Deciding on a wedding photographer is hard enough.
Between careful scrutinizing of prospective wedding photographer credentials, checking references, and surveying the details of their portfolio, selecting the venue seems like an afterthought.
Yet, careful consideration of a location's suitability for photography is essential to ensure your own wedding photos are as pristine as your memories of the day! Keeping your prospective venue's lighting arrangements in mind will instantly endear you to any wedding photographer.
The best wedding venue is a ballroom with large windows and plentiful natural light.
In the absence of strong natural light sources, strategically located candles can not only reinforce existing illumination but provide strikingly beautiful accents! If some natural light is good, a lot is better, right? Not necessarily.
Direct sunlight can often be excessively harsh and difficult for wedding photographers to capably manage.
In addition to causing people to subconsciously squint, direct sunlight can cast shadows over noses and eyes.
Selecting an outdoor location with slightly inhibited natural sunlight, such as underneath a canopy or within a shaded grove, is ideal for the highest quality outdoor wedding photography.
If you are planning on an outdoor wedding photo shoot, consider which backdrops best suit your particular taste and style.
Parks, gardens, landscapes, and other well-maintained outdoor locations often supply beautiful, lush vegetation, and are teeming with tall trees that provide a dignified background and needed shade.
Many people in urban areas prefer the backdrop of their city's rugged and unique architecture.
Whatever you select for an outdoor location, have a backup plan in mind should weather prove uncooperative the day of the shoot.
Proper planning does not stop once the cameras move indoors.
Wedding photographers prefer venues that are painted white or other neutral colors.
A ceiling that ten to twenty feet high and similarly colored allows photographers to "bounce" flash for a more natural light.
If possible, avoid venues that have mixed sources of light and strongly colored decorum.
Strong colors, such as deep blues or greens, have a way of casting similarly colored reflections onto the faces of those photographed.
In addition, it is important to consult with the venue regarding their flash photography policies prior to making any arrangements.
While the registrars of civil ceremonies tend to be fairly lenient, religious institutions often operate with more rigid guidelines.
Depending on the church or the priest involved, restrictions may include limitations on flash photography and or movement during the ceremony.
In some instances, photography is forbidden altogether! Make sure neither you nor your photographer encounter any surprises the day of the wedding.