If you are looking for a wedding photographer in Chicago you should consider watching out for a number of the top qualities that any of the best wedding photographers in their market should showcase. Photography for your wedding means far more than showing up with professional equipment, it means planning, framing, artistry, and creating a look in your wedding photos that you can treasure. Here are some of the qualities that you should look for in any wedding photographer.

Creativity: when you look through a Chicago wedding photographers portfolio there should be at least a few unique images that are visually striking and unique. With some creativity from a wedding photographer you could have at least a few shots for your wedding that look completely unique and original. With creative framing, editing, and more you can have a wedding scene that is all your own.

Their style: finding a wedding photographer that actually captures weddings in the style you would like to portray is important. There are many styles of wedding photography from documentary style, to traditional style and more. Think about the look that you want to create and see if a local wedding photographer could emulate that style.

What can they offer? Discovering more about their process and the equipment that they have as well as the value that you get for their price can be important. A photographer may not present you with any type of prints for their price, another photographer may use an assistant to help with lighting and other touches. Understanding what you are getting for the price is essential.

Experience: a wedding photographer with experience at your venue or with many different types of ceremonies can be a huge asset. If you are planning a specific cultural wedding, someone that is already planned photos for the same type of event will have a huge edge of the competition.

Keep some of these ideas in mind when you are trying to choose a Chicago wedding photographer.

If you are going to be interviewing a potential wedding photographer for your upcoming ceremony, there are a number of top questions that you can ask a potential wedding photographer to ease the process of your selection. Here are some top questions that you should keep in mind for any interview to make sure that you end up with the right professional.

What is your experience? Have you done a similar ceremony?

If a wedding photographer has some experience doing the same type of ceremony or even working at the venue that you have planned, this can really help you on your wedding day. A wedding photographer that has many years of experience and a history with a wedding like yours will be far better prepared.

What style of photography can you provide?

Learning more about the style of photography that they commonly specialize in can be important. More about their primary style and their influences will help you to discover what inspires your photographer and if you are on the same wavelength.

What is your availability around the date?

Many wedding photographers will actually double book weddings during the height of their busiest season. Sometimes it could be better to work with a wedding photographer that is only handling your wedding for the weekend so that it's possible to get an improved level of service that doesn’t feel rushed.

Do you have insurance?

Proper business licensing and insurance is crucial to help protect you and your photographer on the day that they come into your wedding. Insurance will help to cover the cost of camera equipment and more if it happens to get broken on site and help to protect you in the event that a photographer gets injured at your wedding.

Keep some of these tough questions in mind if you want to make sure you are well prepared during an interview for photography services at your wedding.

In any type of wedding ceremony of a photographer will need to build up a timeline including all of the cultural and ceremonial aspects of the wedding. Checking in to the time frames in considering the planning throughout the wedding day remains extremely important for the planning process.

No matter how detailed a wedding photographer timeline is, most weddings often end up slightly behind schedule and a photographer will end up having to adapt on-the-fly as well as keep the photo sessions a fun experience. Some of the top timeline aspects that you can expect includes

A 30 min. a session for ring, dress, and details: 30 min. to take perfect photos of the bouquets, shoes, dress, and other aspects is fairly standard if you wanted to capture these elements. Usually, this happens first thing in the morning within the bridal suite.

Preparation photos: during the midmorning and early afternoon there is a perfect timeline for capturing everyone getting ready. This includes close-ups of some of the hair and makeup being applied as well as some more candid shots of the groomsmen and bridesmaids getting ready. Usually, this is around 60 min. total scheduled photo shoot.

Individual portraits: shortly after the candid shots of everyone getting ready, there is 30 min. sessions allotted for the bride and groom to get their own individual portraits once they are completely ready.

The first look: The first look can happen at the ceremony or be done earlier in the afternoon before the ceremony takes place. This is usually 45 to 60 min. session including just the bride and groom seeing each other for the first time.

Wedding party photos: The full wedding party photos usually take between 45 min. up to one full hour. This usually involves a number of different scenes, lighting, and expressions. The shots are generally quite creative and fun.

Immediate family: For 30 to 40 min. a number of immediate family photos will take place with grandparents, siblings, parents, and more. Usually, 3 min. for each group is allotted during this aspect of the timeline.

The ceremony: The ceremony is only available for capture as long as it takes place. With some only just a few minutes long and others taking an hour or more, the photographer has to be ready to capture the best moments.

The reception: a photographer can remain on-site to capture important items like cutting the cake, doing the reception first look, capturing the first dance, and more.

Keep some of these timelines in mind as you are planning throughout the day! Contact Us

If you are trying to find a quality videographer for your upcoming wedding in Chicago, it's important to consider a number of different qualities before you sign a contract with the company. A professional videographer can capture your wedding from almost every angle but in order to do so, they have to have the right equipment and experience. Here are some of the other considerations that you should make before hiring any Chicago wedding videographer:

How do your personalities mesh?

Keep in mind that a wedding videographer is going to be spending your entire wedding day with you. You need to have somebody that you can get along with and that you enjoy interacting with. As they will be capturing an intensely intimate moment in your life, it is important that you can personally get along.

Check their portfolio out:

Videographers may have some short preview videos of some of their work and the way that they typically shoot weddings. Understanding more about their style and what you can expect is important.

Learn about their experience:

Check into some other past reviews and ask them about how long they have been performing videography. If you can work with the videography expert in Chicago that has experience filming a ceremony that is similar to yours, this can help with planning and getting the right shots. With many years of experience of a videographer will be more equipped to plan out the shooting schedule and how to appropriately film your event.

Ask about fees:

Understanding the value that you are getting from a Chicago wedding videographer is important. Included in their price could be the option to use professional assistance throughout the day. There could also be a number of extra features such as extras for travel, going overtime, and more.

Keep some of these top ideas in mind when you are looking at hiring a professional Chicago wedding videographer.

We believe, and we will always believe, that there is so much more to wedding photography than just nice equipment. However, that is not to say your wedding photographer shouldn’t have good equipment. Here is our list of professional equipment. Besides the equipment listed below, we have a variety of tripods, filters, and other accessories.

To get an idea of “must-have equipment” for best wedding photographers, check out the “What kind of equipment do you use?” section in our article titled Questions to Ask Your Wedding Photographer.

1. OUR CAMERA SYSTEMS

Starting with camera bodies, our studio uses the most current and high-performing wedding photography camera bodies available to date, the Canon 5D Mark III. Each of our master photographers is equipped with one of the following primary and backup bodies.

1. Primary camera body (wedding photography): Canon 5D Mark IV
2. Backup camera body (wedding photography):  Canon 5D Mark III
3. Primary camera body (commercial photography): Canon 5DSR

2. OUR LENSES

Our studio purchases only high-end professional L quality lenses to get the best sharpness, contrast and saturation straight from our camera. Our lenses consist of multiple:

1. Canon 70-200mm F/2.8 L IS USM Telephoto Lens
2. Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
3. Canon 50mm F/1.2 USM Portrait
4. Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens
5. Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
6. Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM II Wide Angle Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
7. Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM 1-to-1 Macro Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
8. Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

3. OUR LIGHTING

Our studio is also equipped with full studio lighting equipment and remote triggering systems including multiple:

1. Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT Flash for Canon EOS Digital SLR Cameras
2. Profoto B1 and B2
3. Lowel GL-1
4. MagMod System

4. OUR PHOTOGRAPHY ACCESSORIES

1. Pelican 1510 Case
2. Tiffen Circular Polarizer Filters
3. Manfrotto 055XPROB Pro Tripod Legs (Black)
4. Westcott 750 Photo Basics 7.0-Foot Light Stand
5. Westcott 1303 30in. Silver White Reflector
6. Sanyo Eneloop AA NiMH Batteries
7. Epson P-7000 160GB Multimedia Storage Drive, Photo Viewer, and Audio-Video Player w/ 4-Inch LCD
8. Drobo S 5-Bay USB 2.0/FireWire 800/eSATA Storage Array DRDR3A21

5. OUR WORK STATIONS

Dell Studio XPS sx8100-3007NBC Desktop
DELL UltraSharp 2209WA 22 Inch Black Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor

OTHER SYSTEMS

While all of our lead shooters are on Canon, some of our second shooters use full-frame Nikon Systems. Some of our video team uses Sony. Here is a partial list of their gear.

1. Nikon D800
2. Nikon D600
3. Nikon D750 or Sony a7S
4. Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II Lens
5. Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED Lens
6. Nikon NIKKOR 50mm f/1.2 Lens

When you are looking at wedding photography styles for your ceremony it's important to know the right terminology when you are speaking with the photographer. Here are some of the top wedding photography styles that are common at ceremonies of that you can express your wishes for the way you want your wedding captured:

Documentary style: this type of wedding photography style involves the photographer or photographers following the bride and groom around for the day and capturing the wedding like a news story. This style is especially good for capturing the raw moments and important events throughout the day. If you are interested in a more candid style, the documentary is one of the best to choose.

Traditional style weddings: In the traditional style the idea is to create a focus on specific scenes throughout the ceremony. This photography style is more of a portrait style that involves a time-oriented element through the event where the entire group will stand for traditional wedding photos.

Artistic: The artistic style wedding photography has become much more popular for weddings today. It often involves the photographer telling the story of the wedding through artistic framing throughout the day. Rather than traditional portraits, creativity, nature, and even props can all lead to an adventurous and share-worthy style photo. These are often the types of photos that we see shared on social networks for their creative edge.

Editorial: this style of photograph is designed generally as a portrait look and for making a statement. Photographers will be using their creativity to generate a huge impact an extensive amount of editing generally goes into the process of these photos for a highly stylized artistic look that is closer to studio photography.

These are just a few of the top wedding photography styles that you could consider when working with a Chicago wedding photography specialist.

If you are planning a traditional Indian wedding and you want to capture the event with the latest video technology, you should strongly consider using a professional Indian wedding videographer for your ceremony.

All of the spectacular colors, action, and ceremonial touches that are involved with an Indian wedding are usually best captured with the help of an Indian wedding videographer. A videographer that has experience in capturing Indian weddings over the years can truly showcase the storytelling and the artistry involved in the culture of one of these ceremonies.

With the help of a team like ours, you can make sure that the person covering your videography has successfully filmed hundreds of these events before. Our company has had the pleasure of performing Indian wedding videography at many ceremonies across Chicago. We understand how the ceremonies progress and how to appropriately capture a traditional Indian wedding.

We've also worked with a number of the top venues across Chicago to ensure that we can deliver the best type of shots to showcase an event. Whether we are filming still frame or a full wedding video for an Indian wedding in Chicago we can bring the utmost respect and the best in product quality for our customers.

We can capture every element of the ceremony including pre-wedding festivities like the mehndi party, the sangeet pre-wedding celebration, baraat ceremonies, and more. One of our specialties also involves helping out with capturing the ceremony, the first dance, and other elements that can occur during a reception after the wedding.

We want to make sure that your entire day can be captured and archived for you to look back on. With our experience in Indian wedding videography services, we can make sure every moment is captured!

The makeup in your wedding photos don't necessarily require a professional makeup artist but creating some professional touches can really help you to look your best in your wedding photos. If you have opted to use a professional makeup artist or produce your own natural look, there are some makeup kits that you can follow to look your best in photos.

Go bold if you are using highlighter: any type of shadow or highlighted area using your makeup needs to be emphasized to be seen on camera. An effect may look great in person but it can be difficult to transfer that makeup look through to photography in a 2-D image. Practicing a look and taking just a few photos of it yourself can give you an indication of what that makeup effect might look like on camera.

Start with skincare first: before any makeup gets applied to your face you need to work on your skin by moisturizing it and smoothing it. Working to get a facial or scrub treatment early on before your wedding will help you to prepare and make sure that your skin is in its best condition, to begin with.

Match closely with natural skin tone: proper blending and foundation makeup colors that are matching to your natural skin tone can be very important. You may want to consider using a designer foundation that comes in a closer shade to your natural tone to get a better look. In high-quality images, makeup that isn't properly blended or matched can show up easily especially against a white wedding dress.

Use powder brushes sparingly: when using a powder brush be sure to blow off any excess makeup from the brush and very lightly apply it to the corners of your eyes, temple, and cheekbones. Most professionals recommend applying it in a v formation like a peace sign for the most effective look.

Keep some of these top ideas in mind for preparing your wedding makeup and getting the natural look that can enhance your wedding photos. Contact Us