Supplier profile: Justin Bailey Photographer

Choosing the right photographer is such a vital part of your wedding arrangements. With magazines and wedding fayres filled with different photographers it's hard to know which is right for you. At Plan Me Perfect we do our research to ensure that we recommend high quality photographers that create picture perfect albums, so that you can look back and re-live every part of your day.

We always stress to do lots of research to find the right photographer, someone that is professional, isn't trying to be the centre of attention and also manages to take the right shot at the right time, from tears of emotion to tears of laughter. You only have one day and you can't go back and do it so you want to ensure that every moment is captured.

Do some research into what photographic styles you like, i.e. reportage is a beautiful style that is very natural and really brings emotion to life. Also, ask your photographer for some shots that aren't on their website, often photographers will upload their best shots so you want to ensure that every shot will be a good shot!

Plan Me Perfect will be recommending some of our preferred photographers and this week we are starting the ball rolling with the very talented Justin Bailey. Please read below Justin's bio as well as some great tips for the bride and groom.

Bio from Justin Bailey:

I am in my 3rd year of full-time wedding photography, but I also take photos of families/children in studios or on location. I previously worked in the Video Games Industry, creating Soundtracks for games, and also Mixing / Engineering music in studios. I have always worked in creative industries, and with computers, which has helped me when I am working with image editing, album design and my web site.

I got into wedding photography through a friend that started in the business, and I went on a Wedding Photography Workshop with high end Wedding Photographer, Crash Taylor. He taught me his methods for covering a wedding day, and that is the foundation of what I do.

Style:
The wedding photography that I like, is mostly taken in USA at very expensive weddings. Joe Elario and Susan Stripling are my favourites. I definitely borrow some of their ideas, but at the same time I am adapting these into the situations that I am working in. I don't believe a photographer should call themselves 'vintage' or 'quirky' as that implies you only attend weddings with these themes. I think my style is modern and relaxed without elaborate posing. Most shots are taken to document the day and the people attending. I do suggest ways for brides and grooms to stand so they can interact naturally, plus I will also take group photos of the families. When I process photos, I am trying to maintain a natural look to them, with a vibrancy to the colours so they look outstanding when on screen or print.

The Booking Process:
People tend to contact me either 6 months or 12 months before their wedding to check my availability. They then make an appointment to meet with me, and we discuss their wedding day in more detail.

I have 4 different Wedding Album suppliers, each offering something different, so clients can take a look at the albums here, and also see large prints of my work. Sometimes if a client is getting married at a venue that I have previously worked at, I let them browse all the photos from the previous wedding, just to give them an idea of what they can expect. I like to be as open and honest about what I do, so it's very clear how I work.

The Wedding Day:
I am a very relaxed person, which helps a lot during the stress of a wedding day. People have commented that it helps having me around because I am familiar with the format of a wedding day, and that I can also help chill people out as I remain calm amongst the chaos.

My photography day varies at each wedding, but I would say there is an average of around 8 hours coverage. I always start before the Bride puts on her dress, and typically end after the First Dance / Second song. If I setup the Photobooth, then I do this for an extra hour after the First Dance.
I also have 2 assistant photographers that work with me at weddings, and sometimes my assistant will meet the Groom for his getting ready shots, whilst I meet the Bride. When the photos are delivered into their chronological order of the day, they then show an interesting timeline of how each person got to the ceremony separately.

Tips:
For the Bride: Don't be late for the ceremony! After planning the day for so long, don't waste a minute of it in a bedroom somewhere far away from everyone. Start the preparations extra early just to make sure, especially if you have a car journey to make to the ceremony.

From a photography perspective, a late ceremony means less time for photos. This is because the Wedding Breakfast start time will remain the same, while the time from the end of the ceremony until you sit down to eat becomes shorter. Less time for reportage photos of you mingling with your guests, and less time to take any family photos. But worst of all, less time to take photos of the bride and groom together.

For the Groom: Write a speech ahead of the wedding day, and make sure it contains some special words for your Bride. Also, start it with "On Behalf of my wife and I..."