Wedding Photography after Your Wedding

This article will discuss topics relating to wedding photography after your wedding. It will cover paying the balance to your wedding photographer, average wait time for wedding photos, ordering from your wedding photographer, and how to protect original digital files and negatives.

Before you can get your Wedding Photos from your Wedding Photographer

Paying the Balance
Before any wedding photographer will release a couple's wedding photography they must pay the remaining balance owned. Either pay the remaining balance at the wedding, so you do not forget, or immediately after your honeymoon. Make sure that during your honeymoon you do not spend the money that was supposed to be for your wedding photos! Your photographer will not be happy.
Since there are couples that just do not care when they get their wedding day photos, many photographers expect all the money paid before the wedding date.

Waiting Time
Waiting time varies greatly between photographers. Some wedding photographers can give you CDs and/or prints, the next business day, since they shoot your whole wedding in digital format. This may sound great, but more then likely, you will be on your honeymoon. Other wedding photographers will process the photos in about 4-6 or 6-8 weeks. It seems that a growing number of wedding photographers hold on to the photos for months! But, times are changing, and more and more wedding photographers are not including any wedding photos in their packages, not even proofs. These are the ones that more than likely will post previews of your wedding photos online, for you and your guest to order from. This is a great money saver in most cases, because neither you, nor your wedding photographer, will have to print all the wedding photos, even the not-so-great ones.

Ordering from your Wedding Photographer All wedding photographers have a variety of products and prints to choose from and purchase. The most important items to buy are the wedding photos, and a wedding album. Other items that are offered by wedding photographers are proofs, CDs, DVD's, parent albums, custom prints, custom wedding photo books, and online galleries. Negatives or original digital files can also be purchased from many wedding photographers.

Ordering Wedding Photos
To order your wedding photos, set up a day you and your spouse can view them. You may need to schedule an appointment with your wedding photographer or they may post them online to view and order.

If your wedding photographer is going to put them online for viewing and ordering, then you can order, in most cases, up to six months to a year. Family and friends can also log into the site and purchase their own set of wedding photos. Just make sure you tell all your guests that the photos are ready to order.

Ordering a Wedding Album
Choosing a nice looking wedding album is easy. The trouble is finding one that is acid free. As long as you order an album through your wedding photographer, this should not be a problem. However, if you are looking at purchasing one at a department store, make sure that it states that it is acid free. Acid Free refers to the paper that is used in a wedding album. Since there is no acid in the paper, it will not eat away at your wedding photos over the years. Once you find a few albums you like, make sure the one you choose fits 4x5, if your wedding photographer used medium format, or 4x6 if they used 35mm, or digital. Also, look for one that can hold a few 5x7s, and / or 8x10s; this is not necessary, but it does look better then having all the pictures in one size. If you had a themed wedding, ask your photographer if there are any wedding albums to fit the style of the wedding.

Other options for storing your wedding photos are archival photo boxes, which come in a variety of sizes, or custom books. If you are interested in getting a custom photo book made, or a digital book made, ask your wedding photographer if he has this options.

Purchasing Wedding Negatives or Original Files
Original (High Resolution) digital files, or negatives, of your wedding photography are not cheap. Some wedding photographers include originals in their high priced packages, whereas others include originals for a lump sum. Even if your contract states you will receive your originals ask if there is a hold time. Contracts can state that the wedding photographer is allowed to hold wedding negatives, or original digital files, for 1 up to 5 years. Most of the time, if you purchase your originals separate from your package, you should receive your negatives after you finish ordering your wedding photos, and other items from your wedding photographer.

Preserving your Wedding Photography If you decide to purchase your original digital files, or your negatives, you should make sure they last generations to come. Wedding photography is very important for future generations to have, because it not only documents your wedding day, but also, shows them the rest of your family, all together. For information about preserving wedding photos read article "Protect Your Wedding Negatives". To preserve your original digital files, ask your wedding photographer for an archival CD holder, or information on where to purchase one. The Internet has a large amount of companies to choose from, which have archive CD holders, and other archival products to buy if your wedding photographer does not carry them.