It’s easy to understate the role of a wedding photographer. There for the most important parts of the day – from getting ready and capturing the emotions of guests, to the first dance and intimate embraces – ensuring everything is captured to a lifelike standard is critical.
Once the wedding day is over, and the couple has returned from their honeymoon, attention soon turns to the much-anticipated photographs. As part of FUJIFILM’s Print to Prove it campaign, wedding photographer and FUJIFILM X-Photographer, Scott Johnson explains why print is key to bring wedding memories to life.
Capturing the Details
There is no escaping the fact that weddings are expensive events. The average UK wedding costs almost £32,000, according to stats from the National Wedding Survey. With so much expectation, the pressure is on photographers to ensure all pictures radiate the delicate detail from the big day.
Many details must be captured in the shots. From the veil and patterned dress of the bride, to the ties, waistcoats and flowers of the groom, a lot of time and effort goes into planning these intricate details. As such, it’s critical that everything is captured through photography.
Take this photo, for example, which is one of my favourite bridal portraits. The level of detail from the dress, hair and venue is beautiful. As a wedding photographer, you know that these pieces will make the mantlepiece and so ensuring the best equipment and technology is used is vital. This photo was taken on the FUJIFILM GFX 100S, which really brings the detail to life. When printed, the impact of having a 100-megapixel camera shines through and you can see every detail within the setting. The result is a beautiful portrait for the couple to hang on their wall and cherish for the rest of their lives.
Seasonal Challenges
Each wedding has its challenges, none more so than the weather, and it’s vital that photographers are ready to capture the natural – and often unpredictable – backdrops. When you do have a dramatic scene, you know that the happy couple will likely want this printed as a showpiece in their homes, and so being ready to react is key.
The colour of the sky and the depth of the clouds needs to be as impressive on the print as it is in real life. One of the roles of wedding photography is to help take the couple to a magical place in their hearts. As such, people should feel that they can walk straight into the image you have taken. Ensuring the equipment is right – and complements the photographic paper used to print – is vital for great results. This photo was printed as a piece of wall art for the couple’s living room. The detail of the cloud and the sun breaking through is captured perfectly, serving a perfect reminder of how much fun they had on their wedding day.
Colour
Another key requirement of wedding photography is ensuring the vibrancy of the day is captured. Making sure the array of colours from the celebration are captured is critical. After all, the couple meticulously plan the colour scheme of their event.
Capturing colour needs perfect light and the very best equipment. In this photo, for example, the groom wanted to ensure his designer shoes were the focal point of the picture, while retaining the striking golds in his clothing. By including these special and unique points of interest, we can ensure the personal touches that take months to perfect are permanently remembered.
Again, to ensure the vibrancy is captured, you need to ensure you use good quality equipment and print on the best photographic paper. Using a FUJIFILM GFX camera like mine allows people to truly look their best in the resulting prints, bringing out the vibrant colours and joy of the celebratory day.
The power of printing
The role of the wedding photographer doesn’t stop on the big day. Once the honeymoon is over, couples are raring to see their photos in print form, and so ensuring you have planned every detail is key.
The best way to convince people to go for printed photos at the start of your working relationship is by showing them the array of options available. Displaying the wall art, photo albums and canvases – whether at an exhibition or in your studio – helps to show how lifelike the images are and captivates the imagination. It also helps market yourself in a highly competitive industry. Seeing couples start to picture themselves and how they will look is a great feeling, but crucially, showing the endless possibilities allows you to understand the type of image and prints they’re after from their photographer.
Once the products are chosen, you can then start planning your photography to ensure you capture the right style of image. If you’re looking to produce a print for wall art, for example, you need to ensure you do the least amount of editing in post-production. If you perfect the point of capture, the file will look more lifelike and natural when you print it to a larger scale. Knowing these details prior to the day ensures a seamless transition from the wedding day to sending the printed photographs.
Working with a Professional Printing Lab
To achieve the best results for your clients, taking advantage of your local Professional Lab is essential. From the first consultation, where you can experience the different prints and photographic papers, the team is able to understand how to deliver the best results for you. From there, you can ensure the right images are captured and edited.
My local Professional Lab, for example, knows the camera that I use and is able to ensure the colours, vibrancy and details are captured on the best quality paper. The team also knows how I want my images to look, as well as my style, so I have full confidence that my prints will come back perfect every time.
The results speak for themselves, highlighted by the fantastic responses from the happy couples. Printing plays such a huge role in wedding photography, evoking memories and celebrations from the happiest of times. Getting it right is an art form, and so ensuring you have the right equipment and printing set up is key. This will ensure you are well-equipped to prove to your clients that printing photographs professionally is essential. After all, a photograph isn’t a picture until it’s printed.
FUJIFILM is offering three free prints on a choice of lustre or gloss FUJIFILM professional photographic paper via participating Professional Labs, you just have to pay postage and packing. To claim yours, visit: www.fujifilmprinttoproveit.com
