Do You Scope Out Locations Before the Wedding Day?

astrostu

I was invited by the couple yesterday, 2 months 1 day before the ceremony, to see the wedding site and the reception site. I took a few test photos, confirming that I'll need my f/1.4 glass and flash for the reception, which'll make 4 lovely different colors of yellow-white light to deal with.

But anyway, this led me to wonder if folks do this normally - do you go out to look at locations to get a vague idea of potential problems and shooting locations?

Art Scott

If I am shooting in a location I have never shot in before then yes I go to check it out.....
either with the bride and grooom or by my self....make an appointment and go check it out and find out the
particulars of the venue....normally if it is a rental hall I get brochures and such to keep in my files........

Agnieszka

Nope, not me ..... I have a wedding pretty much every weekend, and since most of them are at leeeeeast an 1.5h drive away, there is no way I could go out there and scope it out.

Once you've been doing it for a while, it's always "the same" .... but my suggestion would be to google for the venue + "wedding photographer" and you'd be surprised how many blog posts of recent weddings you'll find .... always great for inspiration for the best spots (and I don't have to mention to check out the venue's website, right? ).

Te Amo

im with art here. if its a new venue, i try to make it a point to get down there beforehand to check it out. this is also a good time to meet with the clergy/wedding coordinator/event planner/ etc, to get any further "need to know" information regarding regulations they might have.
i also (where possible) try to get there around the same time as the ceremony/reception will be, so i have an idea of what kind of lighting i may be dealing with. granted, this can change on a moments nice, but its nice to have an idea.

ssimmonsphoto

I typically drive a fair amount to the wedding, so I typically just aim to arrive before schedule to be able to check it out. I also google the heck out of both locations, but most of the less popular ones around here don't have wedding photos on their site (or even interior shots at all) and the other photogs that blog about events there don't have good enough SEO for me to find them. So I often wind up going in to it expecting the worst (dark lighting, no flash in the church, etc.) and then adjust if need be. I figure that I can only be pleasantly surprised if it is better than I thought it would be. :-)

Moogle Pepper

Only if I have time to do so. Other than that, it is always ready for the spur of the moment.

mmmatt

There isn't usually any usable piece of gear I don't bring anyways, and there isn't anything I can do that I can't figure out by ariving 5 or 10 minutes early for the event. I used to go days in advance to scope things out but I don't worry about that much these days.

Matt

marikris

Angie hit it spot on for me, with the exception that the ceremony might have different rules. I google like a fiend, but I normally get there early enough to reconnoiter really quickly.

Matthew Saville

Astrostu, this question has two answers.

Firstly, how GOOD are you? If you're charging big bucks for your services, you better be able to walk into ANY situation and rock some amazing images, period. You should never count on gorgeously soft light that makes your job effortless, you should be able to take harsh sunlight and turn it into something amazing and dramatic.

Basically, this is what you're getting paid for- getting great photos no matter what. And being able to PROMISE that to the bride and groom.

I photograph a handful of weddings each year where it's just not possible to visit the venue beforehand. I fly coast to coast 2-3 times a year. And in those situations, I may not see the venue until the day of the wedding, or the wedding rehearsal. Either way, the gear I've got is the gear I'm gonna hafta shoot with, so I have to be ready to rock the images no matter what...

HOWEVER, secondly, I think it's also a little reckless and maybe a bit elitist to ASSUME you'll always get amazing photos, and to just tell yourself that you're so good, you don't need to scout locations ever. That's just a disservice to your clients. So I take any and every opportunity to scout a location. Even when traveling, I make it a point to visit the venues a day or two before the wedding, just to get the creative gears turning in my head. I know that lately the popular style in wedding portraits has been to just make the bride laugh and shoot wide open, but PERSONALLY my images are much more environmental, and the entire scene is what makes the image, not just pretty bokeh or a candid laugh. My roots are in landscape photography, and so I'm just the kind of person who shoots slow and methodical. So any time I can see a location beforehand, I take that opportunity...

So, whatever you think is fit. On the one hand, you're getting paid to know what the heck you're doing, and to deliver great photos no matter what even when you aren't able to scout a location. On the other hand, I feel like making the time to scout a location is part of what I charge so much money for. It's cool if you wanna go for volume and just show up to EVERY wedding cold-turkey, but personally I love shooting just ~20 weddings a year and putting 2-3x more effort into each wedding...

Good luck in deciding what YOUR personal preference is! :-)
=Matt=

Blurmore

If I've never been there before...and I think it will be a challenge I'll google images from the venue. Earlier this year I had the opportunity to take a job as a sub-contractor at a venue that I 3 weeks later had a wedding as my business. I think both weddings were a smashing success...

sub-contract wedding...

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=168557&highlight=windy+wedding

my wedding...

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=171060

Gary Peterson Photography

If I have not shot at that venue before for sure. Get a lay of the land, see how light falls, what is nearby, makes it way easier on wedding day. The biggest reason though is to meet the venue owner/manager/coordinator. If I have not been to the venue before, there is a reason....people book a venue, then find a photographer that is going to make that venue and them look amazing. The venue has a big say in who works or not....I always bring the new venue a nice sample album as a "leaver". If I have shot at the venue before and the couple has specific needs that require a walkthrough with them, yes.

cdonovan

Nah, I don't have time to either. If I don't have the equipment, and know how to use it...I shouldn't be there anyway.