As wedding photographers, we face many obstacles: the uncle who stands in the aisle with his Canon Powershot in the middle of the first kiss, and our mutual friend and foe of creativity: Pinterest.
During a consultation, I’m always prepared for the bride to pull out her smartphone and say, “I saw this on Pinterest…and I want the same exact thing at my wedding, along with this entire folder full of photos I’ve pinned.”
I remind my brides that they want their grandchildren seeing their grandparents in their wedding album, not something from Eleanor Smith’s Pinterest Board #12 There are times when I have had to remind my brides that she spent so much time looking for the perfect, one-of-a-kind wedding dress, along with designing personalized invitations – why would she want to stop there and then make her wedding photos replicas of another couples wedding images?
If she’s really passionate about a few photos– I try my best to “recreate” something similar with my own creative twist to match the personality of the couple. I respect the time the bride spent finding her favorite photos for me, so I always keep her feelings in mind! However, as her photographer, it is my job to explain why it’s important that I keep her and her partner’s unique personality as the main focus.
My advice to our Pinterest Brides is that the website is a great tool for fun ideas and creativity, and should be used to help the bride envision what style she likes best. When choosing a photographer, it should be based off the style that best fits both of them. That style should then be seen through the photographer’s portfolio, with the end result being a wedding album that reflects the bride and groom for generations to come.
As a bride in 2009, Pinterest did not yet exist so I had to rely on the creativity of my wedding photographer without pinning him to my page, or printing out volumes of Pinterest ideas for him. I hired my photographer based on the style I wanted, and he in turn kept good on his promise to do what he does best.
With a mutual trust between the photographer and bride, we can create awesome images that the couple will cherish for years to come – long after Pinterest and Facebook have morphed into the next big thing. Every time her wedding album is viewed there is no doubt that she will be thanking her photographer for being straight with her and not letting her photos look like every other bride’s images.
Get more information about Zookbinders photo albums by visiting the website – www.zookbinders.com.
