Choose the Right Photographer from Jan Michele Photography

I am so excited to be featuring the expertise from Jan Michele Photography today! Jan was kind enough to provide a very helpful article on choosing your wedding photographer. Lord only knows the kind of pickles you can find yourself in if you don't choose the right one!

There are two keys in choosing a wedding photographer to making sure that you will love your wedding pictures, today and always.

First, do you connect to the photographer’s work?  If you like what you see, there’s a really good chance you'll like your pictures.  The way the brain works, pictures not only trigger but become our memories, and you want a photographer who will see your day as you will want to remember it. A photographer’s work should invoke a positive emotion when you look at it.  If your wedding album looked similar to a sample you see, would you absolutely love it? 

Second, do you like the photographer? This is the person that you'll see the most of on your wedding day, from getting ready though the end of the day.  Your photographer will be watching and close by all day, so it’s really helpful if you enjoy them as a person and trust them.  Not only do photographers bring their own perspective to the wedding day but their own style of shooting as well.  Some are more boisterous, and others are quiet observers.  Choose someone who fits your preferred experience. 

It's easy to get bogged down with prices and packages, but when it comes to photography, it's really better to go with how you feel first and foremost. Choosing a photographer should be an emotional decision more than a dollars and cents decision.  After all, if you hate your wedding pictures, any good deal is still a waste of money.  

The photos are the only tangible thing you have left after the wedding, the one thing that appreciates in value as the years go by.  Don’t make the mistake of underestimating their value to you or to future generations. 

 

Two tips on deciding which wedding photographers to interview.

1.    Only meet with photographers who are in your price range – or that you are willing to find space in your budget for.  Don’t put yourself in the position of finding the perfect photographer and having to say no over money.  Not to mention it’s a waste of your time and the photographers.

2.    Only meet with 2 or 3 photographers.  And if you’ve thoroughly done your research on line, you may only need to meet with one photographer to confirm your selection.  Meeting with too many photographers quickly becomes overwhelming and you end up choosing a photographer from a stack of package price lists rather than based on a connection to a photographer and their work.

Questions to ask when meeting with a photographer:

·      How long after the wedding before I see my proofs?

·      Who does the album design, how long does it take? 

·      Who chooses the pictures for the album?

·      Do you have a more observational or directive shooting style during the wedding day?

·      How long have you been in business?

·      Is photography your full time job?

·      Will you help me with scheduling the wedding day & planning picture locations?

·      Is it important to have an engagement shoot with you? 

Thank you so much Jan! (Photos submitted via Two Bright Lights)

Pickle Quick Tip: Where does the ring go?

The Pickle: You want to know if the wedding band goes on top or on bottom of the engagement ring.

The Solution: Typically the wedding band goes closest to your heart. So you would put the band on first and then the engagement ring on top of it. On the wedding day, you can move the engagement ring to your right hand and then switch it back to the left hand after the ceremony and before the reception.

But, of course traditions are meant to be broken.
Maybe you'll but your engagement ring on first since that was the order you got the rings.
Maybe you have an engagement ring and wedding band so big that you wear them on both fingers (like I have noticed Bethenny Frankel do)

Photo via BravoTV

So there you have it. How will you be wearing your rings on your wedding day?

Let marriage be held in honor among all. . . - Hebrews 13:4

Quick Tip: Eraser Earring Backings

In a post I did for an emergency kit on jewelry, I mentioned having extra backings for your earrings because we have all been there on losing those things (heck, I still have a stud sitting in my car that I lost a backing to and gave up looking for it)

Flickr by Fdecomite

Brides Magazine had this handy tip: Use a pencil eraser! It probably is easier to use the easy-to-remove erasers from a mechanical pencil. Stab that earring into the eraser for a temporary solution. Someone might have a pencil in their purse, right?

Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. - 11 Corinthians 4:17