How To Achieve Success In the Wedding Photography Industry
April 20, 2010 by Elizabeth Clark
Filed under Food And Beverage
The field of wedding photography is a rather competitive one. The purpose of this article is to provide novice photographers with suggestions on how they can achieve success in this field.
(1) If you are going to photograph destination weddings, make sure you have a user-friendly online ordering system. People from out of town will not be able to visit your studio in person. Be prepared to process orders online. Think about letting another vendor handle purchases and sales.
2) Develop working relationships with different wedding vendors to increase the referrals to your photography business. This can include hotels, honeymoon resorts, bridal services, and caterers, to name just a few. Offer to take portraits at no charge, as well as complimentary prints and consultations with your vendors. For instance, with a resort, you should offer to take suite or portrait photos at no charge. Make sure you are on the head of their preferred vendor referral list. Watch for new businesses or organizations that are starting up in your area and contact them to inquire about putting you on their line up of preferred vendors.
(3) Offer top quality - this should be a basic. This signifies that you should create pictures that are correct in terms of exposure, color level, and editing. Take time to make really outstanding books.
(4) Be open to helping with anything that will make a wedding proceed smoothly. Of course you are there to photograph the wedding, but you should also be open to doing an errand for the bride if the need arises. Offer to do more than just take photographs. Accepting additional responsibilities will result in an excellent reputation and many referrals.
(5) Put further effort to connect with those you are dealing with. There are a whole lot of photographers out there who are great. If you can make a genuine human connection, this provides an additional level of service and sense of comfort.
If you adhere to the preceding advice, you can boost your success as a photographer in the competitive field of wedding photography.
Food Photography Tips
February 13, 2010 by James Wong
Filed under Food And Beverage
Food photography is a very technical area of photography because you have two dimensions to master - film and food. Here are some useful tips to help you.
Let there be light
Light is obviously the tool of a photographer second to the camera itself. Getting this right is always the trick with any kind of photography. With food photography though it is super important. Get it wrong and no amount of photoshop work will bring the picture to life.
Use of props
Food photographers setting up to take a picture not only arrange the food neatly but they also include a plate or table cloth to add the surrounding. The idea is not to clutter the picture but allow room for a few extra items you can add to it like a glass, napkin, or a fork. These items can be placed in the background in a secondary location of your picture area, giving it extra spice.
If you do a lot of food photography then shopping at second hand markets can be a great way to build your box of props. You can pick up expensive items like large pots and dishes and vases for a few dollars and a smile. If you do not do much then you may have to go shopping for what you need and bill the client!
Quickness
Unfortunately food won’t stay appealing for very long. As a food photographer you will want to be well prepared and ready to shoot your picture as soon as the dish is finished. This will give it no time to melt, collapse or lose its color. So knowing what you want the picture to turn out like will help you to prepare for the photo. One way food photographers prepare is to have everything arranged before the food is finished. By placing a temporary stand-in plate is an excellent way to get the lighting right, and when the food is finished you switch it with the finished dish and your picture is ready to be taken.
Way to improve your photographs in an instant
An excellent food photographer will want to learn this last but not least creative technique when it comes to taking photographs of food. And that is to use a small amount of vegetable oil that you have on hand and brush it on the food. This will make your dish glisten and stand out deliciously in your pictures.
Touch base with the chef
The last area to cover is working with you food professional. If you are unlucky you will have to do the presentation of the food yourself. If you are lucky and the client has a good budget you will have a chef to do the food display.
Take a few minutes before the shoot to talk with the chef and ask them how they like to work. Ask them if there is anything you need to know about the food that may not be obvious. If nothing else this will make them feel good so you will then be able to work closer and better together.
Find out more about the best Food Photographers who are also top in their field for Bridal Photography.
Getting The Photography Right On Your Special Day
February 8, 2010 by Bruce Wong
Filed under Food And Beverage
The wedding couple are the two most important people on a wedding day. To get some excellent portraits, the photographer should seclude the wedding couple from the celebration for a while to capture the intimate moments after the ceremony. Not only will you get your pictures but this will give they wedding couple some time away from the celebration as well.
There is an amount of time that the photographer will been to spend with the bride and groom for the portrait session. But this does not always happen since time is rarely a luxury anyone has; on the actual day. The time taken for pictures can well vary from an hour to no time at all. It can take up to an hour for the photographer to take the pictures.
When is the best time to take aside the bride and groom for some quality time with the photographer?
Since the couple will still look fresh, most photographers believe that the window before the reception is suitable for the portraits.
Sometimes the bride and groom would want to start the portrait shoot even before the ceremony says Bradley Hanson, award winning photographer. He generally starts by photographing the bride getting ready in such events.
Right after the newly-weds have exchanged vows is a great time for some photographers to have their portraits done, since they are still fill with all of the emotions.
For the perfect actual day session to begin, the newly-weds should set aside some time to spend with the photographer. They should find ways to politely lose the relatives and guests to acquire the beautiful moments, so that they can be cherished for a lifetime.
A good portrait session on the actual day can be ruined by too many people trying to photograph the newly-weds. So the couple isn’t distracted by anyone the photographer will choose to have the couple alone.
According to award winning photographer Shawna Herring, most newly-weds start feeling uncomfortable before the camera when the portrait session is about to start. To help the couple forget the camera is there, the experienced photographer will try talking to the couple about things other then the portrait shoot.
Sometimes people will choose to go to a different location the day before the wedding to have the photo shoot done. This really helps loosen up the bride and groom since it helps build a comfortable relationship with the photographer. Shortly after, couples sometimes forget the camera is even there.
There are thousands of reasons why the photographer might not achieve time alone with the wedding couple. The bride and the groom should work together with the photographer to find some alone time so that a really creative portrait session is achieved.

