Want those perfect photos? Here's what you can do to help us out!
Schedule your shoot prior to your ceremony.
It is a lot less stressful when you can have about a 2 hour timeframe to relax and take some beautiful artistic photos of you and your bridal party. We prefer this because there isn't anyone watching obtrusively during this shoot. It is also a great time to have fun and enjoy being beautiful. Pick a special park or location of your choice where we can do the more formal creative photos. Give us about 2 hours time to do this. After we finish the photos with the Bridal Party, they can leave before to take care of the final stuff at the Ceremony. The maid of honor should stay behind with the Bride and Groom to help maneuver the brides dress during this part of the shoot. We would prefer to spend about an hour taking beautiful shots of the bride and groom.
Is the First Look important to you?
We understand that some brides really do want that "First" look shot of the groom. If this is important, we can setup a special first look presentation where we will blind fold the bride and groom before the photography begins. We then will present the both of them to each other and capture the true first look on camera. This makes it a lot easier for the photographer to capture as well because during the ceremony it can be difficult to maneuver around people.
During the ceremony please stand so we can see your your face.
Nothing sucks more then getting photos of your ceremony of the back of your heads. This is why we ask that the bride and groom try to make a strong effort to face the crowd or each other during the ceremony. That way we can get the photos that count.
Make sure indoor locations are well lit.
Although we make sure the carry the best equipment when taking photos, it helps us to shoot in a indoor location where windows can be wide open and/or lights turned on. If this is not possible, we asked that flash be allowed to help bring in more lighting during the ceremony.
Overcast is our friend.
Maybe you'll be one of those lucky brides to have blue sunny skies during your wedding here in Washington State. But believe it or not, the bright sun can be very problematic for us photographers. The harsh lighting makes it difficult to get that perfect shot. So if you anticipate sunshine, make sure you pick a location where there is some shade areas to take some shots.
Let us be the photographer for the family shots.
We know how much everyone wants to take photos during the family portraits. But if we are within very small time constraints, its important that everyone listen and look at just the photographer for these photos. During this time, we ask that everyone with a camera to please wait until the photographer is finished taking photos. They will be able to go online to www.crystalpixelphotography.com within a week after the ceremony to see the photos online and purchase prints.
Help us make sure the family members with camera's aren't in the way.
We see a lot of people now a days with DSLRs and are curious to see if there camera skills will allow them to become a great wedding photographer someday. We feel this is a great thing for them, but sometimes they can be obtrusively in our way. Sometimes we need to be in the same spot that they are in to get the "Shot" and cannot do this with them in the way. So we ask in advance that you let friends and family know that you have hired a professional photographer for your wedding and would appreciate that people try to steer clear so we can do our jobs.
