Wedding Photography: In Focus
by Gladys Pinky D. Tolete

No Filipino wedding is complete without the ubiquitous picture-taking or "kodakan," so to speak. The flashes of the cameras seemingly add glitter and perfectly accent the momentous occasion. This month, get the lowdown on the latest in wedding photography.

Trends

Of course, who haven’t heard of digital photography? On a stroll through a busy bridal fair, one will find rows and rows of albums with photos of striking colors and quality and the couple’s faces set inside wineglasses or flowers. All these effects are due to the advent of digital technology.

Digital cameras have invaded the wedding scene. Most of the country’s top wedding photographers have gone fully digital with their operations. Emil Buencamino of Emil Buencamino Photography says digital photography allows for much faster production and enhancement of photos. "With a click of the mouse, I could remove one’s eyebags, crop a picture or add a picture of a relative who was not present to a family portrait," says Buencamino.

The resolution of digital cameras in the market reach as high as 4.0 megapixels which translate into the enhanced images and crisp colors. However, there are some who prefer their pictures not looking like these were tinkered with with a computer. Buencamino says that with the coming of the 11.0-megapixels-camera, even professional photographers would not be able to tell if the picture was shot with a digital or film-based camera.

Aside from the enhanced quality, the use of digital cameras allow for easier archiving of photos. "Photos can be stored in CDs (compact discs) or your computer’s hard disks, and they could last a hundred years," says Buencamino. "Film-based pictures last for 3-10 years, then they tend to stick together and get ruined." Geronimo Villongco of Geronimo Photographico agrees, "With digital cameras, you can easily transfer the photos to other media such as video and the Web, while with film, you have to go through the very tedious task of scanning the negative." Of course, weddings entail hundreds and hundreds of shots!

Buencamino and Villongco both extol the ease of making multiple copies of your wedding photos when they are in digital format. One just needs a computer and a CD writer or burner and off you go making copies for family and friends. While with the conventional paper photos, there is the problem of dust and scratches, even during the developing process.

Yet aside from the digital trend, Villongco says that most of his customers also like the "old look" in their photos by having them printed in sepia tone. Well, if your wedding photographer uses a digital camera, switching from color to black and white to sepia is as easy as pie.

Color vs. Black and White vs. Sepia

So which is really better or when to use what?

Here are some tips from Villongco, "Color pictures are great for colorful weddings such as Indian weddings. They are also great when the couple throws colorful confetti or for capturing the cake with colors so rich you can almost taste it."

Black and white is nice for serious weddings, especially when the people are wearing suits. Sepia meanwhile, is a "warmer" version of black and white. Sepia also brings an earthy feel to the photos, says Villongco.

Must-take Shots

Surely, there are precious moments in your wedding that you would not want to miss. It is then advisable to draft a must-take list for your photographer and his crew. For Buencamino, he sticks to the traditional shots, those of the couple dressing up, marching down the aisle, the family portraits. Villongco meanwhile ventures on the photojournalistic style, which entails taking candid shots of the parents crying because they feel like it or the flower girls and ring bearer seemingly lost in their own world. If you want more of these candid shots in your album, then you could purchase several disposable cameras and place them on the tables. Just make sure to appoint a bridesmaid to collect the cameras at the end of the reception program.

To make sure that your wedding is perfectly captured on film, or in digital format, schedule a consultation with your photographer before the wedding. Make clear what you want and do not want in your photos (i.e. pictures of you eating).

With these, it would be easier for you to simply say, "Cheese!" on your wedding day.

Warm sepia perfectly reflects the cozy mood of the entourage. Photo by: Geronimo Villongco	Serious black and white with a twist. Photo by: Geronimo Villongco

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