7 Guidelines for a Great Wedding Reception

So you just got engaged over the holidays and now your gathering up all the bridal books and similar books and magazines. Here are 7 guidelines from my experience of photographing weddings. You can put these in any order you like, I am writing these down as I think of them.

1- Music and Entertainment is key to a good party-
When selecting a DJ or a band it is very important to sellect a person or persons that match your style and understands what you want. A good band/DJ will be able to "read" your guests and keep them happy and also respect your wishes. Be sure to be specific and clear as to what you DO NOT want as well.

2- Focus on your guests-
When your a Bride and Groom, remember that ultimately you are the host of the reception.
Think of your guests, try to imagine how your guests point of view. When you take some time to envision the day from your guests perspective, and you make sure that their experience is smooth, relaxing and fun, this will make it a wedding to remember.

3- Your Fist Dance-
There are a couple of different ways to do this, the choice is up to you and what the two of you want to do. Typically the happy couple do their first dance as soon as they are introduced into the reception and then sit down to dinner. Some couples have preferred to be introduced and sit down for blessing and toasts and then do their fist dance in-between different courses being served. This second way has an advantage in that once dinner is over, all the "formal" dances are over and just allows for your quests to enjoy their dancing. There is also a yet a third option as well and that is to wait till after your Main course and your Fist Dance kicks off the celebration of your reception.

4- The Toast
This is pretty straight forward, Usually the toast(s) take place after the wedding part guests are introduced and seated. The toast has traditionally been just the best man. This has changed over the years to include the Maid of Honor. Recently the Father of the Bride will also toast the newly married couple as well. The Toast should be kept to a few minutes minimum, should not include a lot of inside jokes that only the couple will get.

5- Good food
Whatever food it is, it should taste good.

6- To chicken dance or not to YMCA
You may find these dances 'cheesy' -- or you may not, but surprise -- many wedding guest do. This is something best left to your musical professional, they will be able to create a fun evening based on the feedback they get from your guests.

7- Bride and Groom-Set the Mood
Finally- Remember you set the mood. Your wedding party will pick up on your mood and will transfer that to the guests. If you think you might be overly stressed out about the details of your day, you might want to consider hiring a wedding coordinator - even if it's only for the day of the wedding. It will be worth every penny if it only means that you can relax and enjoy your wedding.

The more you plan ahead the less surprises will pop up. Share what your planning with your hired professionals, they want to know about your day as well because the more they know the more info they can give you to help it go smoothly. Most of all have FUN planning.

Reasons Why Professional Photographers Cannot Work for Free

Dear potential photo buyer,

If you have been directed to this page, it is likely that you have requested the use of an image or images for free or minimal compensation.

As professional photographers, we receive requests for free images on a regular basis. In a perfect world, each of us would love to be able to respond in a positive manner and assist, especially with projects or efforts related to areas such as education, social issues, and conservation of natural resources. It is fair to say that in many cases, we wish we had the time and resources to do more to assist than just send photographs.

Unfortunately, such are the practicalities of life that we are often unable to respond, or that when we do, our replies are brief and do not convey an adequate sense of the reasons underlying our response.

Circumstances vary for each situation, but we have found that there are a number of recurring themes, which we have set out below with the objective of communicating more clearly with you, and hopefully avoiding misunderstandings or unintentionally engendering ill will.

Please take the following points in the constructive manner in which they are intended. We certainly hope that after you have had a chance to read this, we will be able to talk again and establish a mutually beneficial working relationship.

Photographs Are Our Livelihood
Creating compelling images is the way we make our living. If we give away our images for free, or spend too much time responding to requests for free images, we cannot make a living.

We Do Support Worthy Causes With Images
Most of us do contribute photographs, sometimes more, to support certain causes. In many cases, we may have participated directly in projects that we support with images, or we may have a pre-existing personal relationship with key people involved with the efforts concerned. In other words, each of us can and does provide images without compensation on a selective basis.

We Have Time Constraints
Making a leap from such selective support to responding positively to every request we get for free photographs, however, is impractical, if for no other reason than the substantial amount of time required to respond to requests, exchange correspondence, prepare and send files, and then follow-up to find out how our images were used and what objectives, if any, were achieved. It takes a lot of time to respond to requests, and time is always in short supply.

Pleas of “We Have No Money” Are Often Difficult to Fathom
The primary rationale provided in nearly all requests for free photographs is budgetary constraint, meaning that the requestor pleads a lack of funds.

Such requests frequently originate from organisations with a lot of cash on hand, whether they be publicly listed companies, government or quasi-government agencies, or even NGOs. Often, it is a simple matter of taking a look at a public filing or other similar disclosure document to see that the entity concerned has access to significant funding, certainly more than enough to pay photographers a reasonable fee should they choose to do so.

To make matters worse, it is apparent that all too often, of all the parties involved in a project or particular effort, photographers are the only ones being asked to work for free. Everyone else gets paid.

Given considerations like this, you can perhaps understand why we frequently feel slighted when we are told that: “We have no money.” Such claims can come across as a cynical ploy intended to take advantage of gullible individuals.

We Have Real Budget Constraints
With some exceptions, photography is not a highly remunerative profession. We have chosen this path in large part due to the passion we have for visual communication, visual art, and the subject matters in which we specialise.

The substantial increase in photographs available via the internet in recent years, coupled with reduced budgets of many photo buyers, means that our already meager incomes have come under additional strain.

Moreover, being a professional photographer involves significant monetary investment.

Our profession is by nature equipment-intensive. We need to buy cameras, lenses, computers, software, storage devices, and more on a regular basis. Things break and need to be repaired. We need back-ups of all our data, as one ill-placed cup of coffee could literally erase years of work. For all of us, investment in essential hardware and software entails thousands of dollars a year, as we need to stay current with new technology and best practices.

In addition, travel is a big part of many of our businesses. We must spend a lot of money on transportation, lodging and other travel-related costs.

And of course, perhaps most importantly, there is a substantial sum associated with the time and experience we have invested to become proficient at what we do, as well as the personal risks we often take. Taking snapshots may only involve pressing the camera shutter release, but creating images requires skill, experience and judgement.

So the bottom line is that although we certainly understand and can sympathise with budget constraints, from a practical point of view, we simply cannot afford to subsidise everyone who asks.

Getting “Credit” Doesn’t Mean Much
Part and parcel with requests for free images premised on budgetary constraints is often the promise of providing “credit” and “exposure”, in the form or a watermark, link, or perhaps even a specific mention, as a form of compensation in lieu of commercial remuneration.

There are two major problems with this.

First, getting credit isn’t compensation. We did, after all, create the images concerned, so credit is automatic. It is not something that we hope a third party will be kind enough to grant us.

Second, credit doesn’t pay bills. As we hopefully made clear above, we work hard to make the money required to reinvest in our photographic equipment and to cover related business expenses. On top of that, we need to make enough to pay for basic necessities like food, housing, transportation, etc.

In short, receiving credit for an image we created is a given, not compensation, and credit is not a substitute for payment.

“You Are The Only Photographer Being Unreasonable”
When we do have time to engage in correspondence with people and entities who request free photos, the dialogue sometimes degenerates into an agitated statement directed toward us, asserting in essence that all other photographers the person or entity has contacted are more than delighted to provide photos for free, and that somehow, we are “the only photographer being unreasonable”.

We know that is not true.

We also know that no reasonable and competent photographer would agree to unreasonable conditions. We do allow for the fact that some inexperienced photographers or people who happen to own cameras may indeed agree to work for free, but as the folk wisdom goes: “You get what you pay for.”

Please Follow-Up
One other experience we have in common is that when we do provide photographs for free, we often do not receive updates, feedback or any other form of follow-up letting us know how the event or project unfolded, what goals (if any) were achieved, and what good (if any) our photos did.

All too often, we don’t even get responses to emails we send to follow-up, until, of course, the next time that someone wants free photographs.

In instances where we do agree to work for free, please have the courtesy to follow-up and let us know how things went. A little consideration will go a long way in making us feel more inclined to take time to provide additional images in the future.

Wrap Up
We hope that the above points help elucidate why the relevant photographer listed below has sent you to this link. All of us are dedicated professionals, and we would be happy to work with you to move forward in a mutually beneficial manner.

This article is re-posted with permission http://photoprofessionals.wordpress.com/ Text by Tony Wu.

QR Codes -or- What is that thing...???

It is just simply amazing... First you saw them but had no idea of what they were. Maybe you noticed them on odd things (cell phone batteries, credit card statements, that sort of thing). They have been used for years although they are just really catching on now. Yes I'm referring to that wonderful little square if info the QR code. QR codes store addresses and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) may appear in magazines, on signs, buses, business cards, or almost any object about which users might need information. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader application can scan the image of the QR code to display text, contact information, connect to a wireless network, or open a web page in the phone's browser. This act of linking from physical world objects is termed hard linking or object hyper linking.

Google's mobile Android operating system supports QR codes by naively including the bar code scanner (ZXing) on some models, and the browser supports URI redirection, which allows QR codes to send meta data to existing applications on the device. Nokia's Symbian operating system is also provided with a bar code scanner, which is able to read QR codes, while barcode is a QR code reader for the Maemo operating system. In the Apple OS, a QR code reader is not included,but over 50 free apps are available with reader and meta data browser URI redirection ability. As for BlackBerry devices, the App World application can natively scan QR codes and load any recognized Web URLs on the device's Web browser.

Recently, QR codes have become more prevalent in marketing circles and have been integrated into both traditional and interactive campaigns. Media where QR codes have been deployed include: billboard ads, guerrilla marketing campaigns, in-store displays, event ticketing and tracking, trade-show management, business cards, print ads, contests, direct mail campaigns, websites, email marketing, and coupon-ing just to name a few. QR codes are of particular interest to marketers, giving them the "ability to measure response rates with a high degree of precision" allowing for easier ROI (return on investment) calculation, thus helping justify spending on marketing budgets. QR codes have also been used at trade shows and in conferences.

The use of these codes seem limitless, some QR Codes can hold up to 4,296 characters. So holding all of your info that you can you have for a web address is no problem.

Wedding Tips

Hello and Welcome back, I know its been awhile since I last posted to this blog.
Wedding "season" is just right around the corner and hopefully the info will be picked up.
The very first tip that is in the forfront of my mind is to work closely with your photographer and let him or her know just how much time you have planned for formal pictures (usually taken between the ceremony and the beginning of the reception). This can become very important for the photographer only because they will have a limited amount of time and can prepare accordingly. The second tip I have this blog is more of a list for a goody bag for the bride to have while getting ready;
safety pins - bobby pins - straight pins - Tide pen - small sewing kit - band aids - tape.
These are pretty much the essentials. I also carry in my extra camera bag straws (brides lip stick won't get messy with sipping water) swiss army knife, medical tape (blends in with the dress), also wisps for some that feel they need to brush up.
I have found that these items have come in handy and have even saved the day.
As always have fun and keep those cameras clicking.

Spring Photo time

Its Spring again. Time to get outdoor and start taking photos. With extra daytime light and weather getting warmer. BBQ photos, Sunset pictures, kids at play, or maybe gardening. Start trying those "other" features that came with your camera. See what that macro mode does for a bud on a tree, there is a whole new world of possibilities opening up. Try that portrait mode. Use your imagination.

-Short entry this time. I will be doing more and at greater length. I want to get out side right now and take some photos for my next post.

3 easy tips for great family portraits this holiday season

It’s winter! The air is colder, the days are shorter… but it’s also a great time of the year, where family and friends come together to have and share great times. It’s also time for some family portraits. These 3 easy tips will save you from shooting mugshots and give you great family portraits you’ll love to share and reuse for Christmas cards, update emails, and even to create great keepsakes for the holidays or other occasions.

Tip #1 Get closer, get back, and close again.

The key to successful portrait (and to great photo combinations for Christmas cards) is to vary how much of your family members you’ll show. So, try getting close (head shot), and then try a waist-up shot, and then a full body shot. The key here is variety. Once you’ve tried out several angles, pick your top 2 for a great Christmas card!

2 extra tips at play here: try looking for textures (so look for brick or old walls, rust on old shops, etc) and don’t center your subjects. It’ll make for more dynamic shots.

Tip #2 Reindeer see, reindeer do.

Find it hard to get small children to pose in family portraits? Don’t worry, this tip is easy: if the kids don’t pose like the adults… get the adults to pose like the kids. It’ll make for fun, personal and original family poses.

Tip #3 Use the winter window light

Winter actually comes with less aggressive lighting throughout the day, so you’re less limited on when you can take your family portrait. If you decide to go indoors for your family photos, gather everyone closer to a window, where natural lighting is more flattering. Bonus: more light means less risk of pictures being blurry.

And remember: just because Christmas is 1 day in the year doesn’t justify taking just 1 shot. The key to getting everyone to look good is to take the shot at least 3 times. That’ll prevent the inevitable blinking, looking away, scratching, to show up in the final family portrait.

posting copied from Eye-fi card site, Thank you.

10 tips to help with you photography

Here is a short but helpful list.

1.	Look your subject in the eye Don't look down at your subject, move down to there point of view
2.	Use a plain background Watch out for object that might be comming out of there heads
3.	Use flash outdoors Fill flash
4.	Move in close Fill your frame with action
5.	Move it from the middle An affliction I call center-focus-itis
6.	Lock the focus Helps with number 5
7.	Know your flash's range If you can't light them your just taking photos of shadows
8.	Watch the light Evening light can look very dramatic, keep in mind number 7 and 3
9.	Take some vertical pictures If you don't, it's just wasted space on the sides. Keep in mind number 4
10.	Be a picture director Some people get stiff when they know the camera is on them. Have them do something

Hope these help and we'll be going over them in detail later on.

Keep smiling.