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Most couples making wedding day plans have a lot of things that they do take into consideration. They coordinate the date according to vacation times from work.  Or they coordinate the day on what is best maybe for family to make it into town.  Or they plan it based upon maybe available venues, like the church or the restaurant.

But one of the biggest things couples fail to plan for is the photographer. This is no small issue.  And I am not just saying it because I am a wedding photographer. 

No planning the wedding day with the wedding photographer in mind could mean all the difference in the world. Especially when you realize that the photos are what are going to last a lifetime.

What are the things to think about when making plans with the photographer in mind.  The time and the date.

Let’s start with the time.  How many people want their photographer to rush through the photos? I am pretty certain that most people, couples especially, will not raise their hand to that thought. 

Not even thinking about your photographer, most of the times the bride and groom will do just that. The couple or family basically rush the photographer to try and take all the pictures. 

How so you ask? Well let’s say, the couple makes the ceremony between 1-2 pm.  With the reception starting at 2:30. How many photos can the photographer really take with only half an hour to work with?  Not many.

Worse yet, what if he does get all the shots? Do you think they are going to take good quality shots when they are rushed?  Of course not.

So plan the wedding times and the receptions accordingly making sure there is ample time to take photos.

The second thing to think about when doing your planning is to keep the photographer’s availability in mind.

Most probably don’t realize this, but most good photographers will be booked months in advance. If you do deal with a large photo company, they very well could have several photographers on staff.

Well without considering your photographers availability on the wedding day could turn into a disaster.  Because if you book that special day and don’t make sure that the actual photographer will be available, when your wedding day comes you might be shocked to find someone totally different.

This scenario happens when you are dealing with a big company. You may not even realize that they have a staff of photographers and if the photographer you liked is booked, unless you ask, they might not tell you. When the wedding day comes, a second rate photographer or worse yet, they might outsource the work and somebody else will show up.

So be ready by not letting this happen. Planning that special wedding day can be truly wonderful. Make sure that your plan has the wedding photographer in mind as well.

In this age of digital cameras, you have probably thought that you can just point and shoot and out will appear a great shot.  Not so fast.The honest truth is, you may have a great digital camera, but if you are clueless in what to do, you will take ugly shots.

Well, I would like to share with you some great tips on improving your digital photography skills.  These tips are coming from years of experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.These tips are all about the lighting and they will some of biggest reasons for you success in taking photographs.

First tip in lighting.  Now if you are taking shots outdoors during the day, natural sunlight provides some of the best lighting possible.  Now you are probably thinking, “that’s easy, when you are a San Diego photographer since it is always shiny there”, when in actuality really bright sunlight can cast harsh shadows.  Or it can wash out the details in faces if the sun is overhead.

Overall, you are going to want to take most of the shots with the sun behind you.This stops any harsh shadows in your photo caused by the sun.But there will be those times and instances when you want different angles to get those shadows into the shots.

Now that we have tackled the day shots, what if you are taking shots at night? 

The trick to taking night shots is to turn off your flash.Of course if it is absolutely dark with no light you wil need it, but for times when there is some lighting, use the lighting around you, but make sure the shutter speeds are slow enough to let light in.Also, stay steady when you are taking your photograph or you will cause the picture to blur.Doing these tricks should make a significantly dramatic difference when you take night shots. 

The final tips to using lighting for great shots is using the golden hour.Now there is a time that photographers refer to as the “golden hour” or “magic hour”, and that is during sunrise and sunset.

These times of day you wll be able to capture great shots because you will get the more warmer and inviting colors.  You will be able to capture that golden lighting you won’t catch any other time of day.

There you have it.Probably the biggest secret in taking great photographs is taking advantage of the natural lighting.  Knowing what techniques to use for different parts of the day, or just scheduling a photo shoots to capture those times of day will help you become an excellent photographer.

Being asked to be the photographer for a wedding is a big responsibility.  If you’ve been asked to do it as a favor, or have been asked to do it professionally, here are 5 tips to do to get the job done right.

This tips are coming from first hand experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.  So whether you are seasoned pro, or a rank amateur, if you follow these tips, you will feel comfortable and not have to second guess yourself.You will be ready for whatever may happen.

Our first tip is easy and that is to have the couple and maybe their families make a list of photos they want to take.  When the day is hectic and chaotic, this will help immensely when you are trying to get family and group shots later on in the day.You will love how you can just go through your list and get all the shots you want without leaving anything out.

The second tip on our list is to not delete any shots.  In this day and age of digital cameras, most photographers use them.  Great as they are, they also are tempting to delete a shot since it is so easy to do.Don’t even think of looking at the shots.What you think may be a great photo, can differ widely in what the couple considers a great photo.You never know, they might like all those so called un “professional shots.

A third tip to consider is making sure you get candid shots.A good wedding photographer doesn’t look to just take your typical shots, like group shots, or wedding shots or your standard newly married shots.  But they will also try and capture the emotions of the day through the shots of all the people that were there.It could include things that don’t go perfectly, like a flower girl not wanting to walk down the aisle or the ring bearer making a wrong turn.Every picture counts.

The fourth piece of advice is make sure you have back up equipment.Do you even want to think of the horror of not being able to take any more shots of the wedding because of a broken camera.Be prepared for anything that can go wrong.By being prepared for the worst and bringing extra cameras and equipment you will avoid the horrible moment fo not having any working cameras to capture the rest of the wedding. day.

Finally, practice your lighting as well. There can be a huge difference between the lighting inside the wedding and outside, so make sure to practice for all the different possible conditions. You should try and see if you can scout the locations for the big day and try and find the best spots to shoot as well as gauging the lighting needs.

Taking these 5 tips into account will help you immensely.  It will prepare you for whatever might go wrong, it will prepare you for capturing what goes right, and it will prepare you to help contribute to this wonderful day by being the best photographer you can be.  Take it from my years of experience as a San Diego photographer.