Nominated by, and voted on by the 11,000 strong membership of the Photography Forum (www.photography-forum.org) this image, grabbed quickly between high winds and wet squalls during a cyclone, survived the two rounds of voting and came out on top!

Wedding Image of the Year 2010

Its’ a very special Award to receive as it was selected by my peers out of the hundreds of wedding images submitted to the Photography Forum every year. It then survived two rounds of voting to come out as the best wedding image of 2010!

Photography is all about the light – too bright and it casts harsh, deep shadows across peoples faces. A ‘dull’ overcast day gives a nice, soft, flattering light, almost perfect for wedding photography.

If you are planning an outdoor ceremony, think about your position relative to the sun – will you be looking lovingly into each others eyes as you say your vows, or will one of you be squinting into the sun?

A bright sunny day, and cloudless skies are the dream of every bride on their wedding day, but it does make life difficult for your photographer. Especially when the sun is high in the sky around the middle of the day.

Shadows cast by facial features can ruin a superb image. The nose can appear larger than it is if the shadows are too deep. Even eyebrows can shade the eyes too much, resulting in ‘Panda Eye’ syndrome in the photos.

So, as a photographer, I am, first and foremost looking for areas of good quality light, and this usually means finding areas of shade. Anything that blocks out the light from above is our saviour on sunny days.

So, when you are scouting for a venue, or looking for photo locations, do keep an eye out for areas that are in shade. They don’t need to be dark, but a large building or wall, a veranda, gazebo or trellis all helps create a nice soft light for the photographs.

Your photographer will love you for it, and you will help them create the kind of images you will be proud to show off for many years to come!

I am very pleased that one of mine has been selected as ‘Image of the Week’ out of all the pictures posted last week.

Here it is!

Anna had ta real ‘Jane Russell’ look and was a joy to photograph.

http://tiffinbox.org/the-new-wedding-guest/

Do have a read and let me know what you think?

I was over the moon to achieve third place in the Photographer of the Year Awards with 421 points.

Mike Hill (Waihi) just pipped me by a point to Runners-Up spot but Tracey Robinson (Rotorua) deservedly took the top spot with 424 points!

Congratulations to Tracey, some stunning work in the ‘Hear, Speak, See No Evil’ project as well as her wedding images and a well-deserved recipient of the Region’s Photographer of the Year title!

Some of  Tracey Robinson’s beautiful work:

And here’s a few of my ‘scoring’ images:

and I’ve always admired Mike Hill’s work, like me, an NZIPP member for about a year.

(Click on the thumbnails for a bigger view)

Over the years I have spent many hours discussing wedding photography with numerous engaged couples, and I have come to realise that every potential client I speak to is selecting their wedding photographer based on the same four criteria.

Im Engaged!

I call this ‘The Four P System’, and whether you are aware of it or not, I’ll wager that you are doing the same.

 
The Four Ps are – in no particular order:
• Pictures
• Personality
• Product
• Price

Every couple has different priorities, some fall in love with a photographer’s work (Pictures), some with a particular Album style (Product) for others, the Price is the most important.
There is no right or wrong order pof priority in the list, but all four do relate to one another and affect each of the others – it is up to you to decide which ones are the most important.
So let’s discuss each in turn:

1: Pictures

Conversation

This one’s quite simple. Do you like the photographer’s pictures?
You should be able to view examples of their work on their websites to start with, but a ‘Portfolio Gallery’ should only be the starting point. Remember, we all put our favourite pictures in our portfolios, so make sure you ask to see an example of full wedding coverage. This will give you a much clearer indication of what you will get if you book them.

2: Product
Wedding photography is essentially a service-based profession, so the level of service you can expect to receive can also be a factor here. There is often though, a tangible product at the end of the process – wheth

er it’s a luxury album or simple disc of images.
Meet with a few photographers and look at their sample albums – pick them up, don’t be afraid to handle them. Do they feel well-made? Do the pages line up properly or are they loose? Is there a good, strong spine? Are the cover materials top-quality?

3: Personality
Your relationship with your wedding photographer is a vital part of your wedding day. Of all the vendors you have hired to make your day special, you will be most ‘intimate’ with your photographer.
You probably won’t see the caterer, the florist or the dress-maker all day – but your photographer will be with you the whole time.

They need to be able to ‘control’ large groups of people – your friends and family – with good-nature, humour and efficiency. There’s nothing worse than a bossy photographer trying to get the family groups together.
The relationship continues well after the wedding itself. Long after the caterer has washed up, the flowers have wilted and the dress has been cleaned and put away, you will probably still be designing the album together.
Quite simply, if you don’t get along with them on a personal level, then potentially, they could ruin the whole day for you.

4: Price
There is good reason for me leaving this ‘P’ till last. The amount you are going to pay for your wedding photography can be most affected by the first three ‘Ps’. Photography is such a subjective item and putting a price on it can be very difficult. Prices can vary wildly across different photographers and it can be almost impossible to compare like-for-like.
Is it worth the extra $500 for that lovely photographer with the fantastic albums? Over that cheaper one who seemed a bit bored with us?
If you read my earlier article on Budgeting and Forecasting for your wedding, then you should have gleaned some ideas on how much to spend on the photography – I hope it helps.

Conclusion:
I hope that this little ramble has helped you. As ever, please feel free to comment and leave feedback and if you have any further questions, please do drop me a line.
All the best for your planning!

Im Engaged!

You can now make a rough timeline, from today up to your wedding day, to show who will need paying, when they need paying and how much you need to pay them. This is your forecast – can you manage to meet the payment dates?

If the answer is yes – well done!

If not, some decisions will have to be made.
Want & Need – A Big Difference!

The list of things you really, really NEED to get married is pretty short:

1: Someone to get married to.
2: The rings
3: A celebrant
4: Witnesses
5: A place for numbers 1-4 to be together at the same time.

The list of things you really WANT when you get married is much, much longer!

So, if your dream wedding is going to be more than you can afford, then we need to start thinking about the dollars and cents and deciding if what you WANT is really what you NEED.

The hard part is trimming your list a bit. Compromises will have to be made – from the guest list (do you really need to invite your whole primary school class?), to the decor (are those pretty little name card holders essential?).
Don’t be afraid to put some of the items on your Gift List – your guests often appreciate being able to contribute to your wedding day.

The Glitter broke the bank

So now you are in a position to complete your  budget and forecast your expenditure more accurately.

From your research, you will have an idea of which vendors you like – narrow down each category – venue, caterer, celebrant, photographer etc – to your top three to five ‘picks’.

Usually, the venue is the top priority at this stage – once that’s booked, your date is set and everything else depends on that.

Then, book your ‘must-have’ vendors as soon as you can. Especially those professionals who can only cover one wedding a day – your photographer for example, can only be at one wedding at a time. If they are good at what they do, they will book up early. Make sure you agree on the payment plan, and apply it to your budge

t forecast.

You will probably find that there is a large expenditure early on, with the booking Fees and Deposits to be paid, then another, bigger spend required nearer the date to pay off the balances.

This is where you can negotiate a payment plan, or if you are disciplined, make sure you pay enough each month into an interest-bearing account to meet the payment dates.

You may need to juggle a bit – if your favoured caterer is expensive, can you reduce the guest list a little? Or, do you book a cheaper caterer and invite everyone to the meal? $5,000 on catering is in the budget, so do you feed 100 people at $50 per head, or 50 people at $100 per head?

Bride

You’ve budgeted $2,500 for photography, but the photographer you’d really like charges $3,500. Do you really need them with you for two hours while you are getting ready? Do they really need to stay until late? Can you book them for less time on the day and bring the cost into line with your budget.

It is very easy to get carried away with all the tiny details of your wedding day, and they do all add to the cost. Having a solid budget to work to can only help you keep the costs under control and help you with the tough decisions that will have to be made along the way. You will be more relaxed and able to enjoy the day much more knowing that you haven’t broken the bank.
I hope this has helped a little, it can be a huge subject and I have only really skimmed the surface. Every wedding is unique and I can only use broad strokes here but if you would like more help, please feel free to contact me.