Wedding pictures form a lasting memory from a very important day. Finding a photographer who can provide the pictures the couple wants is a big decision.

“Everyone has a unique style,” Allison Garrett Johnson of Seward said.

Garrett Johnson has been taking wedding pictures for 13 years. She said the couple needs to find a photographer who matches the style they want.

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“You need to think about what you’ll appreciate down the road,” she said.

Dee and Randy Erb of Randy’s Studio in Milford have been photographing weddings for more than 40 years. Dee Erb said couples should think about what kinds of images they want the photographer to provide.

“Do they want to pay the professional photographer to take candids or focus more on portraits,” she said. “They need to think about what they want and pick a photographer who is strong in that area.”

Doing research on potential photographers can help find someone who will provide what the couple wants.

“That’s the one thing left over from your wedding,” Garrett Johnson said. “You don’t want to skimp on it.”

Both recommended the couple look at more than one entire wedding, not just the highlights included on a website or in a photo album.

Erb said looking at the entire wedding will give a couple a better idea of the photographer’s strengths. She said it’s good for the couple to see more of what the photographer can do.

Keeping expectations realistic is also important, Erb said.

“We have beautiful churches in the area, but they aren’t grand cathedrals,” she said. “You won’t get the grand cathedral look.”

At local reception locations, couples won’t necessarily be able to get pictures on a beach or in a castle, Erb said.

“Because of the internet, people see so much. They need to stop and think about where they will be,” Erb said. “You can pull ideas, but you have to be clear-headed.”

One of the challenges professional photographers face is amateur photographers. The price of DSLR cameras has dropped and made them more affordable. Plus, everyone’s cell phone has a camera, and everyone wants “the picture.”

“Just because you have a nice camera doesn’t mean you have the skills,” Garrett Johnson said.

She said a professional photographer is separated from “friends with cameras” by how they handle challenging situations like a dark church where they can’t use a flash or a dark reception hall.

Erb watched photography move from film to digital images and with that, she’s seen the number of images created at an event skyrocket.

“Overall the length of time we spend has expanded,” she said. “We spend way more in editing, but we still look at each image.”

The Erbs take multiple cameras and multiple lenses to the weddings they photograph. Both are taking pictures throughout the event, so even if one camera breaks or a memory card is corrupted, they still have pictures, Erb said.

People want more pictures today, and some couples want pictures of everything, she said. That requires the photographers to plan out their days better.

One of Garrett Johnson’s biggest pet peeves is the people who stand in or lean into the aisle for pictures of the bride entering, the bride and groom leaving or the kiss.

“It’s not a beautiful photo with people in the way,” she said.

Erb said having other people taking pictures can make the session crazy.

“We request, when we take pictures, that we be the only ones,” she said. “When others pop up, you get eyes all over.”

When she notices that happening, she goes to the other person and politely explains why they prefer not to have other cameras going at the same time.

“It depends on how obtrusive they are,” she said.

However, if a couple wants to allow friends and family to take pictures, Erb suggested starting the photo session earlier.

When the Erbs are photographing a wedding, she said she sometimes acts as a barrier to keep other photographers from getting in front of their shot.

Garrett Johnson said if it becomes too much of a problem she will say something, especially if it’s annoying the bride and groom.

“Most are really thoughtful,” Erb said.

Erb said she and her husband are known for getting through photo sessions quickly. She said while Randy is taking one photo, she’s getting the next group ready.

“It’s good to have a plan and a list,” she said.

Garrett Johnson sends a list of questions to her clients going over what they want from her at their wedding. Sometimes the couple provides a shot list, which Garrett Johnson prefers not to use.

“It becomes more of a scavenger hunt,” she said, “and you’re not taking advantage of the moment.”

Garrett Johnson said couples have contacted her to take the more formal portraits because the photographer didn’t take those pictures they realized later they wanted.

Erb said she likes having a list of the photos the couple wants, especially when the couple is trying to choose a photographer.

“It’s not about us fulfilling our need to be creative,” she said. “It’s providing the couple with memories they want for their wedding.”

Garrett Johnson said the photographer’s focus is on the couple.

“The clients trust we will capture what’s important,” she said.

“The most important thing is you just need the bride and groom, the officiant and witnesses,” Erb said. “Everything else is extras.

“The photographer shouldn’t rule the couple’s day. They shouldn’t take away from the parts of the day that are important.”

Jennifer Flemings is somewhat new to the scene of wedding photography but gathering experience with each wedding she photographs. She has shot around a dozen weddings.

“My goal as a photographer is to capture real life. To capture real moments. The moments that you may not think are important or valuable at that exact moment but when you see them frozen in time, you think back on with fond memories,” Flemings said. “I love to capture simple pleasures. These real moments are the ones we will be grateful we have in the future. I love to key in on emotion.”

She said those moments may be the ones where the parents see their bride or groom for the first time.

“Or maybe it’s where the flower girl jumps in front of my camera while the couple is exchanging vows. Or even just a simple and fun-loving look between the happy couple while their guests party on in the background,” she said.

Flemings’ other goal is to encourage people to print their photographs.

“Think about your own childhood and sitting there sifting through photo albums of memories and the reflecting you did with your family. You won’t have those memories if you’re not printing your photos. Keeping them on your computer’s hard disk, a CD, or a thumb drive is not going to last. Technology constantly changes and it’s simply so important to print the memories you want to remember in the future,” she said.

Flemings said one of the challenges in photographing weddings is staying hydrated while she is constantly on the go.

“It’s a busy day and you have to be ‘on’ at all times to capture moments that are constantly unwinding in front of you,” she said.

When framing her shots, Flemings tries to think about emotion and what her client wants to see and feel.

“If I can hide behind something, look through something, cover my lens with something, I’m always up for trying new things to get a different perspective,” she said.

Flemings said the best advice she has for engaged couples is to find a photographer that reflects the style the bride and groom both love.

“Photographers are artists and each has their own style. Just as some artists choose to use paints and others choose to use colored pencils, it is important to recognize that photographers are the same way,” she said. “Some photographers may prefer to stick to taking photos that are traditional and staged while others like the candid and behind the scenes photographs. You also may have photographers that might choose a light and airy look to their images in the editing process while others prefer a dark and moody look to their photographs. What do you want on your walls? In your photo albums? Do your research, and take your time to find that special photographer that you have a connection to.”

Lisa Lindau with L Squared Design and Photography Studio has photographed 50-60 weddings in her nine years of photography business.

“As a photographer, my goal is to capture the day completely so the couple has the memories documented in photographs for years to come,” she said.

Lindau said challenges in wedding photography include keeping everyone on schedule, making sure everyone is where they need to be at the appropriate time, staying on top of trends and coming up with a variety of posing ideas so every wedding has some unique photos and not every wedding looks the same.

Lindaus does a combination of traditional and non-traditional poses.

“My decision is based on the couple, their personalities and their wedding style,” she said. “A lot of times I will lean more toward one direction or the other based on what the couple wants, but I always include both because a lot of times the parents/grandparents prefer a more traditional pose, whereas the couple might prefer the non-traditional poses to display in their homes.”

Lindau said she always tells couples to not be afraid to let her know what they want.

“I’ve received pages of photo ideas from brides before, or a lot of times they will share a Pinterest album with me so I can get an idea of poses they like and ideas they have,” she said. “I would encourage couples to be up front and honest with their photographer about what they like or don’t like. It is their day. I am always up front with them as well, letting them know that I will try to do as many of their pose ideas that I can, but sometimes depending on various things (weather, location, etc) their ideas may not work.”

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