Classic Photo Shoot Venues For Weddings

When it comes to planning weddings, finding the perfect venue is the hardest part. Here is a variety of choices of venues ideal for wedding photos.

Photo Shoot Venue #1 for Weddings - Greenhouses

The Oakville Municipal Greenhouse one of the preferred locations in the city for wedding photo shoots. The greenhouse, which can also accommodate small wedding ceremonies (with no more than 20 guests), has provided a lush backdrop for many local weddings. The greenhouse is available by reservation only.

Photo Shoot Venue #2 for Weddings - Gazebos

The gazebo in Bronte Heritage Waterfront Park is a beloved location for more than just weddings: residents will also recognize it as a popular venue for outdoor concerts. Within view of the lighthouse and the Bronte Outer Harbour Marina, the gazebo is a favourite photo shoot venue for summer weddings.

Photo Shoot Venue #3 for Weddings - Museums

Schoolchildren take field trips to the Erchless Estate museum, which was home to six generations of one of Oakville's founding families, the Chisolms. It is a place to learn about the downfall of Colonel William Chisholm (1788-1842), who after working so hard to develop the harbourfront, went bankrupt, or, about Allan Stuart Chisholm (1866-1918), who is said to have given the estate its charming touches that make it such a draw today for weddings. Brides and grooms-to-be, take note: the estate is not available for ceremonies, but you can take photos there. By permit only.

Best thing about the grounds of this museum as a venue for wedding photography? The museum's flower garden, which is tended to reflect the gardening style of the 1920s. A romantic historical touch!

Photo Shoot Venue #4 for Weddings - Rose Gardens

If you are planning a wedding between June and September, then you might want get a permit to take wedding pictures in Gairloch Garden's rose gardens. The pond, the water, the stairs... Every corner of this park screams romance.

Photo Shoot Venue # 5 for Weddings - Permit-Free Venues

Budget-conscious brides and grooms-to-be planning weddings may prefer the freedom and spontaneity of choosing a wedding photography venue that does not require a permit. The ornamental grasses and flower beds of municipal parks represent one such location.

And those who are tempted by the roses of Gairloch Gardens, may find the free roses of Shell Park equally appealing. These beds are in bloom between June and September, just in time for peak wedding season.

Enjoy choosing from all the venues for weddings.

Photo Collage Online

In today's world there are a millions of professions from which you can choose your own or choose in which you have your interest. And sometimes it not all about taking something professionally rather that's your passion and you give proper time to it. There are many fields in which you might have your interest or passion. But really passionate people are the one who have an artistic mind. And the field of arts is very vast, providing peoples so many interesting fields in it that people are really attracted towards them. In recent years, technology and software advancements lead to many software's and computing tools which helped every person from any field. And in such software's a very interesting one is the Photo Collage.

Photo Collage, is software which helps you to merge different photographs in a single image. This can be used for a number of purposes and requirement or you can be doing this just for the sake that you have a shear passion to artistic photographs or even just to show how good you are at this area of arts. Online Photo collage requires a huge amount of bandwidth, and also many processing on the server end. But to provide users ease of access and usability, many websites are providing this service online. And some are the paid services and other are providing it free of cost.

One fantastic tool that can be used for this field is the Adobe Photoshop. But that is a paid service and is not available online; you have to buy that software and run that fully from your computer at home. Many services that are available online are really good, but they won't give you many advance features as Adobe Photoshop or any paid service will do. But still if you a real general requirement for a Photo Collage then there are many which are available for a normal home user to gain access and use it online.

What photo collage basically does is that it provides you with the basic functionality of merging a number of different pictures in a single image. It also allows you to merge your pictures in different designs like in a shape of heart, rectangle, oval etc. With this online tool you can also add many different effects to your merged photograph. There are many soft-wares and websites online which are providing this service online like Shape Collage, picture collage and many more. And you can search them on Google and check which options they provide you and how advance the software is, and then you can select the appropriate service that is comfortable for you.

Or whichever fulfills your need is the right option for you. The requirement to use an online Photo Collage is that you should have a high bandwidth connection to the internet, which can downloads and upload your data at very high rates. Because to use a photo collage online you have to upload your files as well which you are willing to merge with a photo collage.

Announce Your Marriage With Personalized Marriage Announcements Cards

Marriage Announcements to Announce Your Marriage

Marriage announcements are a great way to let people know that you have gotten married. These are a great keepsake for friends and family that attended the wedding and are an especially great way to let those who did not attend know that the wedding has taken place. To follow proper etiquette, they should be sent within one month of the wedding to two months after the wedding has taken place.

Marriage announcements should keep with the theme of the overall wedding. This means the same color, and formality as well as the tone. This is true even for informal cards. Making sure that all stationery is the same will help further the theme of the wedding.

The parents of the bride traditionally send these out, and are keeping with a formal theme, they have a fairly standard format for sayings, verses and wordings. Typically they will say something such as, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith have the honor of announcing the marriage of their daughter, Rebecca Jane to Brain Matthew, 30th of June, 2007 at Calvary United Church, New York, New York."

If the wedding was a small, casual affair, the marriage cards should keep with the casual theme. For instance, if the wedding took place on a beach and was unconventional, the tradition isn't a necessity. The wordings on the marriage card could say, "we tied the knot! At the Paradise Sands Resort Beach in the Bahamas, on June 30th, 2007. Thanks to all of those that participated in our special day!"

A photo taken of the ceremony is a nice inclusion. It will give those who could not come to the ceremony a glimpse into what the day was like. The photo should obviously include the bride and the groom and if not taken during the actual ceremony, it should be taken in the same setting that the wedding took place. This photo can be used as the front, with the back of the photo indicating the details. Using a black and white photo can be a nice touch.

Even those who did not attend the wedding may wish to send presents to help the couple begin their lives together and to congratulate them. While couples should not expect this, it's a definite possibility. For this reason, there should also be thank you cards ordered. These are just small cards that will thank the person for their gift and can keep with the theme.

Marriage thank you card verses and sayings should keep with the theme. For the casual wedding on the beach, the wordings could say something such as, "we want to show our thanks." For the announcement that has been more formal, the thank you card sayings should be something such as, "we express our gratitude to you for celebrating in our love."

There are many different types of printed marriage announcements, announcements for marriage and the theme and tone of the wedding need to be adhered to when sending both.

Flush Mount Wedding Albums Vs Traditional Wedding Albums

Flush mounted wedding albums have not been around for a long time, but they are here to stay. They offer a lot of advantages over traditional albums, which more than justifies the higher prices that photographers usually charge for them. This article is trying to give an overview over what exactly makes flush mount wedding albums more special and why you should not settle for less.

More spectacular and original design

Flush mounted albums are digital albums, designed on the computer in so called "magazine-style", which gives your album designer a lot of possibilities. Whereas a traditional album forces the designer to work with photos attached to a single-colored piece of paper, there are virtually no limits to the design of a flush mount album. This is because each double spread is designed on the computer and then printed on a SINGLE large photo. So, the limits to the wedding album design are not set by the way the album is made, but by Photoshop (or any other software the designer might be using).

More impressive way of presenting photos

Flush mounted wedding albums have thick pages that will not bend. The photos fill the whole page. There are no margins at the edges of the pages or in the fold in the middle. This allows to present photos in a far more spectacular way of than possible with a traditional album. Traditional albums limit the designer to use comparatively small photos that will at most fill one page (with margins at the edges). Also, in flush mount albums the designer can use photos that stretch over the full width of a double-page spread. For example, group shots of the whole wedding party look stunning when presented that way.

Better suited as storybook wedding albums

An album that tells a story revives the memories of the big day more vividly and is more interesting to read. Flush mount albums make great storybook wedding albums. On a traditional album it is somewhat difficult to add nice looking text. One could write or print text next to the individual photos, but it is very hard to compose text and picture in a stylish way. Flush mount albums make this task much easier. The text can be put wherever the designer chooses, next to photos or on top of them, in whatever font-style and color he or she wants. In flush mount wedding albums it is common to print the transcript of whole speeches, maybe with a photograph of the speaker put in the background.

More suitable for large sizes

Flush mounted albums look great in small sizes and stunning in big ones. With a traditional album it is crucial to keep them below the critical size, when pages are getting too big for single photos. Some photos are so important that they need to be on their own dedicated page and if then there is tons of white space around them, they start looking lost. In flush mount albums the photos fill the whole page without margins no matter what size you go for, so a single photo will never look lost. For the extra important photos you can even cover a whole double-page spread. Also, super wide sizes like 15" x 12" look great with flush mount wedding albums, whereas they just don't work that well with a traditional album.

To sum up, if your photographer offers flush mounted albums then go for it. They will often cost substantially more than the old-fashioned equivalent, but it is worth it. If you want to save money, than DON'T get the album from your photographer, but check online for an alternative. A couple of companies are specialized on flush mount and therefore can offer much better value for money than your photographer.

The Common Mistakes to Avoid When You Hire Your Wedding Photographer

Many things can go wrong at a wedding, but the most heartbreaking mishap is one that relates to the photography. By avoiding the mistakes detailed below, you can choose the ideal photographer to give you picture-perfect snaps of your special day.

Ignoring the photographer's style and personality

Every photographer has a unique style. It can be a traditional approach, documenting the important ceremonies and the popular poses. Or it can be photo-journalistic style that focuses more on capturing the moments and emotions than the poses. There is also an artistic approach where the photographer uses unusual or irregular camera angles, hand-coloring of images and other off-beat styles. Choose a wedding photographer whose style you like. You should also hire a particular photographer only if you like him/her on a personal level.

Not establishing rapport with the photographer before the wedding

Many people do not realize the importance of the wedding couple and the photographer getting to know each other before the event. You must have a pre-wedding session with your photographer so that you become comfortable with him/her. The photos on the big day will definitely show you in a relaxed frame of mind and add that extra charm to your smile.

Giving more priority to products than the art

What use are bad pictures in a beautiful album? If your budget is limited, do not make the mistake of compromising on the photography and hiring a cheaper photographer just to be able to afford a smart album. You ought to know your priorities. The album can always be replaced with a better one whenever you can afford it, but you cannot recreate the wedding day!

Not hiring an experienced professional

An amateur or inexperienced photographer is not likely to produce the results that an experienced professional will. Even if an expert photographer costs a little more than you had budgeted for, he/she will more than make up for it by delivering photos that you treasure for a lifetime.

Not getting a copy of the wedding photography contract

And lastly, do not forget to get a copy of the contract that you and your photographer should be signing. While you do hope that everything goes along fine and you end up with a collection of truly memorable pictures of your wedding, you must be prepared for things going wrong. You deserve to get good value for your money and if the photographer fails to deliver it, you need to have written proof of having hired and paid for the services.

You should not leave capturing of the most cherished moments of your life to chance! Take a planned approach to hiring your wedding photographer to make sure that you get photos you can look at fondly even after long years have gone by.

Secrets to a Successful Wedding Photography Website

To a professional wedding photographer or photography enthusiast, building a portfolio is an important milestone. Not only will it give them the chance to organize, store and showcase their best works, it also allows them to share their work with their colleagues, prospective clients and friends and family. This explains the demand for photography websites. In offering virtually free services in creating a gallery or portfolio for a photographer's work, they mix the elements of art, media and business in answering to the technical challenges of storing and sharing stock photos. Hence, a wedding photography website can practically mix the beauty and business aspects of creating and sharing wedding photographs.

Wedding photography business has come a long way. In catering to the ever changing needs of its clients, wedding photography websites have become an essential part of its existence. Not only does it enable visitors to gain access to the photographer's sample work, it also provides come valuable information about the wedding photography business. On aspect of running a business is building networks. Wedding photography websites make it easy for novice and professional photographers to do that.

Since the photography industry has become very competitive, there has been a need to more effectively execute an effective marketing plan. A wedding photography website presents a perfect strategy of reaching out to the clients as well as prospective clients. Photographers benefit from its listings make their work accessible to their clients. Aside from this, there are more considerations on how to make a successful wedding photography website.

First, it has to have a catchy name. Since the business name doubles as the domain name, a website can easily be popular by giving it the right name. In most cases, the website name makes or breaks the existence of a website.

Most successful websites have simple interface. This makes them easy to navigate by its audiences. It makes good and clear images easily accessible. They also have unique content. When we say content, we refer to both the articles and photographs that are posted in the website. The website content is basically makes the website popular to the audience and easy to promote as it is what makes the website relevant and included in search engine listings.

Also, successful wedding photography websites usually offer some extra features like free photo editing or digital framing. You can do a number of things to a photograph these days. Offering these possibilities to your audience allows you teach them more ways to play and display their precious photographs.

Perhaps the most important factor that makes any successful wedding photography website is the work itself. That will distinguish its individuality among the dozens of website photography website today. Talk is cheap. In most cases, websites gain traffic and audience because of the featured eye-catching initial photograph in the menu layout. Hence, your ability to produce and showcase outstanding wedding photographs is what matters most.

Hopefully this article has given you an insight on just about how you can start making your own wedding photography website. With tools like WordPress, you can easily start your own photography business in the World Wide Web. Following the mentioned pointers should enable you to visualize and create a website that matches the passion and style of your work.

Wedding Wishes Quotes

Wedding wishes quote are applicable in creating inspirational messages for the wedding couple. The best man and maids of honor would require very relevant quotes and wishes that create and convey the correct message to the couple and to the entire witnessing audience. The wishes and quotes are attached for use in wedding cards while some would choose to have them printed out and fixed on some beautiful frames. Ideal wedding wishes quote can be played in music in the wedding ceremony or echoed in applause. Toronto weddings have a characteristic of love messages relevant to the occasions. The wedding quotes mostly feature in invitational cards and wedding photos in Toronto and Ontario weddings.

For the best wedding wishes quote, the couples or coordinators identify the best wedding photographers for real and attractive images. Toronto weddings have professional camera operators for quality images meant for posterity. These services spread to other parts of smaller regions of Mississauga weddings. In the cases where regions occur outside Toronto, one would find it more of more convenience to obtain the services of a Mississauga photographer. Weddings have the identity of detailed photography to depict the main quotes and wishes for a particular wedding. They revolve around love between the wedding couples and the responsibility of the entire community in supporting the marital union. A wedding photographer should ensure that the underlying theme relies on the wedding wishes quote. Some quotes are inscriptions attached to the wedding pictures and animated beneath the photos, behind, or as continuous frame patterns.

A wedding videographer will skillfully capture video as they cover a Toronto or Ontario wedding. This would serve to place the quotes or wishes at the start of the video clips or as a background for the video. Wedding wishes quote in a video or film gives the perspective of the couple's beliefs and underlying inspiration in tandem with the event. They would love to get a reminder of their objectives and duties in attaining the meaning of the quotes. It is lively when a professional and skilled videographer presents an attractive documentary on the wedding wishes quote in the clips for viewing and sharing among wedding attendants. These facilities are available for clients and according to the respective tastes of the wedding planners and organizers. They are found in Mississauga weddings as well. One should seek the assistance of qualified persons and organizations that offer a wide variety of formats.

Wedding wishes quotes are important to for a couple right from the time of preparations to the wedding day and thereafter. Having a wedding limousine adorned with the elements of quotes is creative. One can decide to make the interior of the limousine bear the wishes. The chauffeur could play the music loaded with the wedding wishes quote for the couple as they enjoy the most memorable time of their lives. With the climax of the wedding moving towards the fête, a professional wedding DJ could ensure that the music played during the ceremony is appropriately themed.

Why You Should Let a Professional Create Your Own Wedding Photo Album

Your Uncle Ned may take lovely pictures of birds and puppies, but you'd probably never consider hiring him as your wedding photographer. Cousin Matt may be a wizard with a video camera, but you're not really interested in a wedding video that looks like it was made for a heavy metal band. And your Aunt Sissy may be very creative and make lovely scrapbooks, but no matter how much she wants to make the album of your wedding photos - don't let her. It may seem harsh, but your personalized wedding album will be one of your most treasured possessions and you want it to be perfect and to last forever. So give Aunt Sissy the job of making a scrapbook of the invitations, name cards, pressed flowers, and all the lovely accessories from your wedding, and hire a professional wedding album crafter to make your customized wedding photo album.

Experienced designers and crafters of wedding albums have made hundreds, maybe thousands of albums and know what it takes to give you the picture book you want. They will also take the most difficult, time-consuming tasks off your hands and make ordering and receiving your custom album a joy. Here's what you can expect from a reputable professional wedding album designer.

• Photo selection - They'll go through ALL the pictures of your wedding and select the ones for your album (Don't worry, you'll have some input in this).


• Design and Organization - Your designer will use the input you give them to design an album to suit your unique taste, and arrange the photos on the pages of your book.


• Solid construction - The best wedding photo album crafters use the best materials like leather for the cover, thick rigid "lay-flat" pages, mounted photos, solid one piece binding, and special touches such as gilded edges, rounded corners and engraving. You will also get a handcrafted, not machine made, album so quality control is personally checked by a human being every step of the way.


• Fast delivery. Because they are experts at crafting customized photo albums and have all the necessary materials on hand, the completed album of your wedding pictures should be delivered to your home within a month.


• Reasonable pricing - If you're worried that hiring a professional to create your wedding album will be expensive - don't worry. Customized wedding albums can start as low as $300, and for $600 or more you can have the finest quality wedding photo book with beautiful, elegant touches that perfectly suit your style.

Of course, one of the most important considerations is how comfortable you feel with your wedding album designer. Are they well established and live up to their promises? Are they easy to work with? Do they really understand your vision and share it with you? Do they handle every step of the process from design to assembly? (Some just do the design work and you have to find a company to produce the album). Be sure to check out several different wedding album crafters and select the one that feels right for you. Your wedding planner or photographer should be able to recommend someone. Or you can easily find a wedding album designer on the web, such as zookie.

As much as you love your Aunt Sissy, you will want to love your personalized wedding photo album as well. And you will, if you use a professional to create it.

Why Catering Your Own Wedding Is a Bad Idea

If you're thinking of catering your wedding reception all by yourself, you'd better think again. Planning an event of this magnitude and gravity should be left to the professionals. The amount of work involved and the dedication and patience needed can be absolutely overwhelming.

Your wedding day should be memorable. With good memories, that is. Being in charge of your reception can be fraught with opportunity for disaster. Besides, why would you want to take away from everything else that will be going on that day? It may be challenging enough just to get you down the aisle without tripping let alone make and plan enough food to meet the expectations and satisfaction of your guests.

Even the best cook will most likely need a lot of helping hands on this special day. Hiring a professional catering service has many benefits. The possibility of a close time frame, low budget and stressful situations are the reasons it's mandatory you hire a professional service rather than do it yourself.

Most companies employ a well-trained staff from food preparers to wait staff. And most strive to use the best and freshest food possible that will leave your guests complimenting you every time they pass you on the dance floor.

Catering professionals are also financially affordable and can usually offer delectable menus which will fall into most any price range. Don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to. This will ensure you won't have any surprises on your big day.

It's crucial you work with the company of your choice in order to ensure your menu tastes great as well as looks good. Ask if you can sample any of the foods ahead of time.

Food preparation and safety are extremely important and a professional food company will know exactly how to keep food safe. Preparation, delivery, setting up and safe food handling takes know-how.

Another great benefit of using a catering professional is that they will have an assortment of the finest glassware, plates and other assorted items to make your table and landscape look as if it just landed a wedding magazine photo shoot. These are necessities which will add polish to your wedding day. Planning for and the use of flowers, decorations and photography are other advantages.

Full service event planners have access to great vendors and resources. They've learned how to correct last minute errors and make sure your reception goes off without a hitch.

And, when it comes time for you to escape to begin your honeymoon, you'll not want to be straddled with clean up. This is another wonderful feature of hiring a professional.

But the biggest advantage has to be in the area of saving time. As the hostess, do you really want to take a chance for disaster on your wedding day? A professional catering company can supervise all activities necessary from start to finish so you can focus on enjoying your day and your guests.

Great Looking Anniversary Gifts Using Your Wedding Photographs

Every wedding anniversary is a special one, and that's true whether you're celebrating your first year or your twentieth year together. To help celebrate this special occasion the giving of personal and carefully thought out gifts is essential. While there are various traditional anniversary gifts relating to each anniversary, photo gifts can be given as a special and unique celebration of the occasion that can be given to your partner or any family member or friend.

For Your Partner Or Any Recipient

As well as giving anniversary gifts to your husband or wife, personalised anniversary gifts make exceptional presents for other family members and friends. While some couples prefer a more personal celebration, anniversary parties and celebrations require the giving of good looking and considered gifts from all guests. Photo gifts make great anniversary gift ideas because they are such a unique and personal gift; nobody else will have bought the same gift and it will certainly show that a lot of thought and attention went in to choosing the present.

From Paper To Diamond Anniversary Gifts

Traditional anniversary gifts are available for every celebration and are based on materials ranging from paper to diamond. While these may be traditional gifts they are far from the only solution and there is a good variety of ways to incorporate these materials when deciding on gift ideas for a wedding anniversary.

Refresh Your Wedding Photo Album

Wedding photo albums and wedding photos can become damaged and aged, even when well cared for. As well as items like photo canvases and photo blocks, personalised anniversary gifts can include updated wedding photo albums or even wedding photo books. Good personalised gift services are usually able to scan old photographs, as well as work with digital photographs, to create great looking items.

Using A Photo Montage To Celebrate Your Years Together

A photo montage is one of the most beneficial ways to combine photographs that the happy couple has collected over several years together. Anniversary gift ideas can include a canvas print created from wedding and honeymoon photographs, or a blanket that incorporates a photo montage of images spanning an entire life together.

Other Personalised Items For An Anniversary Party

Canvas prints, photo blocks, and photo montage blankets as well as photo books and photo albums are among the most popular gift ideas to celebrate a wedding anniversary. However, this is only a small sample of the possible photo items and personalised items that make great gifts. Furnishings such as cushions and blankets, or the more unique photo cube are functional, personal, and great looking. Wall art and home décor items include folding screens, posters, and even personalised wallpaper. Many items can be customised to look great and offer a personal touch.

Photo Gifts Make Great Anniversary Gifts

The personal touch is what makes photo gifts such great anniversary gift ideas. Adding wedding photographs or images of the couple is a superb way to add that special touch to any of the superb range of photo gifts and anniversary gifts that are available.

Keep Your Memories Safe Forever In Personalised Photo Albums

One of the chief advantages of using digital rather than traditional technology when taking photographs is that digital images, once captured, are both easier to store and far more flexible once they've been stored. Whereas traditional photographs could be reprinted or, perhaps, enlarged, digital images offer a whole new world of possibilities. Many of these possibilities revolve around the issue of storage, and exactly how you go about keeping your images in a way which is safe, accessible and shows them off to their very best effect.

All too often, huge numbers of digital photographs can end up being scattered across a large number of computer drives and digital devices. What this means is that they languish unlocked at and not celebrated for many years, rather than being enjoyed in the way they should be. The answer to this is to collect your favorites together and store them in the digital equivalent of photo albums. Personalized photo albums such as these are a world away from the albums which people used to use to store their printed photographs in. Rather than being slightly scrap books with pictures glued to the pages, these volumes are the equivalent of the photo books which are produced to celebrate the work of famous photographers or the lives of celebrities. When you produce photo books online, you'll be designing something which is produced to a luxurious and lavish standard, with thick glossy pages and state of the art printing techniques.

You might want to create your own wedding album, for example, gathering together the images taken by all the guests who came with their own digital cameras. These will form a touching counterpoint to the official wedding photographs, since they'll capture the quieter, less formal pleasures of a wedding day. For others, it's an ideal opportunity to produce a baby album which will last in perfect condition for many years to come, meaning you can always take it off the shelf and take a trip down memory lane.

Making a photo album of this kind is much easier than most people probably think. Once you've decided on a theme and selected the images you wish to include, you just have to upload them to the website you're using. Once they're on there, you'll find software which has been especially designed to be simple to use no matter what level of experience you have. The process is set out in the form of a series of simple choices, allowing you to select such basic things as the size and shape of the book, and then moving on to more detailed choices such as the layout of each page. You'll also be able to add any text you might want, and to choose from a wide range of colors and styles for the front and back covers. Once you've made sure it looks exactly how you want it to look, it will be printed to a standard which is more than a match for those on sale in book shops all over the country.

If you choose to create books to give as gifts, then you can take the process one step further and use more of your photographs to create bespoke, one of greeting cards which will stand out in sharp contrast to the bland offerings available on the high street.

Wedding Scrapbook Pages

If you have just got married or you are planning to get married in the new future, you may be considering some ways that you can preserve the memories from your wedding forever. One of the best ways that you can do this is to create a wedding scrapbook full of wedding scrapbook pages that tell the romantic story of your wedding. While there are a variety of great ideas out there for wedding scrapbook pages, here is a list of some of the "must have" pages that you definitely will want to add to your very own wedding scrapbook.

Pages on How We Met

First of all, when it comes to important wedding scrapbook pages, you'll definitely want to include some pages on how you and your husband met. Include some pictures of your first date, the first kiss you ever had, the engagement photo, and other important pictures to you throughout your meeting, courtship, and engagement. It's definitely a lot of fun to look back and see how your relationship started, bloomed, and developed all the way up to your wedding day.

His and Her Pages

Of course his and her pages are great ideas for wedding scrapbook pages as well. These pages can be used as ways to show your lives before you got married, or even your lives before each other. Consider adding some baby picture or pictures from your childhood. Also, important milestones like graduations can be added to these pages as well. Even pictures of family members, hobbies, friends, and the two of you showing off your personality can be great additions to these pages.

Wedding Mementos

If you've already had your wedding, more than likely you saved quite a few different mementos from the wedding day. Perhaps you have napkins, programs, party favors, place cards, champagne corks, or even confetti around from the wedding. Well, you can include these on wedding scrapbook pages of their own or you can use them as embellishments for the entire wedding scrapbook if you want to as well.

Wedding Party Pictures

You'll definitely want to have wedding scrapbook pages that are dedicated to wedding party pictures as well. No doubt you'll want to remember all the important people who were in your wedding party. Consider going with some shots of wedding party members on their own and group shots of the wedding party as well.

The First Kiss

Now you definitely can't get away without creating a wedding scrapbook page that is totally dedicated to your first kiss as husband and wife. You can add one large photo that dominates the page or consider several photos of the first kiss from different vantage points if you have them.

As you can see, these are just a few of the important ideas for wedding scrapbook pages. No doubt you'll want to include these pages in your scrapbook and a whole lot more as well. So, get started today and start making a book full of romantic memories from your wedding, complete with exciting wedding scrapbook pages that you'll cherish forever.

Make Your Big Day Special With a Vintage Wedding Dress

While contemporary wedding dresses are fine and beautiful, vintage wedding dresses add a special element to any wedding. The typical bride today is choosing to shop for a vintage dress as it offers an old fashioned, charming effect to the ceremony.

If you love quality clothing, then you know that sometimes new wedding dresses that are designed nicely have something that is not quite right, or something missing. Perhaps it is the use of inexpensive material or maybe the dress was not sewn well. Whatever the reason, some of the most expensive, modern wedding dresses are just not pleasing to the eye.

If you go with a vintage wedding dress on the other hand you are all but assured of good quality. The vintage wedding dresses being sold in high-end boutiques and on the internet were made during a period in time when every last detail was attended to. You can easily find dresses that date back to the early 1900s, which were worn once and then stored away properly so that they are as good as new. You can find designer originals created by the likes of Kathleen Kennedy or Chris Hudson Couture which feature antique lace and wonderful floral designs. Imagine how lovely your wedding photo will look when you are dressed from head to toe in one of these original gowns that often come with beautiful under-slips to complete the look.

Some of the most popular types of vintage wedding gowns being worn today are Edwardian style gowns. This type of gown features a high lace neckline and a large front lace yoke. The finest laces are used on the mutton-style sleeves and cuffs and the bodice is normally fitted through the waistline. Not only will your wedding pictures look amazing when you are wearing this type of gown but you will look absolutely spectacular as you walk down the aisle to exchange vows with the man of your dreams.

If you choose to shop online for vintage wedding gowns you can also enjoy looking through the vintage bridal lingerie, veils, shawls, capes and stoles. If your wedding budget permits you could even opt for some wonderful vintage bridal accessories such as lovely antique necklaces and anklets. There are many retailers on the web who offer vintage wedding clothing so be sure to set enough time aside to look through many of the sites. The offerings are breath-taking and the prices vary widely. There is so much to choose from today if your dream is to have a truly vintage style wedding.

Digital Workflow of a Wedding Photograher

Light, composition and camera technique are essential ingredients in making a great photo. But in today's digital age there's another crucial element that happens after the photo is taken - post production.

This is the digital equivalent of developing a negative. Instead of choosing a film type to render the desired colour, tone and contrast the digital photographer now has to make these decisions in post production.

Most pro photographers shoot in RAW because this format contains a huge amount of data which provides a blank canvas for the photographer to develop the digital negative to their taste.

The typical digital production workflow goes something like this: after importing the RAW files into LightRoom go through the process of selecting keepers and trashing the duds, then onto the post production phase. Make basic edits which include tweaking white balance, exposure and contrast. Hopefully there's not too much to do here as you should try as hard as you can to get the settings right in camera. Having the correct white balance preset and exposure saves SO much time in post production.

After these adjustments are done, export the files as jpgs and take them into Photoshop for further refinements and batch processing. This includes retouching, which should be kept to a minimum. There's a big difference between the way the picture looks straight out of the camera and when you finished processing it. However always be very careful to keep everything looking natural and make sure that retouching is subtle. Over-processed pictures can look fake, especially if skin is softened too much or the colour of eyes is enhanced beyond what looks normal. Pick up any glossy magazine and you'll find examples of models whose skin has been airbrushed so much that it looks unnatural and almost plastic. Teeth are pearly white and eyes pop with colour. This look works well for glamorous fashion photography but looks ridiculous in wedding photography.

The final process before delivering the images to the client is to sharpen the picture for output. The amount of sharpening depends on end media. Printing a large canvas will require more sharpening than a small print. Reducing a file in size for use on the web also has the effect of softening it considerably so these files need quite a bit of sharpening.

Wedding photographers have a huge number of files to manage and process over the course of a year, so anything that reduces the amount of time sat in front of the computer is very welcome. That's why so many professional photographers use LightRoom. It makes cataloguing and organising pictures a breeze. You should always be looking to improve your workflow so trying some new software to see if speeds up the process.

Engagement Photography - What Equipment You Should Bring

If you are a Photographer and you just started shooting weddings, you might consider start offering an Engagement Session to your clients, as part of your packages.

An Engagement Session is a Photography Session scheduled to happen few weeks or few months before the wedding date, where you (Photographer) take the couple (your clients) to some nice or unique place to have their portrait done. This Photo Session is the best way to show the beauty of the couple in a more artistic way.

Because you have planned ahead the location, time, props and etc, you must know about how much equipment you really need to bring with you.

Here is a list of what you might consider bringing with you for your next Engagement Session;

1) Camera
I know that you knew this one, but better be safe than sorry. You might also want to bring your backup camera. I generally leave my backup camera in my car, so I don't have to carry any more extra weight.

2) Lenses
There are photographers that can not go to a photo session without taking his or her whole lenses collection. Remember that this session is very casual, and you would be just fine with a single zoom lens; like a 15mm - 55mm. Depending on your style or the location of your photo session, you might consider bringing also your 70mm - 200mm lens as an option.

3) Flash
Most of the time you might not need to use your flash, but is always good to have it there with you just in case you need it as a fill light.

4) Memory Card and Battery
Bring some extra memory cards and batteries. You never know when you are going to need them.

5) Tripod
Some photographers feel more comfortable shooting with a tripod. I normally just bring my tripod if I know that I am going to be shooting late in the evening, but you can also bring your and leave it in your car.

6) Props
A lot of photographers don't bring any props to their Engagement Photo Session. I can not stress enough the importance of this subject. If you really want your photographs to look something special and unique, this is a must. You can bring some extra fabric, roses, or anything else that you think that would make your pictures look special.

Remember that the Engagement Session is the best moment to you to connect with your clients and show them what a great professional you are. Go ahead and have some fun, they will love you!

Unique Wedding Invitations - 5 Ideas to Make Your Invitations Unique

Do you want to send an invitation that gets your guests talking? Does an 'off-the-shelf' invitation make you wrinkle your nose? Unique wedding invitations are not as complicated as you might think. Here are not-so-common wedding invitation ideas you'll love to send:

Go non-traditional

The possibilities for unique invitations are endless. For example, while linen paper or engraved text are timeless invitation styles, they don't exactly make for one-of-a-kind wedding invitation ideas. Instead, try eco-friendly or textured paper. Also consider abandoning traditional colors in favor of bright, bold shades to announce your wedding.

It's all about the messenger

Create a buzz among your guests by sending your wedding invite in a non-conventional way. For example, if you're getting married with your toes in the sand, consider sending an invitation tucked inside a bottle. Or, if you have a wedding worthy of a storybook princess, send an invitation rolled up into a scroll. Christmas wedding invites might be sent in a gift-wrapped box.

One disadvantage with this idea is that it can be expensive. However, if you have a generous budget, this is one of the most unique wedding invitation ideas and is sure to create buzz about your nuptials.

Have a way with words

Playing with wedding invite words is one of the no-cost invitation ideas. For example, you might toss out the traditional Mr.-and-Mrs.-Smith-cordially-invite-you wording in favor of clean and modern wording. Think along the lines of "With joyous hearts, we invite you..." or "Join us for a celebration of love and family..."

Does your significant other call you "Sweets?" For fun and unique invitations use nicknames in the text--just make sure they're not the kind of nicknames that will make Grammy blush!

Get in touch with your inner artist

One sure-fire way to create unique invitations is to personalize the invite with a special photo or image. For instance, consider using baby photos of you and your future spouse. If you have an artistic hand, perhaps you can draw your profiles. Got a place or landmark that's important to you? Take a photo of you and your love at the spot for instantly unique wedding invites.

A professional printer can often incorporate your photo wedding invite ideas, but be aware that there's often a fee for using your own artwork. If you're a budget-conscious bride, consider designing the invitation on your home computer. Then, you can print them yourself at home, or, to save wear-and-tear on your home printer, have a local copy shop do it for you.

Go Green

If you carry a trunk full of reusable grocery bags or chide friends for drinking from one-time use water bottles, consider eco-friendly invites. These unique wedding invitations are printed on bio-degradable paper that contains no harsh chemicals. Sometimes the paper can be made with 100% recycled products.

For the ultimate in wedding invitation ideas, consider using invites printed on paper embedded with wildflower seeds. Your guests simply "plant" their invitation in the garden, creating a lasting memory of your special day.

As a bonus, some eco-friendly companies use carbon-free shipping to deliver the unique wedding invitations, lowering your carbon footprint. Memorable invitations you can feel good about--what's not to love about that?

When it comes to your special day, don't use the same wedding invitation ideas used by every other bride. With a little planning, you can create unique wedding invitations that announce the most important day of your life to your family, friends, and loved ones.

A Big Fat Family Wedding

Someone wisely said that an image can speak a thousand words!

Be it an Asian or American wedding we all look forward to the big family reunion. The bride and groom eagerly wait for the day when their uncles and aunts, cousins and friends, grandparents and parents alike, will be excited and nervous at the same time. A day when the room will be filled with congratulation and jubilation. A day when there will be song and dance. Also, a day marked by 'togetherness'.

The fun and frolic at any wedding comes out of the coming together of two families. On the wedding day, the bride and groom meet so many of each other's relatives and dear ones but for such short time. Now remembering them all becomes impossible!

Imagine your husband asking you what you thought of his younger brother's best friend who you met at your wedding. Forget about remembering her name or her beautiful dress, you may not even remember her face. That's when a family portrait photographer comes in as your 'savior'. These photographers capture timeless moments that we cherish for years to come.

A professional photographer would click the most interesting family portraits. In order to do that, he would come and meet you in advance, much before your wedding day. He would always focus on what you want and like than his preferences. He would know how to bring the family together on and off stage for the required portraits. He may even click few family photos without asking everyone to look into his camera lens as that would bring out wonderful personal moments.

The technical skills required by a photographer in this specialization are different from that of glamour photography professional. This is because one handles a group of people within a frame and the other concentrates on one or two people at the most. Balancing a photograph with many people of varying heights and sizes requires a different set of skills from the one where the most important thing is that one must look gorgeous.

The types of lenses used for family portraits and glamour photography are different too as the latter usually requires close or mid shots. Lighting a family portrait in a studio set up may be a bigger challenge as each member may have a slightly different skin tone or complexion. On the other hand, clicking images of individuals is a bit easier from the point of view of lighting.

Five Reasons to Choose a Local Wedding Photographer for Your Wedding

Your wedding is a once in a lifetime event, a day that you will always remember as a special moment in time. In order to savor these special memories, you want a photographer present to capture these special moments in photos. There are many places in Michigan where a wedding ceremony may be held, and that alone has a large impact on who you choose to be your Michigan wedding photographer. Here are 5 reasons why you should choose a photographer that's local to you and knows the area where your wedding will be held:

1) A Local Michigan Wedding Photographer Knows the Landscape

It makes sense to hire a local photographer if for no other reason than the fact that they are extremely familiar with the state. This may not initially seem relevant but when it comes time to shoot some classy photos with unique backdrops you don't want to just do another "in front of the church" picture. If you hire a photographer to come into the Detroit area or Grand Rapids from Chicago or the Toledo area - how likely are they to know the best places to shoot a photo. On the other hand - hiring a photographer from an area in Southeast Michigan such as Roseville means that your photographer is going to be intimately familiar with the best places for unique photoshoots.

In Detroit for example they can take you around the city into specific areas for the perfect photos:

• In the empty seats of the Fox Theater

• Posing together with the massive Lion statues of Comerica Park in downtown Detroit

• On that tire swing near the barn by M-59 outside of Sterling Heights... you know. No? Well the photographer does.

• In the glass-floored restaurant atop the Renaissance Center

Their knowledge of the best photoshoot locations - whether they're in downtown Detroit - or one of the secluded suburbs (such as the Downriver Area) gives countless opportunities for the perfect wedding photos before you head to the reception.

2) Get A Hold of Your Photographer with Ease

Let's be honest and just admit that planning a wedding tends to very stressful on the bride, the groom and anyone else involved. This is why it is important to be able to contact all of the people who are providing the services for your wedding event, and of course this includes your local Michigan wedding photographer. Working with a local Michigan photographer will make it much simpler for you to address last minute changes, such as a last minute change in locations or other such details.

You might be able to get an expensive photographer to travel to the Detroit area from Chicago but do you really want to deal with a last minute snow storm or some other travel issue that makes the photographer late? Having a wedding photographer that's local to the wedding you're holding - even if it's clear across the state in Traverse City - makes it easier to handle any last minute delays.

3) Make Selection Easy & Get Your Photos Fast with a Michigan Wedding Photographer

The internet has made it so much easier to do business, but sometimes situations arise where we like to deal with someone we have hired face to face. Speaking with a photographer from another area over the phone is a good tactic for interviewing but there's a lot of benefit in putting a real face and handshake to the beautiful photos we find online. Not to mention when they're local you can go right over and pick up your prints - there's no shipping involved.

4) Michigan Wedding Photographer's are Connected

An experienced Michigan wedding photographer more than likely attends regular trade and bridal shows to stay on top of their industry. Over the years they develop a close network of other professionals that they know and trust - enough to give a referral. If you're stuck with a particular aspect of planning your wedding it's quite possible that a local photographer will also know an excellent tailor or seamstress, invitation coordinator, caterer, florist, etc.

It's not uncommon to see large-scale bridal shows being held in Southeast Michigan. When vendors come together from all over the state they network and provide referrals to one another. Over time, the wedding photographer will have a good idea of the more highly-skilled and worth while vendors in Michigan. Having a wide network of vendors on hand is a good sign of a connected and experienced local photographer - another bonus.

5) Give Local Support with a Michigan Wedding Photographer

Michigan has taken a beating over the years and no one knows it more than small business owners. When you hire a local experienced Michigan wedding photographer you're supporting the local businesses and putting your money into the local economy. As mentioned above, many photographers have a great referral network which allows you to continue to support the people making a living in the major cities around Michigan. If you live in a small town in southeast Michigan like Newport or Flatrock it's even more important to take care of those local trusted vendors - they're a part of your own community.

The best part of this is that many small business owners and local shops don't market their services - which means you could have the perfect caterer or photographer right around the corner and you've never know it because they may work out of their home.

Taking the time to search and hire locally offers the most benefit for you and your wedding - especially when you're considering who to hire as your Michigan wedding photographer.

Lovely Ideas on Wedding Favours

It's easy to miss out on organizing wedding favors when you are already preoccupied with other wedding details. Wedding favors can range from candies to souvenirs given to guests as a sign of gratitude and thanks for attending the special occasion. Although not really necessary, it is already a tradition to give out wedding favours. Ideas on wedding souvenirs should not be difficult, as the choices are endless.

When deciding what kind of favors to give out to guests, consider you and your spouse's preference and personality, because, what you give out should show a piece of the both of you. Your guests will be keeping the favors as a remembrance of your special day. You will want them to think of you and your spouse every time they look at the souvenir.

The next thing is to decide whether you will make them or just buy the souvenirs. If you make them yourself, you will be able to give them a personalized, original touch, but doing so can be expensive and challenging. With the number of guests that a bride and groom can have, the DIY approach isn't practical. Some people simply just buy souvenirs and modify them just a bit, for a customized look.

You may consider any of these wedding favors.

• Candles alone don't look great, so it is best to add a bit of decoration, so that they become wonderful souvenirs. There are different kinds of candles in the market. A plain white one can become a wedding favor simply by tying a ribbon around it. The color of the ribbon should be the same color as your wedding motif. You can also opt for scented candles placed in a glass. Wrap the candle in tulle and tie a photo of you and your spouse to it.

• Candies are lovely, and there are a number of ways you can turn candies into the ideal souvenirs. For great candy wedding favors, fill mugs with candies or mints.

• Your wedding photo cannot go wrong. Just make sure you place the picture in a nice frame. Some people would find carrying a wedding photo kind of awkward, though.

• Miniature ornaments make nice souvenirs, too, and there are so many options available nowadays. You can have dove or bird ornaments. Consider the time of the year. If you are having your nuptials in December, consider some Christmas ornaments.

• Miniature wine goblets are also nice. You can do a lot of things with them, like, wrap them in tulle or place pebbles in them. Ribbons tied around these miniature items will make them perfect.

If you are running out of ideas, you may consider chopsticks, seashells, a jar of cookies, potpourri, chocolate bars and bracelets. There is no need to spend a lot on these items. Cheap ones in the market are already good enough to serve as the souvenirs you give to your guests. However, it all depends on your budget. You can distribute wines or small jewelry pieces if you have money to burn. If not, then, there are always inexpensive mementos that are just as perfect.

How will you present your wedding favors?

There are different ways. One is by placing them on the seats or on the tables before guests arrive. Another option is to place them at the entrance for guests to pick up as they enter the venue. Or, you can also have someone else distribute them to everyone while the wedding reception is in progress.

How to Photograph a Wedding - The Bride and Groom

Aim to shoot the Bride and Groom on their own, away from any distraction. When you have satisfied the Bridal party and yourself that every permutation required has been taken, take the Bride and Groom aside for some shots alone and allow the rest of the Bridal party to leave and go to the reception. This will allow you to work with the Bride and Groom alone, an important opportunity, it will help them unwind away from the pressure of onlookers and will achieve more natural and relaxed expressions.

The Bride and Groom are your First Priority

Remember it is the Bride and Groom who matter most, it is them you must please most. Ensure that you have a good repertoire of poses, which you can quickly and effectively arrange. You should shoot at least 8 to 10 of the couple and at least 10 of the Bride alone. When posing the couple it can be advantageous to ask them to turn their heads away for a few seconds, and on request, to turn back to the original position. This technique will often give you a more natural and spontaneous expression. Be sure to use soft focus in some of the close up shots of the Bride.

Backgrounds

When arranging these shots you should be aware of the following points. Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, choice of backgrounds, avoid telegraph poles, gravestones, lampposts, etc. and especially cars (their colours can be overpowering in the shot). In all shots check for small distractions which will detract from the overall appearance of the shot.

Avoid too much sky in the background and avoid too many brightly coloured flowers. Always aim to fill the background with as much green foliage as possible; this will focus the attention of the viewer where it should be, on the bride and groom. An exception to having brightly coloured flowers, would be if you are intending to use the flowers as an integral part of the picture.

Show Them What you Want

When posing some shots it is sometimes easier to show the couple exactly how you want them to appear, ask them to relax from the pose, then ask them to return to the former position.

Another tip is to ask the Bride to close her eyes just before the shot is taken, when you are ready to take it ask her to open her eyes and take the shot immediately. This will often result in a more spontaneous and relaxed shot.

Always tell the couple that it is important that they feel comfortable, if they do not feel comfortable it will show. When arranging the pose, it can be helpful if you are allowed to physically position the subjects. It is, however important that you ask before you attempt this, as there are a number of people who will not feel comfortable with this approach.

Always Keep the Bride and Groom to the Front

Remember, the Bride and Groom should be most prominently portrayed in every shot. Even when posing groups you should try to avoid placing anyone directly in front of or behind the Bride and Groom. The only exception to this is when using steps to compose very large groups.

Height Difference

Another potential problem with the Bride and Groom is height difference.

Positioning the smaller of the two nearest the camera can compensate for height difference between the Bride and Groom. This technique, in the Bride's case, will not be required too often; society readily accepts that on average females are smaller than males. However you may encounter, as I once did, a couple where the Bride was taller and had specifically asked to be made to look smaller, even if it meant posing her husband on a step!

The True Value of Your Wedding Photography: 7 Reasons to Hire a Professional Wedding Photographer

With so many photographers available, how do you know who to choose for your wedding day? If you're basing your decision solely on price, you should remember that when it comes to wedding photography, you really do get what you pay for...

1 - Any price that seems too good to be true, is exactly that. With the accessibility of digital cameras on the market, these days there are literally hundreds of amateur photographers offering substandard service for bargain-basement prices. (Everyone has to start somewhere, but most professional photographers learned the trade by first assisting someone with more experience.) Amateur photographers are those who offer ridiculously low rates because they have no professional training and no professional equipment.

2 - Quality costs more because it's worth more. If you're considering hiring a hobbyist or amateur photographer because they're cheaper, you should bear in mind that the quality of the work will also be cheap. As will the quality of service. If you choose someone because they have the lowest rates, you run a very likely risk of getting photos you aren't happy with. When that happens, there's no way to reproduce or replace those moments. Remember, you only have one chance for fantastic wedding photos.

3 - How can we tell the professional wedding photographers from the amateurs? Although it means a bit of research on your part, the good news is that the difference is fairly obvious. In addition the difference in the quality of work, you want to look for a well-developed website. A key thing to check for, is a testimonials page with at least a dozen testimonials. And when it comes to the portfolio of work, check for a minimum of 50 separate images with many different people featured. An amateur photographer may have several images, but a dead giveaway is if most of the photos are of the same few people.

4 - What are some standard professional wedding photography rates? If you've been checking out several photographers, you'll have noticed that price ranges can really vary. But if you've done a bit of research, you'll probably have noticed that standard pricing for obviously professional, experienced photographers - those with good reputations/testimonials, good portfolios and good equipment - starts around $2500 (and can go as high as $5000) for 6 to 8 hours. Anyone charging less, is absolutely not a professional wedding photographer.

5 - Why do professional wedding photographers charge these amounts? Professional photographers base their rates on several factors. The simple explanation is because they've invested in high-quality equipment and the best photo-editing software, and due to their years of experience, skill and knowledge, they give the very best results.

6 - Other than taking photos, what are we paying our wedding photographer for? Your wedding photographer's work is not done once they've taken hundreds of photos at your wedding. You're not just paying for their time on your wedding day; you also need to consider the days or weeks they'll spend working on editing and finishing your images. Someone charging extremely low rates will not be devoting much time -if any - to putting the finishing touches on your pictures.

7 - Why can't we just pay less for someone to give us unedited wedding photos? Although it's a valid question, the simplest way to understand why not, is to ask yourself this... Would you ask a waiter at a restaurant if you could pay less for your food if it were just partially cooked? When you're paying for something, you receive a finished product. A professional wedding photographer will only give you high quality photos that have been painstakingly edited and worked on in Photoshop and/or Lightroom before they're ready.

Is hiring a professional wedding photographer really worth the investment? Five years from now, you may not remember exactly how your cake tasted, or what color your flowers were, or the songs your dj or band played. Your wedding photos (and video if you have one) will be the one tangible connection to your memories of that day. Don't you want those photos to be the best you can possibly have? If you do, then you'll understand the value of paying a professional photographer what they're worth, to do your wedding photography right and to do it well.

Seven Reasons You Should Buy a Wedding Album

Most people would agree that it's important to have memories of your wedding day, but not everyone agrees about the form those memories should take. In this digital age, we have more options than ever. Some people think it's just fine to have only a CD or a video of their wedding. These things have their place, but nothing compares to an actual physical album. Below are seven reasons why you should have a hard copy of your wedding album:

An album protects your priceless wedding pictures.

People who have all their wedding photos stored on a laptop or a CD often lose their precious memories. CDs can be easily scratched or broken, and all hard drives crash at some point. This can be devastating when the only copy of your wedding photos is stored there. Besides that, people steal laptops every day-- no one steals other people's wedding albums.

Albums give you something to show friends and family.

It is much easier to show your wedding album than it is to fire up a computer and search for your pictures every time you want to show them to someone. If the wedding package your photographer gave you only included a CD or a DVD, print out the pictures and display them in a wedding photo album for everyone to see.

Wedding photo albums make it simpler to access your photographs.

Pictures that are stored on computers and CDs are often never looked at. Even though it may not take very long to locate them, it just seems like a big pain to a lot of people. It is also not very easy to find a specific picture on a computer. They are usually not very well organized, so you may have to search through hundreds to find the one you are looking for. In addition, because the pictures are not in a beautiful album, they are easily forgotten about.

A wedding photo album is important for your children and future generations.

Your children and grandchildren will want to know what you looked like on your wedding day, but you may not think to show them if your pictures are stored on a CD. A wedding album gives them something they can pull out on their own and look at, and it gives you something to pass down to future generations.

An album is something you can touch and feel.

Staring at pictures on a computer screen just isn't the same as flipping through the pages of an album. Albums evoke much more powerful memories, and they give you a place where you can store mementos such as napkins, invitations or a petal from your wedding bouquet.

Wedding albums give you a great way to show your personal style.

There are more album styles to pick from today than there ever have been before. You can choose traditional, easy-fill slip in style, or the latest digital print style. Always ask your photographer to include a wedding photo album in your wedding package, and choose your favourite style to make it individual.

Wedding photo albums can be personalised and given to your parents as a thank-you gift.

Your parents will be very touched if you hand them an album with the details of your wedding day. It is a personal, sentimental gift that has much more value than a boring CD.

Wedding Photo Booth Hire - Fun With Making Memories

One of the most common things about any wedding has got to be photography. Guests love to take photographs and there is almost always a photographer on hand to take snap shots of everyone having a good time, and of course, of the happy, newly married couple as well. Very often there are photographs taken that the couple never actually get to see, because they were taken by other people in attendance. However, hiring a photo booth can really make a big difference.

In order to take advantage of photo booth hire all you need to do is get in touch with a company that hires them out. Check online or in your local telephone directory. They will come and set up everything on your behalf so you will not need to be concerned about that. Furthermore, they will also look after the booth during the event as well, to make sure that nothing goes wrong and that the booth is operating properly at all times. Guests usually love the concept of one of a photograph booth and relish the opportunity to get involved, especially when they can also make use of some silly and fun props. They are fun and informal, suitable for everyone at the event to enjoy.

When you hire one of these booths expect that it will be there for about four to five hours. Your guests will be able to pop in any time they wish. More than one person can fit inside the booth itself as well, making for great photo opportunities. As already mentioned, some fun props can also be used, such as funny wigs and silly looking hats. All of this works together to ensure that your wedding photos will be full of life, character, and originality, instead of the usual, boring, formal types so often seen.

Another great thing about these booths is that the photo strip that is produced is available immediately, and can be kept by those that had their photos taken. Even so, the bride and groom also receive copies of the photographs that were taken for their own personal collection. Usually the photos are put on a compact disc, but they can also be viewed online, either on the company's website or even on social media websites, such as Facebook, for example. Of course, nothing stops you from having them printed if you want hard copies as well. That is really great, because everyone at the wedding will be able to share their memories of the event. As for those that could not attend for whatever reason, they can also enjoy the photos as well.

Most of the companies that hire out these photo booths also provide a guest book which is another great feature. Photos can be placed inside the guestbook and the guests can leave a little message along with the photos they took in the booth for the happy couple. They can keep the book as a keepsake, read the messages, and it is a great way for a couple to know that their guests had a good time.

It really is a fun idea to hire one of these booths for weddings, but they can also be hired for any party or special occasion. They provide fun, laughter, and a keepsake of a day or event that singularly special.

Wedding Photography - What If the Bride and Groom Are Camera Shy?

How do you deal with a stiff bride and groom when it comes to the portrait time?

Well, I have a few tricks up my sleeve, but they all boil down to the same thing: familiarize yourself with the people you're photographing and do whatever you can to get them to relax, to know that this isn't serious time, this is a time to let loose and be themselves. Here are a few things you can do...

1. Most weddings go on in the summer, so if you see that your bride is perspiring a bit, tell the groom to kiss her forehead. He'll make a face, and they'll usually get a laugh out of this. Be prepared to snap a picture of them laughing!

2. Have the groom nuzzle the bride's neck from behind. This will tickle, causing her to laugh. The groom will usually laugh along with her. Once again, what you are looking to snap is not the pose, but the reactions of the couple to the pose.

3. Have the couple standing facing each other, get them to close their eyes, and ask them to kiss each other. They can't see, so they'll probably miss. Maybe they'll drop a kiss on the nose, maybe they'll kiss an eyelid. Invariably, they'll start laughing. Be sure not to miss the moment.

4. If all these fail, switch to "romance" mode instead of "laughter", and have them get into more intimate positions, such as the bride putting her arms around the groom's neck and the groom's arms around her waist. Another bonus pose you can move into from here is to ask the groom to kiss her on the cheek and ask the bride to not let him do it. This is pretty much a guaranteed way to get them to laugh.

5. Moving back into the romance mode, 9 times out of 10, the bride is the more photogenic of the two. Put your focus on her eyes, have him kiss her on her cheek or her neck or shoulder while she looks into the camera. Move around them so that you're behind the groom, and have them embrace and take a picture of the bride's expression.

6. A great set up that you should always do is "the walk". Have the bride and groom stroll away from you. At this point you can snap away freely as they will probably be holding hands and just relaxing with each other. When they're far enough, tell them to stop and walk back towards you. Snap away again.

The rule of thumb is to get your clients to be as relaxed as they can be, and part of how you do this is to behave in a warm, friendly manner. Remember to praise them, even if the shots don't look good. You want to make them feel good, like the camera loves them. Don't make faces when you look at the pictures on the view finder, don't ever let them know that a pose isn't working. Tell them, "That's great! Now let's try a new pose..."

Try out these tips and tricks and see if you can't come up with a few of your own!

Facebook or Traditional Photo Albums to Preserve Your Precious Memories?

With the era of the internet and the amount of time people spend on Facebook and other social networks, it's easy to become engrossed in this new way to communicate with others by living out our lives online. Many Facebook users upload recent photos to their profiles to share them with their Facebook friends and to show people what's new in their lives. Since Facebook has revolutionized the way we interact and share photos, it is very easy to make printing photos secondary or forget to print them entirely. While I understand why it is more advantageous to upload photos to Facebook first, we must not forget that overtime having prints and photo albums to recall and cherish the past will be much more important to us. Therefore, it is absolutely essential that we put as much if not more importance on printing photos than we do on uploading them to Facebook.

There are several reasons that we prioritize uploading photos to Facebook before printing them. Mainly, we just want to share photos to show people what we're doing, to show off our children, or to share the photos from a recent vacation, to name a few. These photos aren't just about your life right now; they are memories that should not be lost in the black hole that is the billions of photos on Facebook. Facebook is a forum to share your life with others. It is not a place to keep treasured memories.

Would you only put important photos such as your wedding photos on Facebook without printing them? Believe it or not, some people do! It's not intentional, but a photographer gives them a disc of their photos and they upload them to Facebook and just never print them. Of course, they will definitely get around to it one day, right? You would be surprised. The same goes for any other sentimental photos that you put on Facebook. If people aren't printing their wedding photos, then it goes without saying that they aren't thinking about printing a random photo they took of their baby either. After all, "it was just to show to people on Facebook anyway, wasn't it?"

Although it is perfectly fine to put your cherished photos on Facebook, it is without question a mistake to let them get lost among the candid, silly, or virtually meaningless photos that you also post. Facebook photos are for quick viewing so that your friends can keep up with your life. This is of course very important, but you must be careful not to become too consumed with this way of experiencing photos that you forget they are also invaluable memories to be treasured and protected.

Say I Do to Extreme Wedding Destinations

Destination weddings are the hot, new thing as couples seek those extraordinary locations to begin their lives together. It makes sense. Let's face it; special destinations make special wedding photos, right?

But, some couples aren't satisfied with the awesome backdrop of Big Sur, or the majesty of a Maui waterfall. They want something more. They want thrills and the wedding photos to go with them.

So, if you're planning a wedding and want to push the envelope a little, why not consider the following:

A Roller Coaster Wedding:

Why not say "I do" as you plunge 215 feet on the Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J.? Or, perhaps a more traditional roller coaster is more to your liking, such as the Cyclone at Coney Island's Astroland, or the Dragon Coaster at Rye Playland in New York with views of Long Island Sound.

Another coaster worth considering for your wedding ceremony is the Stratosphere roller coaster, which wraps around the top of the Stratosphere Tower, 900 feet above the Strip. At a top speed of 30 mph, the ride itself might be considered a bit tame. But, you are 900 feet in the air, which does add to the thrill. And the view? You will definitely have some awesome wedding photos.

If 900 feet above the earth isn't thrilling enough, why not try a hot air balloon?

Hot Air Balloon Wedding:

If you want a gentle glide high above the earth, consider a hot air balloon wedding. Most hot air balloon companies have different size balloons for different size parties. Some couples just want to say their vows by themselves, with the wedding officiant, and some may want a few close friends and family members to accompany them.

Most hot air balloon companies have sunrise and sunset flights available. Some hot air balloon destinations worth noting are Sonoma and Napa Valley, California (800-711-2998), Aspen, Colorado (800-755-0935) and Albuquerque, New Mexico (800-351-9588).

Bungee Wedding:

A bungee wedding is definitely not for the timid. But, for the bride and groom who pushed the envelope long ago and wish to go even further, a bungee wedding might just be the ticket. Wedding Dreams of Las Vegas (1-888-293-3658) provides a bungee wedding package starting at $495, which includes the use of the 175 ft. tower for the bride and groom, minister and up to 20 guests for 30 minutes.

Underwater Wedding:

Of course, you may be the type of couple who wishes to say your vows underwater. On the Big Island of Hawaii, you and your beloved can treat yourself to an exchange of leis, and then dive approximately 30 feet under water where you exchange your vows among the dolphins, turtles and fish. You and your future spouse must be certified divers and provide your own gear. Call toll free at 1-888-293-3658 for more information.

Whatever your destination, extreme or not, choose a location that speaks to your personality. If you're the type who really doesn't like heights or extreme sports, don't choose a roller coaster or bungee wedding because you think you should do something "different." Remember that wedding photo? There's nothing worse than a wedding photo where the bride or groom looks terrified or about to pass out.

The Truth About Reportage Wedding Photography

Reportage wedding photography, sometimes also referred to as photo journalism, will capture the whole of your wedding day in its most natural form. Some of the best photographs in history were taken at the spur of the moment. Think of a reportage wedding photographer as a journalist covering an event; your wedding photographs will look nothing less than a glossy magazine spread.

If you have been looking for a wedding photographer, you must have stumbled upon the concept of reportage photography. This contemporary style of wedding photography has emerged as a hot favorite among young couples of late.

Reportage Photography is when the photographer takes natural shots at the wedding without the couple or other guests being aware of his presence. As a result, you get more informal and serendipitous shots instead of the more traditional formally posed photographs. Reportage wedding photography, thus, manages to capture the exact, unique atmosphere of a wedding, creating splendid memories that you can cherish for a lifetime.

Of course, no wedding is complete without the traditional, formally posed shots of the family, the bride and the groom, the bridesmaids, etc. However, a lot of couples these days prefer to intersperse these formal shots with the more adventurous and natural photographs taken by a reportage wedding photographer. The end result is a wedding album reeked in tradition as well as modernity, with a natural style and flair that captures the originality and uniqueness of the ceremony.

Leveraging his instincts, a reportage photographer can create a wedding album that will feature all the best moments of a wedding that often go unrecorded. Whether it is a moment of mutual affection between your Grandpa and Grandma, a momentary locking of the bride and the groom's eyes, or the slight nervousness in the bride's eyes as she walks through the aisle, a reportage wedding photographer can capture it all.

Besides the other advantages, reportage photography also means that the couple will not have to deal with a demanding photographer. They won't be followed about everywhere, nor will they have to deal with frequent requests for certain poses. This will make them less conscious and allow them to enjoy the wedding day without any hindrances.

Thus, you can have the classic, posed shots for the center of your grand wedding album. At the same time, you could have the reportage wedding shots to amuse your adventurous and wild self.

A good wedding photographer would ideally be someone with at least a little experience of photo journalism. A photographer who has covered public events as an anonymous photo journalist will have a better understanding of the nuances that go into reportage wedding photography. A reportage wedding photographer's job is essentially to make himself invisible in order to get the most natural shots. While it may be difficult to find the right person to do such a job, the end results are well worth the effort.

Communicate with your chosen photographer to make sure he understands what goes into making reportage wedding photography a success. In the end, if you take the time to make an informed choice, you will end up with photographs you can cherish for a lifetime. So choosing a good reportage wedding photographer is an important decision and plays a vital role in recording your wedding day.

Tips For Outdoor Wedding Photography - How to Get the Best Pictures Possible

Outdoor wedding photography creates an eloquent story of your special day. The beautiful scenes, the sunlight, and the fresh air really sets the scene for romance. Unfortunately, light, clouds, wind, and even the elements are never the same from moment to moment. Since the natural elements are quite different from the indoors, there are several things you will need to consider in order to help even the best wedding photographers to get good pictures.

Choose A Good Background

Like with indoor wedding photography, there are things you want to include in a background because they add to the picture and things that are best left out. Standing on the edge of a hill with the mountains in the backdrop, for instance, would make stunning pictures. Having a car in the background is not what you want to see. If it does happen, it isn't the end of the world. For wedding photographers, this might mean they will shoot from a different angle or use a different lens and focus setting to blur out the background.

Small settings work just as well for wedding photography as large backdrops. A small background needs texture in the background to help set up the scene for you. This could include things like a fountain, architecture, shrubs, and even walkways. Many couples actually prefer the smaller settings for the intimate feelings wedding photographers can create with them.

Natural Lighting

Strong natural sunlight can make it very difficult to take good pictures. It creates very distinct shadows on the photographs and very bright areas. While it does create dramatic photographs, it isn't always the best. In this instance, the shade or even a cloudy day creates a nice soft lighting for photographs. About an hour before sunset and sunrise are the times when the lighting is the best, mostly because the light takes on a golden color that adds a nice touch to most locations.

Consider Black And White

Because of the rich textures usually found in outdoor wedding photography, having the photograph make some or all of the portraits black and white can be a nice touch. The added texture from foliage and architecture is highlighted just enough to keep the pictures interesting. As an added benefit, eliminating the color from a photograph also works well with pictures taken in the strong light.

Worse Case Scenarios

Having wedding portraits taken outdoors means you and the wedding photographers will be dealing with nature. Swarms of little flies or dust make small little marks in the pictures. If it is extremely windy, very hot, or cold, it will show up in the faces of the subjects as well. Things such as snow and rain show up as marks in the photographs. If you are having the pictures taken inside of a large gazebo or covered structure, the snow or rain in the background can actually make a nice background for your portraits. However, it is always a good idea to have an alternative plan in place in order to prepare for the unexpected.

Whether you are in an exotic location or downtown Chicago, wedding photography taken outdoors is a great way to get unique backgrounds for your portraits and even the ceremony itself. Along with the beautiful scenery, however, comes the realm of possibilities and unexpected occurrences. Planning, careful selection of the location, and even the time the pictures are taken will have a huge impact on the final story wedding photographers capture.

Photo DVD Professional Service - Wedding Photo DVD

For a superb alternative to a traditional Wedding album or Wedding video, consider the services of a Photo DVD Professional to produce a personalized movie from the very best selection of your Wedding photographs. Photographs are carefully selected and combined with romantic music, title, special effects and captions to create a unique movie to enjoy on DVD. A totally custom-built Wedding Photo DVD product!

Your Wedding Day is one of the most important and joyous days of your life. Imagine reliving the day by transferring all of those wonderful memories onto a DVD that will do your photographs justice. Create so much more than a photo slide show - bring your treasured photos to life with the help of a Photo DVD Professional who will combine your perfect moments with perfect music to create an absolutely unique movie experience.

For most Weddings, guests usually bring their own digital cameras and between them there could be hundreds of photos taken. Wedding photos are so special! Ask your friends and family to send you their photographs on CD or memory stick. Choose the photographs that you want to use in the creation of your special keepsake. Pick and choose all the pictures you like best; a combination of your Professional Wedding Photographer's pictures, plus all the best photos taken by your Wedding guests during the day. Think of it as a way of capturing all of the wonderful magical moments of your Wedding Day.

A Photo DVD Professional Service takes care of all the choreography involved in generating a unique movie for you that is superior to any photo slide show. A Professional DVD movie disc is digitally processed using the most up-to-date computer technology, using the most amazing transition effects, with customizable pan and zoom.

The result will be an incredible story of your Wedding Day that you can share with friends and family. The photo DVD disc will play right on your TV with a DVD player. Imagine your Wedding displayed in full color on a large flat screen TV for all the family to enjoy! Watching the resulting movie on DVD promises to bring back all the special memories and emotion felt on the day.

A photo DVD makes an incredible Wedding gift that could be prepared for a Bride and Groom before they even return from their honeymoon. Copies of the DVD can be ordered for friends and family. A DVD is so much more durable and lighter than any Wedding album and can be enjoyed for years! A photo DVD or CD is also a great way of backing up all of your very best Wedding photographs.

For couples who have been married for a while, consider using the services of a Photo DVD Professional to produce a very special Anniversary gift. Bring all those old wedding memories into the digital age by gathering slides, negatives and old photographs that can be enhanced and restored with present-day technology. A modern day DVD is a great present for any special couple celebrating a Wedding Anniversary. What a great way to recollect and enjoy all of those precious memories!

A professional photo DVD is in fact the perfect souvenir for any special occasion, including birthdays, honeymoons, holidays; even for capturing the important moments of a child growing up. Whatever the occasion, turn your photograph collection into stunning movies on DVD, with the help of a Photo DVD Professional Service.

Wedding Photography Tips - How to Take Great Table Shots

One of a photographer's least favorite types of pictures to take at a wedding is the table shot, the pictures of the guests at each table at a wedding reception. This is because it is hard to get everyone from a table organized, and it does not have the artistry of other photos at a wedding. But this does not mean they aren't important or you don't have to put much effort into them. On the contrary, these table shots are popular with wedding couples because they are a testament of who attended their special day. Moreover, for many guests who are on the fringe, that is who are not family or close friends of the wedding couple; this may be the only shot of them from the entire wedding. As I said above, chances are these are not going to be your most artistic shots of the night. The important thing in these pictures is that everyone is present, visible, in focus, and looks all right. In this article I am going to give you a few tips on how to make these shots turn out as nice as possible.

One of the most important things to taking table shots is having a strategy. Normally you will not be able to just go around the reception hall and get every table in order and at the same time. People will be walking around, or there will be servers coming by, so you will need to find a time to shoot each table. The first thing you need to do is keep track of which tables you shoot since you probably won't be able to get all the shots at once. Likewise, only shoot a table if everyone at the table is available for the picture. It doesn't make sense to set everyone up, do the shot, then have to come back and do the exact same shot later in the night. Therefore, as you are walking around taking other shots, you need to be looking around for tables where everyone is present. If you have an assistant, put him or her in charge of this.

The most common method to taking a table shot is to have everyone set up behind the table. Obviously make sure everyone is set up so the heights look pleasing to the eye, that is, not all the tall people on one side of the shot for example. Again, if you have an assistant, put him or her in charge of setting up the guests. Have people place their hands on the back the chair if it is just hanging there in the air. Make sure you get enough shots to account for the chance that someone blinks. With more people, there is more of a chance that at least one of them is blinking. Don't be afraid to make the guests wait a few seconds more to get some extra shots. You already took the time to make sure everyone from the table is present, and to set them up so they look nice. It would be a shame to have a blink ruin the shot.

Another tip is to make sure the table is neat. This does not mean taking all the plates off the table. You can crop the table so that only a small part of it is in the frame, but you still need to make sure that there is nothing distracting in the shot. After all, you never know if this is the picture they decide to frame and put on the wall.

One more thing to keep in mind is your F-stop. Try to use a larger F-stop if there is going to be a lot of people in the photo. Remember the saying eight is great. So set your F-stop to 8 if there is enough light (ambient or strobe). Likewise, try to set up the guests so they are all in the same depth of focus plane. Depending on your camera lens, you may not want to crop so tight in camera. Some cheaper lenses are very soft around the edges, so it would be better to do your cropping post-production. Having people's faces out of focus due to soft edges will kill a table shot.

Try these tips the next time you do table shots at a wedding. Thanks for reading!

Wedding Photography - The Most Effective Approach to Capture Your Special Moments

Your wedding could be the most special and memorable day of your life. As a result, you make every single effort to make it beautiful and unforgettable. When your wedding is finalized, from that really moment you start planning your wedding. Besides the hustle and bustle of wedding preparations, you may also be thinking concerning the best way to capture those lovely moments. The greatest challenge is usually to decide on from the varied and specialized wedding photography services obtainable in the marketplace. Deciding on the top wedding photography service that suits your taste and budget is really a matter of appropriate planning and study.

Photography Style

There are a number of photography styles that you can pick from. In the event you prefer a modern day and unconventional style, you are able to opt for contemporary photography. If conventional style attracts you, then you are able to go for conventional photography. A blend of both classic and contemporary can also make for a distinctive style. Another widely accepted style in wedding photography is lifestyle portrait photography. Fashion photography is a style which is gaining reputation inside the wedding circuit.

Producing a Selection

A church wedding photography may have a formal and standard flavor whereas a beach wedding will naturally break away from the classic appear. According to your style and the venue you pick to host your wedding, a wedding photographer can program your photo shoot in advance. The photographer may also go to the venue beforehand to decide on the most effective lighting and camera angle alternatives.

Preparing Your Photography Session

You are able to strategy out a pre-wedding photo shoot just before the actual wedding ceremony. The booking can be completed on an hourly basis or for the whole day. You must talk about your budget along with other critical aspects of your wedding shoot just before finalizing the photographers. Some photographers offer excellent selection of albums with their photography package, which consist of amazing album covers in leather, silk, suede, and so on. They come in varied colours and prices, all crafted by talented artists. These albums might be customized as per your taste and preference. The cost of wedding photography packages vary from photographer to photographer according to their expertise, encounter and reputation.

Expert Photographers

Numerous skilled photographers are available in UK. Many Norfolk wedding photographers offer their services all across UK. To make your wedding photography a pleasurable encounter, they offer you specialized and customized services to suit your needs. You can browse by means of their Internet web site or check their portfolio to understand their photography style.

Expert wedding photographers display their special method and aesthetic style to bring alive each and every moment at the wedding. Some blend journalistic and classic style while other people prefer contemporary photography employing reportage style images. Some function by way of mobile studios which can be created available as per your convenience. It is possible to e-mail them or call them and fix an appropriate date to discuss your specifications.

Passion for Wedding Photography

For some photographers, wedding photography is actually a passion. It's their way of life. They continue to entice their customers with an artistic and modern touch in their photographs. They infuse plenty of passion into their photography to capture the true emotion and excitement of your special day. Be it a candid image of your beloved and you, or be it a loved ones photo or an image with pals, all shots are captured to make your wedding a memorable 1.