Finding a wedding photographer for your Toronto wedding can seem like a difficult task, most brides are new to the whole wedding planning process and they have so many options to choose from. Just doing one Google search, you can find thousands of wedding photographers in Toronto alone. In this article we will talk about what questions you should ask your Toronto wedding photographer during the interview process, and what key personality and skills you should look for while you are having your consultation with potential candidates. So, letâs get started.
Find A Wedding Photographer That Has a Great Personality
On your wedding day, your wedding photographer is going to be one of the few vendors that will be with you from the start of the day till the very end. You want to feel relaxed knowing that the photographer you hired is easy to get along with. You donât want to have someone that is going to negatively affect your mood. That being said, pay close attention to how the wedding photographer communicates with you. Ideally, they should take the lead and give you ideas as to what poses you should do and which angle works best from a photography perspective. Be open to listening to their ideas because chances are, they know the venue and how to best photograph you in that environment.
However, if you do have certain shots that you want to have on the day of your wedding, ideally they should be open to taking them, if you want certain shots of important relatives and family members, make sure you communicate that with your wedding photographer. They should have no problem handling these requests. This is rarely an issue but it is an important note to keep in mind.
Details That Can Help Make Your Photographs Amazing
One of the most important details that can make a difference in your wedding photography is your flowers and dĂŠcor, be strategic on how you choose your decorations in relation to the style and theme of your wedding venue. Depending on your guestsâ size and the number of tables you have, will influence just how much you need in terms of flowers and dĂŠcor for your wedding day. If you have a small 100 guest size wedding, then you will most likely have more money to splurge on your flowers and dĂŠcor, this can definitely help make your wedding photos look grand and more luxurious. Also, if you have a smaller guest count, chances are you will have more budget to have a nicer venue that can also help make your wedding photos look great.
Photo By: La Memoire
Regardless, photographers are very talented in taking average environments an making them look a thousand times better in their photography and post production process, however it will definitely make it a lot easier for your wedding photographer if you have stylish flowers along with a nice venue. Donât worry, it wonât cost you a fortune to make your floral and dĂŠcor look luxurious, there are lots of ways to get more for your money, which we will discuss in-depth later on in this article.
Home Based Photographers or Studio Based
Most wedding photographers that you will come across will either work from their home office or a retail store somewhere in the Greater Toronto Area. There really is no skill difference between Toronto wedding photographers who work from home or have their own studio. Itâs simply a matter of what their individual goals are for their business. Some photographers can do 50+ weddings from home or a small studio, it really makes no difference. However, when it comes to price, a home-based wedding photographer might be able to give you better pricing simply because they have fewer operating expenses than a photographer that has a retail store with 5k/month in overhead costs.
They may end up boosting their prices slightly to help them cover their operating costs. Luckily, wedding photography is a mobile service that happens on-site of your wedding, not something that requires retail presence like a banquet hall. However, regardless of how the photographer chooses to operate their business, you should still evaluate them using the same metrics by comparing their photography styles and other client testimonials to see which studio you like best.
Honoring Loved Ones at Your Wedding
Weddings are one of the happiest occasions in someoneâs life, unfortunately some of us arenât always lucky to have all of our loved ones present during our wedding ceremony or reception. However, it does not mean we canât keep them in our thoughts. It has become very common for bride and grooms to have a table memorial with some beautiful photographs of family members to help keep them in our thoughts.
Another creative way we can honor them is to have a moment of silence at some point during the wedding reception. Having a moment of silence is very respectful and allows everyone to honor their memory even though they canât physically be here with us. This is a great thing to do and it doesnât take much time away from the wedding day. Itâs good to have this pre-planned by having your wedding planner or mc/dj to announce at some point that you will be having a moment of silence. Work with your vendors to see how to best incorporate this moment into your day.
Cool Photography Ideas
Another creative way that brides go about honoring their loved ones, can include having a small locket of a photograph from a loved one, usually hung around the bridal bouquet. Sometimes grooms might incorporate something personal as part of their wedding attire, for example an old watch given by a family member or a unique piece of jewellery from the past. This is your wedding day and it is completely up to you on how you would like to remember loved ones. There really is no right or wrong because this event is totally planned by you, the bride and groom.
If you are looking to add a bit of magic to your wedding photos, there are some unique ideas that you can incorporate into your wedding. For example, sparklers can create a cool effect in low light conditions, this is something you would want to discuss with your wedding photographer and come up with the right time to use them. This tends to be closer to the end of the night.
Once your wedding ceremony is complete, you will have some time to have your photos taken at a specific location. Sometimes photographers can use specialized color smoke to add more effect to your photos. Be sure to discuss this with your wedding photographer and to see if you have enough time in your schedule to make use of this idea.
Bubbles are another great add on to your wedding photos, this is typically done in manor venues with beautiful outdoor ceremony areas. Usually the kids have a lot of fun with them and itâs relatively safe with minimal supervision.
Flower petals can also be used and incorporated into your wedding ceremony by adding a nice romantic detail to the aisle. Flower petals can either be placed along the aisle or they can be used to create unique patterns and shapes, including the bride and groom initials. Try to avoid using artificial petals because they are only used onetime and are wasteful, instead use real flower petals because they are biodegradable and look more authentic. Flower petals are very inexpensive and is very popular for summer weddings in the Greater Toronto Area.
Probably one of the coolest evening activities you can do at your wedding is to light some fireworks and have your photos taken with fireworks as your final background. Be sure to plan this with your Toronto wedding photographer so that they can bring the right gear to capture great photos in low light outdoor conditions. As long as you mention this idea to them, theyâll know exactly what to do and what to bring. You may want to check in with the venue if you need some kind of permit or a special area to do this properly so that all safety precautions are taken into consideration to avoid accidents and property damage.
Key Detail Shots of Your Wedding Day
Wedding Invitations: As the bride and groom, you both spend a lot of time and detail into planning your wedding, this includes your invitations. You and your fiancĂŠe will most likely be spending a lot of time planning each and every detail, its nice to have all those little details captured so that you can look back and appreciate the fine details of your day. Most Toronto wedding photographers take these shots by default earlier on in the morning, when they go to the brideâs house for photos or at the venue later in the day.
Wedding Cakes: Your wedding cake helps to complete the look of your head table dĂŠcor; photographers almost always remember to have a few shots of the bride and groom cutting the cake later in the day. This is definitely a great shot to have in your wedding photos and is a great way to remember the moment.
Centrepieces: Your wedding table centrepieces definitely help to fill up the room and set the theme, it also helps contribute to the overall theme and style of your venue, most Toronto wedding photographers will capture the entire venue with all the centrepieces and details that went into your table decorations. This is one of the most common shots all the photographers take if you have spent a lot of money upgrading your table decorations with luxury centrepieces, be sure to ask your photographer to take lots of photos of your dĂŠcor.
Photo By: AGI Studio
Bridal Party: By the time your Toronto wedding photographer arrives at the bride's house, the bridal party us usually in the process of getting ready with the help of your hair and makeup artist. These are great shots for photographers to take and serve as a nice addon to your final wedding gallery. Give your photographers the right timing so that they arrive just in time to capture the process of everyone getting ready.
Groomsmen: Usually the second photographer will go to the groomâs house to capture photos of him getting ready along with some scenes of the groomsmen and immediate family members. Some key shots that photographer include putting on the cufflinks, the suit, detailed shots of the watch he will be wearing and much more.
Popular Wedding Traditions for North American Weddings
According to ancient wedding history, the bouquet toss was common practise and seen as a way of getting good luck from the bride and groom by being in contact with them or catching the bouquet, the idea was that by catching the bouquet, it will help bring some good luck with increasing the odds of finding a soulmate. There are also tales of women trying to get a piece of the brideâs dress thinking that it would contain some form of good luck energy. This is commonly known as the reason why brides end up tossing their bouquets to the crowd and making a run for it at the end of the night. The tradition is still practised today but itâs mainly for photography purposes and another way to have fun on the day of the wedding.
The Best Man is another fun tradition that exists to this very day; however, the origin of this role is pretty dark. Back in the day the best manâs role was to make sure the bride was at the wedding ceremony and that no one was there to interrupt the ceremony. Nowadays the role of the best man is actually a positive one and is there for emotional support in case the groom is nervous on the day of the wedding. The best man usually helps with planning the bachelor party and other fun activities for the groomsman. He may also be responsible for keeping the rings safe and handing them over at the right time.
When Should You Book A Wedding Photographer?
When it comes to planning a wedding, the first thing you should do is finalize the reception first and the date. Once this is done, then you can start planning your wedding around the venue. When it comes to hiring vendors, photographers are going to be fairly easy because all photographers are mobile and will come to wherever your location is.
The best thing you can do is to narrow down your choices to 3-4 Toronto wedding photographers and contact them to see who is available for that specific day. Wedding photographers that are more well known in the industry and a bit more famous, tend to be in high demand, for that reason you want to reach out to them as soon as you can and book them with a small deposit to secure your date.
Even if itâs 1-2 years in advance, you want to make sure you have your favourite vendors pre-booked as soon as you can. Some photographers will be really expensive and some will be on the affordable side of the pricing spectrum. Regardless of the price differences, you want to take a look at their portfolio and see whose style and level of experience works best for your needs, and of course you want to hire someone that you both can get along with. You might be able to find a Toronto wedding photographer that has photographed you wedding reception several times and theyâll have a bit more experience knowing which spots in the venue are best for photography.
Photo Booth Rentals for Guest
For the most part, a wedding photographersâ primary role is to capture images of the bride and groom, very close family members, the venue and the floral and dĂŠcor. Of course, guests will have their shots taken too, but it would be harder to take photos of everyone if you have a high guest size. Photo booths are an affordable alternative that also serves as a form of entertainment for your guests. Guests will have a chance to get their photos done while wearing fun props, making funny faces and fun poses with their friends and family members.
This will help them loosen up and have more fun while at the wedding reception. Once your guests have their photos taken, theyâll have the chance to have a print out of the photos or have the images sent to them via email and text msg. Photo booths have become very popular during these past few years. Photo booths are fully customizable with floral backdrops or fabric backgrounds that will help images look better if needed.
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