What To Have Prepared For Your Photographer

One you have a photographer picked, you have gone over all of their packages and you know exactly what you want, what are the next steps? How do you know what they are looking for? What do they need vs what are things that I don’t need to worry about?

Well those are all questions that depend on the individual photographer but what I will highlight here are some basics most photographers need, or would like to have to make their job of capturing your wedding day a lot easier.

1) Emergency contact list

I have spoken about an emergency contact list in a previous post, but there’s a reason why it needs to be said again. An emergency contact list is a key tool to help the photographer keep things running on time, but not only that it is a list of contacts just in case things go terribly wrong. I have had many things go wrong over a wedding day, thankfully I always make a list of people I can contact to help mitigate the severity of the emergency. Below I will list a few important people to have on this list, just in case someone needs to get a hold of them.

• Seamstress

• Makeup Artist

• Best Man

• Maid of Honor

• Wedding Planner/Organizer on the day

• Venue Representative

• Local Police/Fire/EMS non emergency numbers

• Towing Company/Roadside Assistance

• Florist

Some of these you may leave out depending on your circumstances, however the list should still be made, given to your wedding day organizer/planner and your photographer.

2) A shot list

A shot list is a very important part of the day. I do want to be clear, this is not a mood board or a list of shots you would like in a magazine. These are shots you want and need of the day. For example:

• Establishing shot of the venue

• bride getting ready

• groom getting ready

• family photos with members names in each shot

• decorations

• cake cutting shot

• first dance

I will be making a more complete list in the future for anyone curious as to what my minimum list looks like. However having one ready for the photographer will make everything a lot easier on the day and make things easier to keep on schedule.

3) Mood Board

A mood board and shot list sometimes go hand in hand. For me I feel a mood board is invaluable. A mood board is basically a collection of images that give you the feeling of the images you would like during your wedding day.

With a mood board it is very important though to focus on why you like the images in the mood board. Is it the pose? Is it the editing style? Or is it the feel you get from the photo that you love so much?

Every picture on your mood board should have an explanation as to why you like the photo so much and why you feel this would fit in your wedding day. Think of it as the music playlist you would have for your reception. You wouldn’t want a song on the playlist that gives you a feeling other than a magical evening, your mood board is something like that.

Generally I ask for at least 10 images, however my clients usually end up giving me many more with a short description of what makes each image special and why they like it.

4) Your expectations for the day

You think this one would be obvious, or maybe something you shouldn’t have to discuss. There are times where clients have not always understood my packages, or have not understood what exactly happens on a wedding day (after all most people I photograph it is their first wedding). Having your expectations in writing or at least discussed with your photographer could eliminate any misunderstandings about the day.

How long do you want your photographer for? What kind of images do you want? Do you want prints or not?

All of this seems like it would be obvious when choosing your photographer however people change their minds all the time. It is better to expect to be buying an album than to not want an album, then realize how expensive they are later. Your photographer wont mind you asking about pricing, as long as they know what you could be interested in, or what you are realistically able to afford.

All of these things…

All of these things being prepared will make for a much easier and enjoyable wedding experience, at least when the photography is involved. It is you day, however all of these things help us capture your day to keep the magic alive for the rest of time. My goal as well as every other photographer’s goal is to make sure you don’t have to worry about the memories. We capture them, keep the magic alive and deliver something you would like to share with everyone you meet.

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