The importance of your relationship with your photographer.

If you were ever a child that had to move schools, you understand how frustrating it can be to have to start all over by rebuilding relationships and learning about the people around you. This same concept applies to the relationship between a couple and their photographer. It is extremely important that your engagement photographer and wedding photographer be the same person!

As a photographer, one of the hardest things to do is make people feel comfortable in front of the camera. But when you’re meeting with the same couple time after time, it helps break down that barrier immensely. As a couple that chooses me as their photographer, we meet before the engagement session via Zoom, Skype or FaceTime. This initial meeting breaks the ice and allows the couple to see my face and hear my voice. We’re putting names to faces and learning how we click with each other. I’ll make small talk and try to crack some jokes to see what gets my couple laughing. They also get to share with me more about their relationship and tell me fun stories that depict their love for each other.

That first meeting sets the scene for our first session together. We finally meet up for the engagement photos and we’ve already knocked out the awkward first introductions. I know who to look for on location and I can say “Hey! Good to see you again!” Since we’ve already met via video, this completely eliminates those first meeting jitters and relaxes my couples, which has a positive effect on the photos themselves! Any anxiety that I can eliminate during a session, will make the photos turn out that much better! During the session we’re talking about things that I already know about them, and cracking jokes that I already know they will laugh at. I’ve done what I desire to do with all my couples, and become their friend, not just their photographer.

After I deliver those engagement photos, I like to do a quick FaceTime or Zoom call to get their reaction to the photos. It’s always so fun and rewarding for me to hear which ones are their favorites or that they can’t choose a favorite because they love them all! This quick call gives me another chance to just make them feel comfortable and assure them that I am here for them. I want my couples to feel like they can reach out to me with whatever they need without hesitation.

Finally, the wedding day arrives. I’ve already discussed the timeline with the bride and we’ve got all the plans nailed down. I walk into the room where she is getting ready while she is buried in her phone trying to make sure everything is going according to that plan and boom! I’m greeted with a huge smile and a sigh of relief because she recognizes a friend. I can greet her with an uplifting hug of assurance because we have developed this relationship into one that she can trust and can rely on. Now the rest of the wedding day will be a breeze and she can rest assured it will be beautiful & perfect. And I feel more confident in making sure the wedding is beautiful & perfect because I have built this friendship with her that allows me to see when she’s stressed or when she’s excited. I will be more able to accommodate her and make sure she is happy with the wedding day. All of this trust and confidence in each other will show in the photos and make them that much better!

This is only possible because we developed a relationship early in the planning process. Using the same photographer for your engagements and wedding is crucial to making the wedding day a success and capturing the most amazing photos. It is so important that your photographer understands who you are as a person so they can provide what you need to make your wedding perfect.