Welcome to Happy Hour Friday!

Happy Hour Friday is my time to give back and share what I’ve picked up along the way.

When I started my business, I spent countless hours drooling over other blogs, reading forums and photography books/magazines/ads – everything and anything that inspired me to keep moving forward. I was too intimidated to ask questions for fear of looking like an idiot and was determined to figure it all out – one weekend at a time. Eventually I put my big girl panties on and asked questions and listened to feedback and embraced others critiquing my work and then I exhaled. I have grown so much in my creativity and skills… and I look forward to seeing where I am in five years.

Today’s Cocktail: Timelines!

The first time I hired a second shooter for a wedding was milestone in my career… and then she asked for a timeline of the day’s events…. Uh…timeline… yes, that would make sense. So finding a sample timeline became the Google word of the day…. and the benchmarking began.

I found the following website incredibly helpful:

http://photo.net/learn/wedding/wedding-photography-timeline

Although Josh’s timeline wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, it provided an organized timeline on what to expect when shooting a wedding.

For the purpose of my second shooter – I utilized the suggested photographs and added the time expected to capture those moments.

Second Shooter Timeline:

2:30pm Grooms Quarters

• Images of Groom/Groomsmen getting ready (Ties, cufflinks, making a toast, etc. if time allows)

3:00pm First look – Grand Piano

• Images of groom’s expression
• Images of their embrace

4:00pm Images of bridal party/ family

• Courtyard, street, house

5:00pm Ceremony begins (30 minutes)

• Images of Groom as bride comes down the aisle
• Images of audience
• Images of Ring exchange/ kiss from balcony
• Images of audience congratulating Bride/Groom

5:30pm Images of cocktail hour

6:15pm Reception

• Images of each table
• Candid shots during the reception

7:00pm You are off the hook

Cheers!