1. Preparation

I can’t say this one enough. Preparation is key. Have a questionnaire for your couple. In the questionnaire,you should ask the basics : start time, venue location etc. Also ask, about relations and the names of family and wedding party. It’s hard to remember everyone’s name in the wedding party, but learning the names of the parents, grandparents and siblings will take you far.  Also, ask if there are any family situations to be made aware of, such as divorces or deaths. It’s important to set expectations with your couple ahead of time instead of having a surprise or problem on the day of the wedding.  Remember there is no such thing as too much information when it comes to wedding photography. As far as preparing equipment, check and charge everything the night before if not earlier.

2. Scout your Location

I have always scouted my locations a week before the event. The reason being, I needed to know where the sun set in the sky during the time I would be taking wedding pictures. I may have been at this venue before, but generally the time of day and seasons may have been different.  Also, I check to see if there are any races or street fairs I should know about on the wedding date as this might affect traffic to and from the ceremony or the reception. You also want a back up plan. If it rains on the wedding day, you should be prepared with a  plan “b”.  A plan to execute in case it rains, you don’t want to be left high and dry without a back up plan.

3. The Power of Light

Know your light. Everything from natural to flash to strobe. When working with natural light, do you want a sihlouette or do you want to work with the sun? This will make a difference in your settings.  For flash, there are a number of ways to diffuse your flash to make it softer on your subjects. If you don’t know how to use your flash manually, try using a diffuser . You can also bounce it off walls, ceilings, even off reflectors. If you are using strobe, make sure you have tested your triggers or you have plenty of extension chord if it’s a plug in.  The key is to have the most flattering light possible on your subjects.

4. Details

Your couple has spent a lot of time picking out the right shoes, the right tie, the right rings, the right dress , the right suit. Spend some time getting images of these various articles as well as all the little details at the reception. You would be amazed how these detail shots help in setting up a wedding album. They often make the perfect filler or background.

5. Social Media Savvy

I can’t think of a better event to be social savvy at  than a wedding. Your opportunities to market are endless. From your questionnaire on step 1, ask for the bride and groom’s soial media handles on facebook ,twitter, instagram and such. Go over your plans with the couple on how you will present their images on your website, facebook and other channels. Some people are still very private, so it’s important to know this ahead of time.  Make it fun and get everyone involved. Sometimes coming up with a fun hashtag on Instagram can get the wedding party and guests involved. For example, #MikeandSallyTieTheKnot. Or when loading photos to Facebook, have your couple invite their friends to “tag” themselves in the photo.  At the reception, print out little cards with the website and password to the images for the wedding. Marketing is a different world now days with the internet and it’s important to not only discuss this with your couple but to also stay one step ahead of the technology curve.

There are so many more tips and tricks to wedding photography, but these are definite starting points. I have been a wedding photographer for 13 years and I can honestly say, it is one of the most difficult and demanding photography specialties. I admire those who have been in the business for years and I admire those just starting out and pushing the boundaries. Documenting a couple on one of their most cherished days is an honor and more importantly, giving them beautiful images documenting their wedding day is the best marketing you can do for yourself as they show them to their friends and family.

1. The Time is Right

It’s hard to say when the exact right time to photograph a pregnant woman would be, but in most cases 7 months is the ideal month. This is usually when the baby has dropped a bit in the tummy and when moms are still relatively comfortable in moving their bodies. If you wait until after the 7 months, sometimes it can be uncomfortable  for the mothers, plus they have a lot on their plate the closer they get to their due date.  As a photographer, you’ll also want enough time to edit and print these images before the baby arrives. This should be plenty of time for your client to order images and share them before the wee one enters the world.

2. Preparation is Key

Maternity photography should be treated just like modeling or head shot photography. Have your client come prepared. Moms should make sure their nails are groomed and you might even suggest having the moms have their hair and makeup professionally done.  It’s a little bit of pampering but it goes a long way in making the clients feel great about themselves. Have a candid discussion with your client regarding what to bring and make sure they bring water, snacks and a robe (for in between shoots) so they can feel as comfortable as possible. Also, remind them  not  to wear anything too confining around the belly before the session (like elastic pants). This can often leave marks on the tummy in which you’ll have to photoshop out later. So save yourself some time with this little tip.

3. Try New Angles

Ok, so you’ve done the traditional photo of mom standing up with her hands on her belly, now what? With maternity photography, it’s important to get the best angles and lighting as possible for the expecting moms. Try shooting from above. This is a great angle as it is almost always flattering . At this position, you can focus on her bright eyes or her hands on her belly. She can be looking straight at you or down at her bump. Any of these combinations will work as this angle is flattering and slimming to the face.

4. Get Creative

Think outside the box and get creative. What I love most about today’s maternity photography is the abstracts. I love the focus on the belly and flowers. Or maybe the feet are in focus and the tummy is out of focus. Or you can be clever in announcing the sex of the child by including elements to give clues. Try a pair of boy’s baby shoes in the photo or maybe fill the room with pink balloons. It’s fun to get creative and your client will have fun as well.

5. Get Loved Ones Involved

It’s not just mom who is excited about the arrival of the baby, it’s the dad, the partner, the pets, the siblings, the grandparents, the aunts, the uncles, you name it, everyone is anxiously waiting. So now is the time to capture their excitement too and include them in the maternity photo shoot.  Dads and partners can come in and wrap their arms around the mom. Siblings can come in get up and close to mom’s belly. Finally, let Fido in on the action too, he’s a part of the family too and his life is about to get a whole lot better with more table scraps coming his way in a few years.

The important key to remember with any of this is to always make sure your client is comfortable. Keep relaxed but take this seriously. Your clients will love the extra attention and details you give them. Photographers are family historians and this is one of the most important jobs in the world.

1: We have now added Genuine Leather to our line up of beautiful lay-flat photo books. Our premium line of photo books offers rugged durability with a striking presentation. It comes in square, portrait and landscape shapes and four different colors, onyx black, quarry gray, ruby red and saddle brown.

2 :  Custom title functionality for Leather Lux & Genuine Leather photo books.  Members can now select  from default titles or enter your own title for the book. There will be 2 lines, each one contains not more than 18 characters.

3:  We’ve added no foil embossing for Leather Lux and Genuine Leather cover photo books. So members  will be able to choose stamping with gold, silver foil, or without foil (debossed).

4:Fixed import. Now our import will  work faster and be more stable for large number of photos from our different import sources.

5.Fixed fit/fill functionality for rotated images. After applying fit/fill rotated by 90 degrees, the photo element will keep its rotation.

6.   Fixed inner move in pan mode for rotated images.

We hope these updates and fixes will help you on your way to making beautiful photo books.

I asked Guillermo what he loves to photograph the most. He replied, “ I love to photograph striking life moments – I prefer photos without people in them but life is ironic and made me a pretty darn good wedding photographer.  I get my inspiration from my pursuit to remain a true photographer that does not rely on digital tools but strives to understand the science and art of photography more each day.”

He photographs around 60 weddings a year (that’s not a typo) and says he loves every minute of it.  Guillermo said if he could give his younger self some advice when he was first starting out it would be to just go for it and start now!

So I asked Guillermo what’s in his camera bag. He said, ” Two 7d bodies and one 10d body (nostalgia), Canon 28-70 L 2.8, Canon 70-200 ISIIL 2.8, a Canon Fisheye and two  580 EXII flashes.”

With doing roughly 60 weddings a year, I had to ask him what his favorite image is that he captured.  He replied, “ Of all time – I haven’t taken it yet – I have never rated one of my photos a five.  But out of my wedding photos I would have to say the first photo I took of a bride and her bride’s maids during my first wedding in 2006.”

Thank you Guillermo, your work is lovely and inspiring. If you would like to see more of his work you can visit his site HERE.

New York, NY, Jan 15, 2011 – AdoramaPix Inc, sellers of premium quality lay flat photo books have announced an unprecedented sale on their photo books. During their “Seeing is Believing” Sale, 8×8 – 14pg photo books can be purchased for only $11.95* simply by entering the code:BELIEVE at the checkout.

“It is impossible for sample photos on a website to properly convey the difference in quality between an AdoramaPix photo book and those of our competitors,” said Herman Klein, Director of AdoramaPix. “Quality is at the very heart of what we do at Adoramapix. Nowhere is this better displayed than in our photo books. With each turn of the page, you’ll see the craftsmanship and attention to detail. This sale allows customers who haven’t seen one of our photo books before to see firsthand the difference that real photo paper pages and lay flat binding can make.”

Unlike press-printed products, photo books from AdoramaPix use true archival photo paper for their pages, have lay-flat page spreads with no gutter between the pages, and one of the largest selections of shapes and sizes in the business. Superior quality and lasting durability make AdoramaPix books the perfect choice for preserving photographic memories. AdoramaPix also has their own PixPublisher photo book editor. This editor is free to use and includes a massive library of art resources, and hundreds of professionally designed book layouts that make book creation a snap.