Are the getting ready photos that important ? I see a lot
of getting ready photos in relation to the "other" important wedding photos
of the day. why not spend that time taking photos of the bride AFTER she's
dressed and looking great.
I do the same tihng, but am re evaluating the time spent shooting those
photos.
My opinion, yeah they're important. If you are trying to tell a story of the day that is a part of it and quite honestly has some of the most intimate photos of the day.
For me it's just one part of the day's story. And it can be a several hour process for the bride, which may account for why you see so many photos from that portion of the day. But your saying "why not spend that time taking photos of the bride AFTER she's dressed" suggests that we can take that hour or two of getting ready and magically shift it to when after she's already ready. But as you know, the bride's timing is such that once she's ready she's often barely on time, or late, and is off to the ceremony. At least that's been my experience.
It's based on their request. Some brides do not want before pictures taken while just as many do. I value it because it's an excellent chance to get them familiar with having a camera in their face before the ceremony.
Do we really decide on this? Sure, we can try and sell the value of having longer coverage, but ultimately the bride is choosing when she wants you there, which ultimately reflects on how much 'prep' she wants. As Manzelle says, some are really keen, some are not at all.
Personally I like the opportunity to show how the atmosphere changes through the day. Without the 'before', the more celebratory elements don't have quite as much impact later on in the day.
I really like the getting ready part of the day. To me, its the time when the bride morphs from her everyday self into a bride, and there's often a lot of emotion to be seen.
For me, prep photography is important to capture the change of the day, and to document the morning which really is a huge part of the experience of the day. Even more than that, selfishly I like to acclimate the wedding party and close family to having someone aiming a big camera in their direction all day. Some people are naturally at ease, but a good number are self-conscious and need that bit of time to get used to the photographer hovering around.
Personally, I like to document bridal prep but not every bride will think it's important and that goes double for the groom.
My favorite part of the day is the portraits of the bride / groom and the bridal party. It's the part that stresses me out the most and is usually the most hectic because of time constraints.
It depends on the bride and the story you are telling. I like doing them because it is a page or 2 in the book and part of the details of the day. Then there are days I love not doing them because my day is shorter
Mock it up where you can. I ask all of the guys to be showered and ready when i arrive. The groom i ask to have his pants on and just a t shirt.
When i get in the door i'll set up a shave shot which is then over in a minute rather than be snapping 100 shots over 20 minutes while the guys actually shave. Then i get shots of he groom putting a shoe on, putting on his shirt, tie, jacket.
I also prefer the girls to be ready but for the bride to wait until i arrive to put on the dress.
I agree getting ready shots tell part of the story but spending an hour getting those shots when you can nail them in a few minutes is not good use of time.
Even though it may be way more "fun" for us, wouldn't the first look and portraits be more important as time passes and emotion of the wedding day fades ? I would rather have more time to photograph artistic, beautiful images of a bride and groom than them in their skivvies. Some photos of that part of the day are fine, but devoting hours to that seems like overkill in the scope of importance. IMHO.
Marcus Watts wrote:
Mock it up where you can. I ask all of the guys to be showered and ready when i arrive. The groom i ask to have his pants on and just a t shirt.
When i get in the door i'll set up a shave shot which is then over in a minute rather than be snapping 100 shots over 20 minutes while the guys actually shave. Then i get shots of he groom putting a shoe on, putting on his shirt, tie, jacket.
I also prefer the girls to be ready but for the bride to wait until i arrive to put on the dress.
I agree getting ready shots tell part of the story but spending an hour getting those shots when you can nail them in a few minutes is not good use of time.
I agree.....to me, just about anyone can shoot candids of that portion. Now that's not to say that there aren't many awesome shooters here who put out unique getting ready captures. I just feel my time could be put to better use for my client.
Besides getting the shots that help tell the story in the album, I find it useful for getting to know the bridesmaids and brides family, helps those people be a lot more relaxed around you.
Have the best man help the groom with his tie or a bridesmaid help the bride with her veil, the feelings are still there and will convey in the image. The guys will still goof around without prompting from you to provide spontaneity (though go ahead and prompt them if they don't).
jolahern wrote:
Besides getting the shots that help tell the story in the album, I find it useful for getting to know the bridesmaids and brides family
That may very well be. I rarely shoot bride prep and do feel that I have almost no rapport with the bridesmaids and bride's family throughout the day.
