Merry Christmas

We would like to wish all our customers and readers past, present and future a very merry christmas and a happy new year

Real Wedding Photos

When you decide on a wedding photographer and you sit down with them to look at what they have to offer be sure you are really seeing real weddings and not a hired model.

you may see beautify put together photos that are truly breath taking however what you don’t know is that a model was hired for it and it took 3 hours to get the 1 shoot.

Unfortunately this is starting to become common place in some studios which can be misleading.

I will be the 1st person to tell you how important your wedding photos are and will be for you but I also realize that you do only have one day and that you want to spend that day worth family and friends and not 3 hours to get 1 or 2 great photos . a nice compromise as to be meet.

So make sure you are seeing real people really getting married then you will know what to expect

Your choice of style of photo

The choice of style of photos are very important for you and whilst its always good to talk to the photographer about the general style you want you should also explain the sort of post work you would like on the photos as this will also effect your overall style,

For example some people like the very simple cleaned up version where as others prefer a more stylised finish , here is an example of what we mean

Timing of your photos with you and your guests

Unfortunately not all guests have the same priority's as you when it comes to your wedding day, for most they just want to celebrate the day and not worry about your photos, whilst this is not necessary a bad thing it can cause problems for when doing the group shots with them or family that they are talking to.

Even though most photographers are used to dealing with crowds and sometimes even have assistants with them one of the better things to do is arrange for a bridesmaid or usher to liaise with them so they can get the right people to the right places at the right time,

as the less time we spend with them the more time we have to get that special photo just for you

Our next post we be about your choice of style of photo

website update

just a quck message to let you all know about the updated website
www.pawprintzstudio.com

next post coming soon

Equipment

With good cameras becoming much more reasonable priced there have been much more people taking up the hobby of photography,

However whilst this may be a good thing it may not be for your wedding day. there have been many people in the last few years that have said they are a photographer because they have brought a SLR camera however i have seen them show up with a single camera and a single lens, if something was to go wrong with there 1 piece of equipment on you wedding day you wouldn't have nay results.

I'm not going to tell you that you should be looking for a Nikon or Canon user as i trolley believe in this day and age they both produce quality images but do be sure that your photographer has spare equipment with them and not matter what will be able to complete your day

our next post will be about timing of your photos with you and your guests

Expectations

with it being your wedding day you Expectations should be high, now all photographers will show you there best work which can cause problems as well and make you feel comfortable, what has become apparent in recent years is a new style of wedding photography which is much more stylised than the traditional portrait style.

Now these photos are very nice and can give you some very nice result ,we do do them ourselves , however some people are expecting their whole wedding album to look like this which is fine but recent history has shown me that while the result look nice some people all most feel that it is not them in there own album or they regret not having more of the family featured in there wedding album, remember that your album will be with you forever and will be the main way you remember your wedding day,

Others have found that they didn't really want to spend the time it takes to get these results as they want to spend more time with their guests.

so in conclusion know what to expect form the style you choose and be aware that there are plus´s and negatives, really if you have the time you should find a photographer that will be happy to cover both for you has your expectations from your wedding may not live up to what you really want.

Our next post will be about equipment

Booking Early

There are several benefits to booking your wedding photographer early, the fist being that it is a weight off your mind and you can focus and other things that are important like the dress.

However the greatest advantage to you should be in cost. if you book us in 2010 but for a wedding in 2011 you will get the 2010 prices even if we will eventually increase the cost in 2011 you will still get the price you booked us for.

Dress Code

You should expect your photographer to be dressed respectable , they should not turn up in shorts and t-shirt or a pair of jeans,, but on the other side they wont be waring dinner jackets as at the end of the day they are there to work and must be able to do it comfortable and not have items of clothing getting in there way.

I Once had someone say to after a wedding that they loved the service and the results but they were a bit disappointed that i was not wearing a waistcoat , jacket and tie like their waiters. Now after explaining why they understood but it is unreasonable to expect you photographer to dress to these lengths as the type of work that we do it will more than likely hinder our efforts

Your wedding the way you want it.

Your wedding day is going to be with you forever, when choosing your photographer make sure they understand this and its not just a portfolio excesses for them. to many times i have seen or heard of a photographer who was doing the photo that he wanted not want the bride and groom wanted, be sure to pass on any ideas you have , they may not be right but they should still be taken into consideration and attempted.

Also be sure to confirm with the photographer how long they will be there and make sure that you can have everything you want in that time. because normally you cant and something will be missed, this is one reason why all of our wedding packages don't have a time limit because you never know what else you may want on the day.

Location, Location, Location

It is true that a good photographer can help to make things look better then they are, however you must be aware that sometimes they will require your help to make your day even more special as the photos they capture will be your memory's of the day.

What we mean by this is if there is a nice location to do your group shots or that special photo, give them the time to get you there and take it, it will be just a few minutes but the result will last a lot longer, this can also be a time that you and your new partner can have just together even if it is just for a few minutes,

So when planning your day think of locations you may wanr and allow the time to go there, the extra location and time will be worth it.

Ideas

Don't be afraid to tell the photographer the ideas you have for your photos, they should work with you as it is your day, too many photographers make the mistake of thinking the day is about them, they should work with you to get the best results possible for you and themselves.

Albums

Your wedding album will be the only real thing that you will have to show for your wedding day, after all the money you would have spent this will be the main way of remembering it.

Be sure that when you are picking your photographer you see all the albums that they have to offer as you want to be sure to get one that you are happy with, if you are not happy worth the album selection be sure to say something as any good photographer will be able to find something to suit your needs, for example at Paw Printz Studio we have a preference not to use have leather bound albums but we have been requested in the past to supply one which we were more than happy to do , Even though we have a choice of 6 different albums it was not what the bride and groom wanted , so we supplied what they did.

be sure to say what you want and not to be forced into something else however also be aware that the cost may also vary as the photographer is leaving there set out package.

Quality counts

In the last post we talked about disk V album however we did not got into the biggest problem with having just the disk.

A Friend of mine recently got married in Las Vagas and got a disk package with over 600 cleaned images, however more than 500 were of quite low quality and as a result they can not be enlarged to the size they want , in fact it has even be hard to enlarge them above A4.

Some photographers do this in the hope that you pay them for the prints so be sure to find out what you will really be getting when you ask for the disk and be sure you are getting what you want.

as sometimes quick and easy turn out to be the opposite, disk packages can be great as long as you know what your getting

Disk or Album

In recent years it has become popular for people to want a master disk of all of there wedding photos which is understandable as you want a complete record of your day.

However some people have started to not want a actual printed album.

The problem that i find with this is most people just keep the photos on the computer and never really get to appreciate them.

When ever i have given an actual album to the bride and groom, even though they have seen all of the photos already they always say how much more they appreciate the photos and how it makes the memory's of the day come flooding back.

So when choosing to have just the disk you are gaining all of the photos but maybe loosing have something special in having a hard copy of the day that you will be able to look at for ever.

Hidden Costs

Unfortunately there are some photographers out there that do not tell you the full story.

Their packages on the surface look very good however be sure to dig a little deeper to find out if there may be any future costs

For example i heard a story of one photographer who set up the package and was a 100€ cheaper than anyone else, and started to get alot of work becsue of it, however it turns out that in his "small print" he did not include any adjustments to the photos and i dont mean large amout of work , very simple adjusments like exposyre. he then started charging 20€ per photo to be cleanded . whcih made the final costs sky rocket,

Be sure to find out future costs and what id really included.
How much will futre prints be , extra albums or parent albums,

Not all photogrpahers will have it on there price list but be sure to ask and then write it down on the list they give you so you have sort of record so you will know how much extras will end up costing

2nd Photographer

Some wedding packages now will include a 2ND Photographer ,
This may sound great in principle but in truth i have never really seen the need for it.

I have been photographing weddings on the Costa Blanca for the last 6 years and I've never been asked to see more photos and when i sat down to work out if a 2ND photographer was really worth it i found the only time i may need a 2ND Photographer would be for about 15 seconds of the wedding.

So do you really want to pay this extra money and maybe food bill just to have that 15 seconds covered is something you will have to truly think about.

Weddings cost a lot already is the extra cost really justifiable, the choice is yours

Photo or Video

We often get asked do we do video, in short the answer is always no.

Why don't we do video? for the very simple reason that we are photographers and what we do best is take photos.
its the old saying jack of all trade master of none,

if we did video it would be more time spent worrying about something else and not your photos which is what you hired the photographer to do.

what does this really mean, if you want video get a true videographer and let each of them concentrate on there own jobs this way you will get the best of both worlds. they will work together to get the best results without the pressure of one person or company to cover everything.

but you have to choose if you want either or both

Wedding costs

When you are looking at the cost of your photographer and weighing up the pros and cons try to remember that in the end you are paying for a unique skill set, even though this is a unique skill set you can still underpay as well as over pay so be sure you find out what you are really getting for your money,
Are they only booked for a time period. do they include the photo touch ups or are they extra.
Make sure there are no hidden costs and keeping asking the questions until you get the answers.

Don't pay Champagne price for beer and vise a versa.

Time is money ?? No its quality

when you are doing a brief rundown on the time of your wedding remember to think of what you want done in regards to photos , do you want these lovely sunset shots or photos in a meadow. if the answer is yes just must remember to allow time for them and not just expect them to appear in your album.

For example to get a great sunset shoot you normally only have a 15min window be prepared for it.

Or if you and your new partner want to go of for just photos allow for travel time and at least 15-20 min at the location,

what it comes down to is the more time you give us the more variation and greater quality photos you get in return.

Comfort

When choosing your photgrapher be sure that you are comfortable with them as a person as well as the quality of there work after all this person will be with you for all of your special day and you may well see more of them than you do some family members

Why have a photograher ?

Want seems to be a common problem when choosing a photographer for your wedding is the thought in the back of peoples mind that they don't really need one.

Well of course this is a option that you may want and that is fine but before you decide not to have one just think about it for a second.

In the UK the average wedding now costs upwards of 25000 pounds,

with that you have to pay for the following,

Dress both bride and brides maids
Suits for the groom and groomsmen
Wedding Venue
Reception
Meal
Rings
Flowers
travel to and from the venue
Music
Photographer

now out of that list in 1 years time what will you have for you wedding money that you have spent out, your rings and of course your photos .

A professional wedding photographer will be there through the day where as a Friend is also there as a guest and wont be looking for that 1 shot , it is our job to do the best by you , that may be taken you to a special location on getting that one shoot with you grandparents , whatever it may be we will make sure we get in and not be worried about sitting down to eat or talking about the football last night.

So if you really want to remember your wedding the way it was please thing about who is going to be capturing those memory's

When is free not free

As we said this blog is not just about Paw printz studio is also to give advice when choosing your photographer, so if you have any questions please just ask.

Often some photographers will add a "free" item for example a parent album however be sure to find out how much they would normally charge for said item on its own, as sometimes by shopping around you may find that you have to pay for the item separate but your general wedding package is a lot cheaper and it will still be cheaper for you to buy the item than it would to get it free.

Welcome

Welcome to this blog
this site is run by Paw Printz Studio and is here to give you offers as well as advice when picking your photographer for you big day