Last week I received an email from a just-married woman, we had contact because of my wedding planner, and she told me following:

Fotke? Ah, fotke! Prijatelj mi je fotograf pa je fotografirao vjencanje, tako da nemam troškova. Fotke su zapravo jako loše jer ih je vecinom slikao fotografov pomocnik: mutne su, amaterske - morat cu ih dati nekom na obradu u Photoshopu. Zao mi je sto nisam unajmila nekog za lovu...

Many times I hear or read (f.e. at forums) that a friend will photograph the wedding. Of course it is always cheaper, BUT, a wedding is a happening you have only once, if the photos don't turnout good you have nothing.

I have nothing against friends. They probably can shoot some very good photos, but photographing a whole wedding is something completely else. There are so many uncertainties a friend probably never dealt with. A good wedding photographer is prepared for many things, just in case, because (s)he knows that this special day is one of your most important days and whatever happens, the photos should turn out good!

Let your friend enjoy your wedding, (s)he can even take some nice photos for fun! And rent a real pro to photograph your wedding. This will cost you more, but in the end, the wedding album will be your only visual memory. Don't save money on your memory!

Whenever the bride looks back to this picture she will remember how she felt during the day... and it is very obvious that she needed her kuma to help her with the dress, to prepare herself for the day to come...

[btw, you will help your photographer with better pictures of the preparation if you choose a room with nice light from the windows. Besides, sometimes a clean up of the room in advance can also be handy ...]

I am always joyful when a bride asks me to photograph her 'priprema' (preparation)… it is such an excitement period of the day and yet so relaxed.

For me the wedding day really starts with the moment that the hairdresser / make-up artist arrives. Although the pictures made during this period are less interesting for others, you as a bride will remember and cherish the moments because often it is so much fun! For me I see the most warm full moments between the bride and kuma before the wedding, when they are still together and both a bit nervous for the day to come…

I like to be with the bride the whole day because I noticed that she will get used to me and as soon as the 'official' part of the wedding starts, she is not aware anymore that her pictures are taken and therefore many pictures will be very relaxed.

With other words, make sure that your photographer is with you the whole day. This will be seen back in your wedding photos!

Many times photographers ask me how I get the nice tones in my black & white pictures. The answer is always simple: I use real black & white film.

Often wedding photographers convert their digital colorphotos to sepia since for them is hard to make a nice black & white picture without sufficient knowledge of Photoshop or the 'dark room' …