They say your wedding photographer is your quarterback on the day of your wedding and to ensure that your team hits a touchdown, you have to communicate with your quarterback. Weddings are a one-time event and your photographer has the responsibility and pressure to catch all those special moments during your day. The photographer interacts with almost every other vendor at your wedding; here are 5 things we would love to share with our clients.

1. Communication is the Key

Those who understand what the client’s vision and can deliver on those expectations will succeed in the wedding photography business. There are no retakes at weddings, although some things can be fixed by editing, not everything can be. Therefore, make sure to communicate your style to your photographer before hiring them.

Now, what is your style? The best way for brides to communicate their style is to select their favourites from our and other photographers portfolios and share those images with us. That helps us understand the type of pictures the client likes.

Keep in mind every photographer has their own style, although most of the styles can be replicated if your photographer is not comfortable replicating someone’s style then you have to trust him. Ideally, you want to hire the photographer based on what they do good, what they are known for; basically, you have to like most of their work.

I personally like to educate my clientele about different types of lighting techniques and shooting styles we use on weddings, for example, photojournalism vs portraits. We also make sure to provide a rough percentage that you can expect in your final product. This way, even before picking up our cameras, we know exactly what the client is expecting.

If a bride tells us that she is looking for a bright and airy getting ready images, I would suggest her to get ready in a room with big windows instead of a basement.

Also, communicating with your photographer, the main family members and close friends will really help the photographer create the final product you want.

If there are any specific shots or traditions your photographer should be aware of, communicating that before the wedding would definitely help as well.

2. Trust your Team

Once you have selected your vendors, trust them. A lack of trust will affect your final product. There will be times, I, as a photographer, will suggest a shot and you as a client can’t envision the final product and might be hesitant. Those are the times you have to trust the experts and let them do what they are best at. Keep in mind, there is no benefit of us as photographers not to do a good job for the client.

Typically, we take about 6000 to 7000 images on an Indian wedding which includes repeats, light tests, closed-eyes images. Our post-processing includes but is not limited to selecting and editing these images, to finally deliver the best 1300 to 1500 images. You have to trust your photographer that all the good images have been delivered to you; there is no use for us as photographers to not deliver your images which are good.

It’s always about quality over quantity of images for us and it will really depreciate your viewing experience if delivered too many images and where most of them are not good.

Other times, trust plays a big role in communicating with other vendors. As photographers, we share our feedback with hair and makeup artists on how makeup is looking in images or if the veil is not sitting well on a bride’s head. You have to trust your team during these times on the wedding day.

3. Good Things Take Time

Be patient – always remember good things take time. Many times wedding tend to run on a late schedule and often times cutting from wedding photoshoot time.

To avoid delays, consider having a wedding planner. Otherwise, as an alternative, one-month of coordination can really to avoid delays. Someone who is assertive and has the experience of running timelines can get things back on track if delayed.

Make sure to know your priorities, so let’s say your photographer asked for 30 minutes for portraits and your ceremony ran late; you have to decide if you rather cut time taking family pictures or save time during lunch or give your photographer 20 minutes instead of 30 minutes to do their job.

We feel whenever there are delays on a wedding, portrait photography time is the first to be cut in half to balance the delay. Now, if you really value photography, do give your photographer that time he needs to produce those images.

Best of the best photographer will need your time and attention, especially for portraits.

4. It’s All About the Light

Light is the core of what it takes to make good photos, always consult your photographer if you are planning to take a big decision on lighting at the venue or decoration.

There are times we have had brides pick red and fluorescent green for small mandap set-ups for Hindu weddings. Such colours confined to a small area will affect the skin tones of the bride and groom.

For example, the LED lights some decorators or DJs use can be really harsh on the skin tones and you probably don’t want to have those lights hitting directly the faces of the couple. Your photographer is your best resource on lighting so please trust him and use his expertise on lighting-related issues.

5. Always See the Full Picture

Wedding is a very fast-paced day with almost no opportunity for retakes. Time is a very valuable asset on that day and an experienced photographer should know how to use and divide their time to make sure they are able to deliver all different parts of the wedding.

For example, the bride and groom portraits, family portraits, storytelling wedding ceremony, couple portraits, group portraits, decoration and jewellery details, dance floor and so many other images all together make a complete wedding package. A good photographer is one that can give all that in a package.

One mistake is to hire a photographer solely based on a couple of images we see on Instagram. Always make sure you have seen a full wedding so you can ensure the photographer is able to deliver a complete wedding product not only one dimension of a wedding.

An amateur photographer can create good images only when everything is going good whereas a professional photographer will create amazing images even when nothing is going good.

Always read client reviews, check out a full wedding delivery and ensure you have the right team for the wedding day.