Wedding Photograph How-to

A family member has asked you to take pictures at her wedding, and you don’t want to mess up this important task! They may have decided not to hire a professional photographer and instead are relying on you to do the photography for them.

You feel the pressure, and want to make sure you don’t mess up. Here are ten hints and tips from Jim Whitesell, a wedding photographer in Edmonton:

1. Use the best equipment possible

A small point-and-shoot camera is fine for capturing family memories, but doesn’t do as well as a digital SLR with an external flash. The focus time, shutter delay, and limited reach of the small built-in flash will all cause problems for you. If you do not own or have access to a digital SLR camera and external flash, you can probably rent them from a camera store. Be sure to test and practice with the camera before the wedding day! A professional will likely have multiple lenses as well, but this is often beyond the ability of a casual shooter.

2. Take at least two memory cards

Although it doesn’t happen often, memory cards can fail. Keeping an extra card with you is cheap insurance that will keep you shooting if your card does quit working. Be sure the cards are of ample size so you don’t run out of space half-way through the night. 4GB is the minimum size you should have with you.

3. Batteries, batteries, batteries

Be sure to charge the camera batteries the night before, and preferably have a second battery charged and ready. Most external flash units use AA batteries so have a couple extra sets of these, too.

4. Attend the rehearsal

Taking pictures at the rehearsal is the best way to be prepared for the pictures you’ll take at the actual ceremony. You’ll have a feel for where to position yourself for the best shots. While a professional wedding photographer won’t usually shoot at the rehearsal, they will often make an appearance to not only reassure the bride and groom that they are prepared for the next day but also to scope out the building. Their experience will enable them to know where the best shots are just by seeing the facility.

5. Posing the bridal party

When taking formal pictures of the bridal party, watch the details. Make sure everyone’s face is visible, and pay attention to the placement of hands and feet. Pleasing poses are important.

6. Shooting the ceremony

If the wedding will take place inside a church, you’ll need to shoot the ceremony without flash. Use a tripod to hold the camera steady or camera shake caused by longer exposure times will likely ruin the pictures.

7. Shooting the reception

If possible, try to get a shot or two of the reception hall before everyone arrives. Takes some shots of other details, too – like the head table decorations, cake, etc. Once things are underway, it’s always nice to go table-to-table and get pictures of all the guests.

8. Shoot the details

Take pictures of the little details. The rings, bridal bouquet, ring bearer, flower girl, bride’s shoes, etc. are all great details to capture and the bride will be quite pleased to have these.

9. Capture the fun

There are always fun, unplanned moments that make each wedding unique and memorable. Always have your camera ready to capture the moment!

10. Back up the photos

As soon as possible after the wedding, burn all the original images to a CD or DVD for safekeeping. Do this before you make any changes to them. If you accidentally delete an important picture or have a computer failure you’ll still have the originals to fall back on. Even a professional budget wedding photographer will make backups.

You have been given a very important task. The pictures are the best way to remember the wedding and all the fun details. Even though a professional wedding photographer will do a better job, those on a budget may not have the ability to pay for one.

If you aren’t up to the task, why not offer to pay for all or part of a professional photographer’s fee as your gift to the newlyweds? And if you just happen to be near Edmonton, Alberta, please check out Jim Whitesell’s website for Edmonton wedding pictures.

Choosing an Accountant – What to Look For

Choosing an accountant is an important aspect to planning for financial future. This is why it is important to make sure that you pick out an accountant that not only works for you but also is someone that you can trust to handle your finances. Accountants can handle everything from your taxes to handling all your various accounts. There are some people who even have accountants assist in paying off certain accounts.

Looking up Edmonton accounting services could leave you with a long list of people and companies designed to provide these services. Finding out which one you want to use or even to narrow down the list can be a daunting prospect. There are a few tips and tricks that can help you to determine which service or individual is right for you.

The first place to start is by looking into the business itself. Check to see if any of the Edmonton accounting listings you find have complaints lodged, lawsuits pending and the length of time they have been in business. This will help to narrow your initial selection list down. Reputation or word of mouth from friends and family can also be used to help reduce the size of the list of potential accountants.

Education is also important. Checking out the credentials of your potential accountants can help to reduce the size of your list and help you to choose an accountant that is going to provide you with the services you need. From the list look for accountants that provide all or as many of the services, you require as you can. This helps prevent you from having to locate two companies or individuals in order to complete all your accounting needs.

Take the time to get to know each of the accountants that have made it to the final cut of reputation, credentials, experience, location and service. The person you choose is someone that is going to be in charge of your finances whether it is simply your taxes, helping you to pay off bills or managing investment accounts. It is important that you trust the person who is handling these financial matters for you.

Trust is more than having the perfect location, reputation, services and experience. Trust also comes from having someone who you feel you can work with and that you feel comfortable with, this is an important aspect that many individuals forget when working with accountants.

If you are looking to choose an Edmonton accounting service, it is a good idea to make sure that you have the right one for you. To do this you need to ensure that the person or company has a good reputation, is in a convenient location, has the experience and the credentials to handle your financial matters, offers the services that you desire and is someone that you can trust. Having these things in any accountant that you choose puts you well on your way to being able to rest easy with your accounting services choice.