|
|
  Wedding PhotographySaturday, February 25, 2006 - Cliff Mautner photography
The importance of choosing a photographer for your wedding can never be underestimated. It’s no cliché` to believe that the photographs are all you have after your event. It’s quite easy for any photographer to obtain a few good images from a wedding. However, it’s the consistency in the level of work that sets photographers apart from one another. Make sure you have an opportunity to view images from an entire wedding and not just a “best of” collection. This will enable you to make a more educated assessment of that photographer’s work. My goal is to produce beautiful, compelling images throughout the entire wedding day as opposed to just five or ten great photos. It’s the photographer’s job to earn the trust of their clients. This trust is the key to allowing the photographer inside that family’s world on such an important day. It’s only when a photographer has gained that trust can they capture the intimate moments necessary to tell that story. Although I photographed over 6000 assignments with the Philadelphia Inquirer, its my belief that “Photojournalistic style” is perhaps the most overused catchphrase in the industry. I try and give the client the very best of the traditional aspects of wedding photography that include formal family photographs as well as my artistic interpretation of their day. Try and avoid the buzzwords “traditional” and “photojournalistic” styles. Wedding photography is extremely demanding and the top wedding photographers are experienced in various forms of the craft, not just one particular style. In my opinion, my job is to find out something about my couple through the images. By putting them in the best lighting situations and the best compositional scenarios, all they need to do is interact with one another. By simply talking with one another, walking with one another, and just doing things they’d normally do on any given day, I capture the essence of who they are, not just what they look like. I’m always aware that my couples aren’t professional models. Their comfort level is of the utmost importance. If they are not comfortable, the images will show it. One of the questions that always arise is “digital or film”? This should be an absolute non issue. They are both just tools. There are photographers making great images with both tools and one should never be put up against the other. In the hands of the right artist, both digital and film will produce wonderful images. Personally, I like to use both tools at my disposal and try to utilize the best tool for the right application. Communication is so important to the client-photographer relationship. Clients should be able to enter the wedding day knowing exactly what to expect from their photographer and vice versa. Timelines, specific photo requests, special moments captured, are all discussed before hand and should never be an issue on the wedding day. Regarding the timeline- I take great care in developing a solid timeline. A good timeline allow buffers throughout the day in order to compensate for minor delays that occur and will allow the day to run smoothly and pressure free. Make hair and makeup appointments early enough so that it doesn’t run too far into the photographer’s coverage time. It never hurts to google a photographer to find out more about them. Cliff Mautner |
|
 |
|