Finding the photographer to capture your day

Compiled by Kristie Moss • scroll staff

Choosing a photographer may be one of the last things to do on a wedding list, but it should be considered as big as picking out the wedding dress. The following are some tips to help you choose your photographer.

Price range
Pick a photographer that is within your budget. If he/she is outside your price range, decide if he/she is worth the price difference.

Style
Make sure you like their photographic style. Make sure the photos you see displayed are the type you want to see for your wedding.

Experience
How much experience does this photographer have? Have they done a lot of weddings? Have they taken photos at the location of your wedding before?

Advertising
Is what your photographer advertises what you are going to get? Is the photographer you meet with going to be taking photos at your wedding, or will they send whoever is available? Do they honor their contract?

Personality
Is the personality of the photographer one you can get along with? You want to have a photographer that is willing to work with you.

Appearance
Is the photographer well- groomed? Ask them how they intend to present and dress at your wedding.

Delivery
How long will it take to receive your photos back? How long will your bridal portraits, your finished album, your proofs, etc., take to get back?

10 tips for creating a wedding video

Wedding videos and montages are becoming increasingly popular. Whether you are designing your own wedding video or paying a professional to do it for you, here are some guidelines to ensure the video will be a hit for you and your guests.

1. Know your audience. You may want to include some pictures of the guests.

2. Shorter is sometimes better. Experts suggest wedding montages be between 8 and 12 minutes in length.

3. Choose quality photographs. Pictures that look great printed will also look great scanned.

4. Choose a variety of photographs. This will keep your audience’s attention.

5. Landscape pictures show better than portrait pictures. Typically on videos, portrait pictures will have a black border on each side.

6. Give some thought to music. Choose music that has meaning to you and corresponds with the images.

7. Add short video clips.

8. Add motion to your slide show.

9. Add transitions to your slide shows.

10. Test! Test! Test!