By KEVIN WEINSTEIN

One major aspect brides and grooms tend to overlook is fully incorporating the photographer into the over-all planning process and wedding budget. Because photography is a service performed on the wedding day itself, and all post production and products are delivered after the event, couples don’t feel a sense of urgency to make decisions on what they need from photographers. Specifically, how many hours of wedding day coverage will be needed, whether other events around the wedding need photography, how many photographers should be secured to cover the event, what are the travel requirements and timing, is there enough time for group and bridal portraits, just to name a few.  

In many aspects, the bride and groom’s first priority is to secure the photographer. That’s wonderful, absolutely. However, far too often there is no communication or further planning in the months between booking and the wedding month itself. In fact, as the wedding day approaches, when couples or their planners are finalizing details and logistics, they are nearing, or may already be over budget.  Every wedding has a budget, even luxury events. This leaves very little room for them to secure the amount of coverage that their final wedding plans require. 

Generally, as soon as the wedding planner’s timeline is released, I contact the couple to discuss the photography portion.  If the photography services originally booked does not match the timeline, it’s important to revisit and review what is needed. With the budget being a sensitive topic the week of the wedding, it can be challenging to convince couples to extend the contract for the coverage they really need to capture the celebration.

If a bridal couple cannot add additional time or another photographer onto their photography contract, it can result in squeezing as much photography into as little time as possible. That usually adds tremendous stress to the wedding day. Group and family photos are rushed, scenic locations have to be skipped to save time, those wonderful candids of the bride dressing are missed, etc.  It can be disappointing for everyone to not have the time or the coverage to capture these special moments. On a personal note, trying to make stellar art for a couple while rushing around at mach speed is counterproductive to why we are there!  Art takes time and patience. 

Every photographer will tell you, it is always best to have a little too much time for photography than not enough. 

I try and urge every client booking to think through their whole wedding weekend vision, even if that vision changes often, as it likely will.  We need to be kept up-to-date with changes to the wedding day throughout the year and modify the contract as things progress.  Consider what events you want photography for and inquire about availability as soon as the thought strikes you, such as the rehearsal dinner, the after party and the brunch the day after the wedding.

After the wedding, the momentum of wedding planning is gone.  Sure, brides and grooms are excited for their wedding pictures and can’t wait to see them. But finding the funds for the exact album they wanted when we first met is now not a priority. The client has spent an incredible amount of money on decor, flowers, food, invitations, the gown, a band, the videographer and a photographer, but did not take into consideration their final product they’ll cherish forever.  The album.   

Think of it this way: When you hire a event designer that you dreamed about, you don’t book them for the sake of booking them for the date.  You move through the process of vision, expectations and products to make sure you have exactly what you need.  You do the same with a caterer.

Because photographers are the only professionals there to document the incredible efforts of all the other professionals’ work and the couple’s wedding day, not enough coverage and not getting the products you truly wanted from the beginning can leave the client feeling unfulfilled. And that’s a total shame.

Read more about Creative Partner, Kevin Weinstein:

Kevin is dedicated to his art and takes immense pride in capturing your story through a lens.

His goal is singular: never go for cliches, but catch the split seconds in between. A notorious fly-on-the-wall (ask guests who accuse him of disappearing), Kevin will photograph your wedding using the most candid approach possible. The results? Moments suspended in time, stunning images, and elated clients.

Kevin graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute with a degree in photography and went on to earn a Master’s degree in photojournalism from the top photojournalism school in the country, the University of Missouri-Columbia. He spent 12 years in newspaper and magazine journalism. He has worked for the Sun (Bremerton, Washington), the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Albuquerque Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune, and the Sun in Illinois among others. Kevin has received numerous awards, scholarships, and project grants throughout his career including first place in the College Photographer of the Year Award in 1994. He started Kevin Weinstein Photography, Inc. in 2001 to challenge himself artistically.

Kevin effortlessly combines the worlds of photojournalism and artistic photography to create memorable images for his clients.

For more information we encourage you to visit Kevin Weinstein Photography.