Should I give you a photo list?

Sometimes we feel a teeny bit disheartened when a prospective couple arrives at a get-to-know-you meeting with a photo checklist that they found in a wedding planning guide. Not because we mind a checklist, but rather because no list will do you or your wedding justice.

All our clients are completely unique. Crazily, warmly, lovingly unique. It’s the individuality of our wedding couples that we strive to find in our images–not the sameness that might be driven by a set of instructions of how your wedding day should go.

I always scratch my head when I get the photo request for “guests streaming into the ceremony site.” Alas, so frequently the guests do not “stream.” They clump and giggle, fuss and gossip. And that’s the challenge of each wedding assignment–every wedding is different, every group is different. What we want to is make beautiful and interesting images of what occurs naturally.

Another silly request is “bride gazing out window.” Really now. If you’re a bride and you gaze out the window, we’ll definitely photograph it. When is the last time you “gazed” at anything? To us, the more interesting story might be about what what or who you are looking at, and what it means to you, and what expression it creates on your face. Wouldn’t you rather look back on an photograph that captured a real feeling, not some faux-moment created from a checklist?

Shooting together, John and I generate about 1500-2000 frames from every wedding. We edit those images down to the best of the best and typically deliver about 400-500 images to our wedding clients. So you can be sure that our coverage is thorough: there will be lots and lots of photos of you, the day, your ceremony, your friends and family, the setting, the details. More than you could even put on a checklist. We’ll shoot things you wouldn’t even think to ask for.

That’s not to say we don’t want input from our clients. We want to know things like why you chose that particular venue, or that you’re wearing your mother’s veil. Or that your best friend since childhood is officiating for you. That’s the kind of checklist that makes for profound and meaningful images that will make you smile forever.