Making Memories: How to Choose Your Wedding Photos

Choosing the style to take your wedding photos in, as well as selecting photos for your wedding album is a rather delicate process. Should you choose only the black-and-white photos? Do you only want pictures in which everyone is posing, or do your prefer more natural shots? Do you want pictures to be taken at your reception, or only at the ceremony? Having a definite vision for your overall ceremony, and selecting a photographer that will give you what you're looking for will result in wonderful wedding photos that you can look at with a smile for years to come.

You should decide on the style of photos you want for your wedding ahead of time, so that you can choose the right photographer for the ceremony. When you're considering a photographer, make sure to look at his/her portfolio so that you can get an idea of the photographer's work, and determine how much experience the photographer has with wedding photos.

Traditional wedding photographers will mostly capture poses, but this doesn't mean that the pictures will look forced. Most photographers will try to capture moments in the ceremony in which members of the wedding party have to be in certain positions, such as when the rings are presented, when the bride and groom are kneeling at the altar or lighting candles, or when the bride is being given away by her father. Traditional photos can also include shots of the bride alone, the groom alone, the bridal part and flower girls, and the groom and groomsmen. In addition to these photos, you can request the photographer take posed photos of other members of the family, like the parents of the bride, parents of the groom, and grandparents of the bride and/or groom. Classical photos, on the other hand, will be posed, and are taken against well-lit backdrops. Hiring a classical photographer may be the best move if you want dramatic or professional-looking picture of the bride and groom by themselves, or to capture moments of laughter or toasts at the reception.

If you want more of a 'natural' or contemporary look to your photos, it's best to hire a photographer with photojournalism experience. Your wedding photos won't look staged, and you'll clearly be able to see the genuine moments in each photo. A photojournalism photographer will use the flow of events to determine which pictures to capture; there will be lots of individual shots of the reactions of guests, or special moments shared between the husband and wife.

And, since your beautiful wedding dress and your fabulous wedding location aren't the only things you want included in your wedding photos, you might also consider hiring a commercial wedding photographer. This photographer's job is mainly to capture professional shots of the centerpieces used in reception decoration, the wedding cake, and flower arrangements used in the ceremony and reception. You may want to hire a commercial photographer just for this purpose, but most commercial wedding photographers are skilled in taking other photos as well, so hiring one photographer to take all the types of photos you think you want could be a wise choice as well.

Once you're able to look at the proofs of your wedding photos, it can be hard to narrow the shots down to the ones you really want. You can make your decisions easier by not choosing photos with the same pose, even if the lighting is different. You should also choose a variety of shots-some more planned and posed, and some that look impromptu and 'natural.' And, if you have friends and family that took snapshots at the ceremony, don't hesitate to ask for doubles of some of the photos, so that you can fill your wedding photo album with a mixture of both professional and 'regular' photos-the ways that pictures are taken can also evoke fond memories when you open your photo album.