown” side because dim lights exaggerate the colors. Now, that’s not saying you can’t wear bright colors with dim lights, a professional makeup artist can use bright colors in a way that is flattering, but a friend or family member will more than likely end up making it worse because of their lack of knowledge. Okay, you’re probably thinking well, should I have good lighting for the formals? Well, or course, but unless you want big umbrella lights and light stands on at your ceremony, your pictures will be in the normal lighting of the church or location. Most receptions are also in dim lit conditions. It’s better for your makeup to be in accordance of the settings without lighting assistance, as we as photographers for your formal pictures can adjust our lights accordingly to flatter you as best as possible.

Always bring clear lip gloss and touch up makeup with you. Through out the day your makeup will “melt” and/or fade out. We strongly recommend bringing oil blotting paper in lieu of powder, because every time you reapply powder, it will start to look “caked on.” Most professionals will offer you samples to use throughout your day for purchase or complimentary.

The Dress - Don't be in a Hurry!
Make sure that the top portion of your dress is not too tight. When you try it on at the fitting, move around in it in the mirror and make sure it’s not cutting in and making bulges that you normally don’t have.
Make sure that it is also not too loose – you don’t want to be pulling it up the entire day. We often see a Bride’s frustration throughout the day, constantly pulling up her strapless dress.
Make sure that if your dress shows cleavage, that you look in the mirror and bend over. Ask yourself if that is the amount of cleavage you want your family members and guest to see (and all of your pictures to show) because most brides comment when looking through their pictures that they had no idea that they were showing that much cleavage when cutting the cake, leaning in and/or over for poses for the photographer and family members, dancing, etc.

**We also suggest taking a small handheld mirror with you. Sounds silly right? But having two teenage girls I often make them do this – take the mirror and hold it above your cleavage – now look up into the mirror looking down your dress. Wow right? Often women forget that men are taller than most women, and their view is, you guessed it, the same you see in the mirror, straight down your dress.

Even if you have already purchased your wedding dress, you can always get these things altered. We understand that you are planning a wedding with a budget but the dress fitting is not something to skimp on. How you look and feel in your dress is always reflected in your photographs whether you like it or not. Too many times we can see the bride’s frustration in her dress being too heavy, too tight, too loose and flat out uncomfortable. If you can afford it, or course we would suggest purchasing a separate wedding dress for the reception if your ceremony dress is too big and awkward for dancing and having a good time in. If you are like most brides and cannot afford a second dress, we strongly recommend that at your fitting you ensure you have a good bustle to tie up your train.

And please, don’t wait until your wedding day at the reception to figure out how to do it. Too often we have seen guest waiting for 20 minutes for a bride to get her dress bustled up because the person they delegated did not practice before hand. Brides, if your maid of honor or mother, or whom ever is the person that will be doing this task for you, make sure that you take them along with you when you purchase your dress and at your fitting and have the professionals there show them how. You cannot possibly show them how to do this with your dress on. We have seen time after time a bride become so mad because their mother or maid of honor cannot tie a bow right, knot or button, zip or bustle their dress. Why ruin your happy joyous mood? Don’t make the mistake in assuming that it’s easy and they will know exactly what to do and can do it fast, always do a test run and make sure they can do it and do it right and fast. You’ll thank yourself later and you’ll have pictures of you relaxed in your dress, not pictures of you giving your maid of honor or mom a look of frustration.

Of course, these are my opinions, from a Photographer's view - Angel Canary from Angel Studios Photography.

Lists You Need to Give your Wedding Photographer

We have made a quick list of what you should provide to the photographer to ensure that you get what you want for your wedding photographs.

1.A Detailed List of all of the events that will transpire on your wedding day. This includes the order of the reception (cutting the cake, first dance, speeches, food service, etc.) This helps the photographer know where to be and when. You would want the photographer to have time to get a quality photograph of the wedding cake, not have the DJ announce the cutting of the cake and get a mere “snap shot” of it seconds before you cut into it, simply because the photographer had no idea of when this would transpire or the schedule changed and nobody informed the photographer. This should be given to the photographer 3-4 weeks before your wedding day. (The photographer will then make a list and schedule timeline for your photographs for that day to co-inside with your plans.)

The more detailed your list of events are and order they will transpire, the better your photographs will be because it will mean the photographer is more prepared and in the place that she needs to be in and ready for you. This is especially helpful if the photographer notices the lighting or style of the photographs can be improved by having the bride and groom stand in a certain place or way to cut the cake, rather than have them just walk up and grab the knives and start cutting with little to no notice to the photographer.

2.A Detailed List of all of the Formal Pictures that you want. These should include if you want indoor and/or outdoor photographs of that group, party or person. Who you would like the photographs with (one of Bride with Favorite Aunt Jean Outdoor Pictures if no rain) (The Groom wants a picture with all of the groom’s men outdoor only and the bride wants pictures of her with the maids indoors and outdoors, and also wants a picture with each one separately.) This will help the photographer make a list of how long you will need to plan to take photos to ensure you have time to do all of them and to ensure they are not forgotten by checking them off the list during the day.


3.A Detailed List of all of the Small Things that are important to you – that you want pictures of. They can be two different things. If you tell the photographer that you love the way the bathroom is decorated, and you love the way your mom set up all of the bride’s maid’s bouquets, you love your grandmother’s ring and you’re wearing it on your wedding day, and you love your shoes and the flower girl’s basket, your programs, rings, etc – don’t be alarmed when you get all of your photographs back for proofs and there are pictures of all of these small things. We as photographers are merely doing what we are asked, and we take pictures of what you said you loved. That’s what we do. We record all of the small things that tell the story of your wedding day.

If you do not want pictures of your shoes, the flower girl’s basket, your grandmother’s rings, your programs, etc, we of course would simply suggest letting the photographer know that although you went out of your way to point these details out and how much they mean to you, that you don’t want any pictures of them, that way we can focus on the pictures of things that you do want and that are important to you. Of course 99.9% of our brides and grooms Rave about how glad they are that we documented in a beautiful way all the small things of their wedding. After all, these are the things that the bride has worked on for a year!! To make it simple, just make a list of what you want pictures of, that’s important. Don’t want pictures of my garter on my pale legs!! Do want pictures of my New Shoes! Of course, to date we have only had one bride complain that she had too many pictures and 0 that have not had enough pictures. As a photographer, I’ll take that.

4.A complete list of all of the locations that the photographer will need to be at – for the entire day. Even if you’re not sure of the times, at least provide this complete list to simply ensure that the photographer has time to utilize this information to make their own maps and driving directions. We always have two copies of driving directions to and from each location in conjunction with the main schedule. This will ensure us that we will not be late or get lost. Include the full Company name and the complete physical address and if possible the phone number with area code. For example:
Do Give: The Sunshine Salon
1234 Melody Lane
Greenfield, IN 46140
317-123-4567
Do Not Give: Salon in Greenfield off Melody Lane.


5.Complete list of your Wedding Party and the names of your parents, on both sides. The easiest way to do this is to simply copy your program. We also strongly suggest that you assign or request one person to be in charge of “gathering” everyone for your photographs per the schedule. This needs to be someone that knows who everyone is. This person can assist the photographer’s assistant in gathering everyone together at the times and in the locations that they are needed for photographs to ensure you stay on your schedule. You don’t have to do this but it will be easier on you, because if you look at the assistant and tell him that Mary is missing, he doesn’t know who Mary is. This is not something that most people think about, it’s just something that we noticed and developed and so far it works wonders and relieves the brides and grooms from gathering everyone that is missing or late.

6.A list of any changes, or requests in the schedule that the photographer made for your wedding day for your photographs. If for any reason, you don’t want to eat lunch before you put your dress on, let’s say you want to eat your lunch after you put your dress on. Well, you’re the boss; just write that on the list to change and the photographer will make the changes as needed per the bride and groom and/or wedding planner. It will be easier and less confusing for all parties involved to have all of the “kinks” in the schedule worked out ahead of time to ensure your day goes as smooth as possible.

7.A copy of any lists or schedules you have made for your family or wedding party. This would include deliveries, etc. We have actually had this come in handy often because the bride’s mother or maid of honor had either lost the list, or had brought the wrong or old one. These lists included how many bouquets and boutonnieres should have been delivered and who to pass them out to, etc. Like we said, we’re always happy to help.

Of course you don’t have to provide any lists at all. But I assure you that it will be reflected in your photographs. The Brides and Grooms who are overwhelmed or/and rushed and pulled here and there due to not having any idea of what was going on, had the deer in the headlight look or the I have a headache and want to choke someone look in each one of their pictures. They can smile all they want and pose all they want – but the eyes are the windows of the soul and they don’t lie – and a photograph catches it all. Then there are the Brides and Grooms that took the time to make the lists and the schedules not just for the Photographer, but for their wedding party and family. Their pictures always are the best, they don’t even have to be posed, because they experienced the joy, peace and love of the day and it was reflected in each and every photograph displaying the laughter and joyful tears of the day, not the confusion and frustration of an unplanned and unorganized day.

Lists You Need to Give your Wedding Photographer

We have made a quick list of what you should provide to the photographer to ensure that you get what you want for your wedding photographs.

1.A Detailed List of all of the events that will transpire on your wedding day. This includes the order of the reception (cutting the cake, first dance, speeches, food service, etc.) This helps the photographer know where to be and when. You would want the photographer to have time to get a quality photograph of the wedding cake, not have the DJ announce the cutting of the cake and get a mere “snap shot” of it seconds before you cut into it, simply because the photographer had no idea of when this would transpire or the schedule changed and nobody informed the photographer. This should be given to the photographer 3-4 weeks before your wedding day. (The photographer will then make a list and schedule timeline for your photographs for that day to co-inside with your plans.)

The more detailed your list of events are and order they will transpire, the better your photographs will be because it will mean the photographer is more prepared and in the place that she needs to be in and ready for you. This is especially helpful if the photographer notices the lighting or style of the photographs can be improved by having the bride and groom stand in a certain place or way to cut the cake, rather than have them just walk up and grab the knives and start cutting with little to no notice to the photographer.

2.A Detailed List of all of the Formal Pictures that you want. These should include if you want indoor and/or outdoor photographs of that group, party or person. Who you would like the photographs with (one of Bride with Favorite Aunt Jean Outdoor Pictures if no rain) (The Groom wants a picture with all of the groom’s men outdoor only and the bride wants pictures of her with the maids indoors and outdoors, and also wants a picture with each one separately.) This will help the photographer make a list of how long you will need to plan to take photos to ensure you have time to do all of them and to ensure they are not forgotten by checking them off the list during the day.


3.A Detailed List of all of the Small Things that are important to you – that you want pictures of. They can be two different things. If you tell the photographer that you love the way the bathroom is decorated, and you love the way your mom set up all of the bride’s maid’s bouquets, you love your grandmother’s ring and you’re wearing it on your wedding day, and you love your shoes and the flower girl’s basket, your programs, rings, etc – don’t be alarmed when you get all of your photographs back for proofs and there are pictures of all of these small things. We as photographers are merely doing what we are asked, and we take pictures of what you said you loved. That’s what we do. We record all of the small things that tell the story of your wedding day.

If you do not want pictures of your shoes, the flower girl’s basket, your grandmother’s rings, your programs, etc, we of course would simply suggest letting the photographer know that although you went out of your way to point these details out and how much they mean to you, that you don’t want any pictures of them, that way we can focus on the pictures of things that you do want and that are important to you. Of course 99.9% of our brides and grooms Rave about how glad they are that we documented in a beautiful way all the small things of their wedding. After all, these are the things that the bride has worked on for a year!! To make it simple, just make a list of what you want pictures of, that’s important. Don’t want pictures of my garter on my pale legs!! Do want pictures of my New Shoes! Of course, to date we have only had one bride complain that she had too many pictures and 0 that have not had enough pictures. As a photographer, I’ll take that.

4.A complete list of all of the locations that the photographer will need to be at – for the entire day. Even if you’re not sure of the times, at least provide this complete list to simply ensure that the photographer has time to utilize this information to make their own maps and driving directions. We always have two copies of driving directions to and from each location in conjunction with the main schedule. This will ensure us that we will not be late or get lost. Include the full Company name and the complete physical address and if possible the phone number with area code. For example:
Do Give: The Sunshine Salon
1234 Melody Lane
Greenfield, IN 46140
317-123-4567
Do Not Give: Salon in Greenfield off Melody Lane.


5.Complete list of your Wedding Party and the names of your parents, on both sides. The easiest way to do this is to simply copy your program. We also strongly suggest that you assign or request one person to be in charge of “gathering” everyone for your photographs per the schedule. This needs to be someone that knows who everyone is. This person can assist the photographer’s assistant in gathering everyone together at the times and in the locations that they are needed for photographs to ensure you stay on your schedule. You don’t have to do this but it will be easier on you, because if you look at the assistant and tell him that Mary is missing, he doesn’t know who Mary is. This is not something that most people think about, it’s just something that we noticed and developed and so far it works wonders and relieves the brides and grooms from gathering everyone that is missing or late.

6.A list of any changes, or requests in the schedule that the photographer made for your wedding day for your photographs. If for any reason, you don’t want to eat lunch before you put your dress on, let’s say you want to eat your lunch after you put your dress on. Well, you’re the boss; just write that on the list to change and the photographer will make the changes as needed per the bride and groom and/or wedding planner. It will be easier and less confusing for all parties involved to have all of the “kinks” in the schedule worked out ahead of time to ensure your day goes as smooth as possible.

7.A copy of any lists or schedules you have made for your family or wedding party. This would include deliveries, etc. We have actually had this come in handy often because the bride’s mother or maid of honor had either lost the list, or had brought the wrong or old one. These lists included how many bouquets and boutonnieres should have been delivered and who to pass them out to, etc. Like we said, we’re always happy to help.

Of course you don’t have to provide any lists at all. But I assure you that it will be reflected in your photographs. The Brides and Grooms who are overwhelmed or/and rushed and pulled here and there due to not having any idea of what was going on, had the deer in the headlight look or the I have a headache and want to choke someone look in each one of their pictures. They can smile all they want and pose all they want – but the eyes are the windows of the soul and they don’t lie – and a photograph catches it all. Then there are the Brides and Grooms that took the time to make the lists and the schedules not just for the Photographer, but for their wedding party and family. Their pictures always are the best, they don’t even have to be posed, because they experienced the joy, peace and love of the day and it was reflected in each and every photograph displaying the laughter and joyful tears of the day, not the confusion and frustration of an unplanned and unorganized day.