Hey Mr. DJ | A Letter From A Photographer
Posted in: For Clients
Hey Mr. DJ,
Being a great wedding DJ/Band is hard work! I don’t envy having the responsibility of making the party happen. Shoot, I get decision anxiety if I have to man my iPod when my friends come over for board games and drinks. We appreciate what you do!
We are so grateful for that packed dance floor! It helps us to capture how fun the reception really was. We are appreciative of you manning that ever-changing reception timeline. Oh, and we totally see you gracefully handling the father of the bride’s impromptu 10-minute toast. You go Glen Coco!
But there are a few things that we photographers wish you knew – a few trends that we should talk about so that we can collaborate even better. We’d love to let you in on a few things that will help us get even better pictures of the event!
1. Lasers lights show up in pictures
I totally love when DJ’s bring lighting, especially when it is clean lighting. When you do use lasers to set the mood of the party, please remember to turn them off during the formal dances. When the lasers reflect on our couples, it can make them look like they have some sort of weird skin affliction. No body wants that, amiright?
2. Encouraging guests to “Grab their cameras” seriously messes with us.
DJ’s will announce that the cake cutting is happening. Occasionally, they will also encourage guests to grab their camera’s and to crowd around the couple for the photo op. This can encourage guests to elbow us out of the way, or to put large iPads up in front of our cameras. Better yet, sometimes the iPad ends up right behind the bride and groom’s head. We are all about involving the crowd, but please, not like that!
3. Talk to me, talk to me bay-bay!
There is nothing we love more than a DJ who is willing to work with us on timeline. The photography and video team have a time that they are set to leave. It’s super awesome when a DJ asks us when our end time is, and makes sure the big events are done before that time. Extra double bonus points if you also check in with us before said big events to make sure we are ready to go!
That’s really it! You all seriously do kick some tail, and thank you for what you do. Thanks for hearing us out!
Love,
Photographers Everywhere
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I just randomly came by this post. If you are working with a pro wedding entertainer I promise you will never have to worry about any of this 🙂 Here are a few things I do to help ensure we can all deliver on the clients expectations.
– Go over the timeline before the event starts so everyone is on the same page.
-Ask if you are planning to take them out for golden hour shots or night shots.
-Before any formalities happen I will come up to the couple first, then the media crew to make sure your are set & ready to capture the moment.
-If I am using up-lighting I will turn them white vs. a color during formal dances.
-ZERO dance lighting for formal dances or introductions unless it makes sense to use my movers as spot lights to assist in a more dramatic look.
-Most pros will not use lasers at all unless they are very intentional. At this level, they are generally above eye level and used with haze. This makes for exceptional photos!
-I will ask what time the media crew is leaving so we can bump up the bouquet toss or any formalities towards the evening if needed.
-I’m a fan of redundancies & a photographer myself so I also take shots from the sidelines as a back-up. The media crew has full access to any of my content just incase a memory card gets damaged or lightroom magically reformats something without permission.
– During formal dancing I will duck down behind my booth or hide in a corner so I am not in the shots. I keep my cables clean & my setup is visually pleasing.
– I am usually the one creating the timeline. I always suggest to make sure the vendors are fed ASAP so we can get to work when its time to work. Plus the media crew has been on their feet for a long time and likely hungry 🙂
Hope this puts some minds to ease.