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For a lot of people their wedding day is the biggest event in their life.  For some people thousands of dollars are spent. A few people even plan to travel beyond their cities to different locations.One of the greatest places to have a wedding take place is San Diego.Let’s examine a little closer a few of the reasons.

When couples are planning their wedding location is a big choice.For couples that can afford it having the wedding at a different city is a very exciting option.San Diego is one city that always come to mind because of some reasons.  Now of course this is going to come from first hand experience working with a lot of couples as a San Diego photographer. So the experience I have gives a big insight.

One of the big reasons is weather.A lot of weddings are performed in the summer. Well most places in the summer are extremely hot. One of those locations that is comfortable is San Diego.The weather is really not that bad on the coast.  This also is a great reason because of your photography.  As a San Diego wedding photographer I appreciate good weather.It gives the opportunity for great photos to be taken.It makes for a very nice and comfortable photo session. Where your wedding group won’t be having the heat make them uncomfortable.

Another reason to consider is San Diego is really a great location for events.  It has plenty of nice hotels to accomodate your guests.  It has plenty of activities so your guests can turn it into a mini vacation. Doing event photography San Diego has allowed me to see how this works out beautifully.Don’t forget that weddings are huge events taking placeSo the work that you perform is really a form of event photography.San Diego is a great destination for this. 

Hopefully these couple of insights will allow you to make a better decision when choosing your wedding location.

Technorati Tags: event photographer, event photography, photographer, photography, wedding photographer

When most brides and grooms make wedding day plans, they take certain things 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 make plans according to the availability of the church or restaurant.

But one of the biggest things they fail to plan for on the wedding day 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 consider the pictures are what is going to be captured for 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 couples would want their photographer rushing through the photo shoot? I am pretty certain that most people, couples especially, will not raise their hand to that thought. 

Well without even thinking about your photographer, a lot of times couples will do just that.  They will force the photographer to rush his shots. 

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 shots do you think the photographer can realistically get in with only half an hour to work with?  Not many.

Worse yet, what if he does get all the shots?  Do you think they will be of the best quality when the shots 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 making wedding plans without thinking about the availability of the photographer could be a nightmare.  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 your wedding day comes, they might just outsource their work or a second rate photographer might show up.

So be prepared and don’t let this happen. Planning that special wedding day can be truly wonderful. Make sure that your plan has the wedding photographer in mind as well.

Technorati Tags: photographer, photography, wedding photographer, wedding photography

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’d love to share with you some great advice in photography to help improve your skills.  These tips are coming from years of experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.  These tips all involve lighting and they are going to be some of the biggest keys to your success in taking your photos.

First great tip in regards to lighting.Now if the shots you are taking are outdoors during the day, some of the best lighting possible will be the natural sunlight.  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 could blur the details of faces when the sun is overhead.

Overall, what you will want to do is to have the sun behind you when you take most of the shots.  This prevents the harsh shadows that can be 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 addressed the shots during the day, what about those night shots? 

The key technique for night photos is actually turning off your flash.Now if it is pictch black, of course you will need it, but if there are some lighting, use it, but make sure the shutter speeds are slower to let the light in.  Also you want to stay steady when taking the shot or you will blur the photos.  Doing these couple of tricks can make a dramatic difference when taking night shots. 

The final piece of advice to use for lighting is using the golden hour to capture great shots.  There is something photographers call the “golden hour” or magic hour, and that time is sunrise and sunset.

During these times of the day you will capture great shots that allow you to capture more warmer and inviting colors.You’re going to be able to capture the golden lighting you won’t find during any other part of the day.

There you go.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.

Technorati Tags: general, photographer, photography

No doubt a wedding will be one of the most important moments that will happen in a person’s life. Hours and hours go into all of the planning for the wedding. All of the tasks that go into wedding planning can be time consuming, stressful and very frustrating at times. That is why it is so important to do some homework and find the right people for all of the jobs.One of the critically important jobs will be for the photographer. From my experience as a San Diego wedding photographer I’ll show you it can be a few simple steps away.

Trying to find a wedding photographer is huge responsibility and job. There are several things to take into account when trying to make this important decision. The photographs that you get from your wedding day will be some of the most memorable moments that you. The photos will be all over your walls for the rest of yourlife. One very obvious factor in deciding which photographer to choose is price. Many photographers will charge a price for a certain length of time at the wedding. It is important to know up front what all is included with that
price. When it comes to finding a wedding photographer, the biggest upside to pricing is there is a lot of competition. Remember, that a lot of photographers can and will negotiate their price a little bit to fit what you need.

Another thing to think about and consider when choosing is the experience a person may have. Is this their first wedding job, or have they done a few? Their price might be an indication of how many years they have been in business as well. Just because someone has a lot of experience doesn’t always mean they will be better. Sometimes those people that are just starting out and trying to build a name for themselves will turn out to be excellent. The advantage of going with someone like that is you know you are going to get their best effort. When looking for a wedding photographer, you will find people with varying levels of experience. Doing an interview with a photographer can give you a good sense of what they will be like to work with.

A final thing to consider when making this decision is what type of personality the photographer has. Are they going to call all the shots and make all of the poses? Or will they let the bride and groom make some of the decisions themselves? The other thing to think about is do you want to be the one to make the decisions on the photos. The bride and groom might have enough to worry about that day as it is. Take all of these factors into consideration when you choose your photographer. If you do, no doubt you will have some beautiful photos to cherish for the rest of your lives.  Take it from me, your experienced San Diego photographer.

Technorati Tags: photographer, photography, wedding photographer, wedding photography

When you are asked to be the one to take photos of the wedding is a huge 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 a simple thing you can do and that is to have the couple and the families go and make a shot list.When you know the day will be hectic and chaotic, doing this will help you get the family and group shots later on in the day more smoothly.Imagine how wonderful it will be to just go down your list and know that you aren’t 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.Even though they are great, it is also tempting since it is so easy, to delete a shot.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 know what, they might like all those un “professional” shots you take.

A third tip to consider is making sure you get candid shots.  A good wedding photographer will not just try and get the typical shots, like family group shots, wedding party shots, or your standard bride and groom.  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 photo matters.

The fourth tip is which is often overlooked is to make sure you have several cameras and other equipment as backup.  Do you even want to imagine having a camera stop working halfway through the day.Plan for the worst that could go wrong.By being ready with extra equipment, you will avoid the uncomfortable time of not being able to take any more pictures of the wedding day with a broken camera.

Finally, you have to be prepared for the lighting and you do that by practicing. The difference between the lighting in the church and the outside reception can throw you a curve ball, so just practice for all different lighting situations. Think about seeing if you can go to the locations of the big day and look for the best spots to take pictures as well as study 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.

Technorati Tags: photographer, photography, wedding photographer, wedding photography