Pinterest is the new planning tool when it comes to all things wedding.  And whether Pinterest has been your all-knowing wedding planner and guide, or the equivalent to an overwhelming friend who bombards you with way too many ideas, chances are you’ve at least spent some of your precious time consulting the plethora of wedding boards on Pinterest.    And I’m going to venture another guess that along with all the brilliant ideas for centerpieces and unique ways to make your wedding unique, you’ve spent a lot of your time looking over engagement and wedding pictures.  After all, the wedding photos are the most important part of the day- I may be a little biased :).

So finally, the time comes.  You’ve booked your wedding photographer, and it’s that awkward moment when you want to mention your Pinterest board and don’t know how.  Is Pinterest something photographers hate, or love?  What’s the etiquette of how or when the Pinterest board can be brought into the conversation?   It’s not like there is a manual for this sort of thing (or if there is I’ve missed it).

So let me speak as a wedding photographer.  Inevitably in conversations, the Pinterest board comes up.  Sometimes with comments such as “we like this style,” or my personal favorite “ignore any Batman pictures, that was my fiancé’s ‘contribution’.”   But often photographers go home, look at those boards, and don’t know what you like.  Is it the location? The pose? Something else? As with anything wedding, there are so many options.

Then one day, someone gave me this one simple, brilliant idea:  the best way to use Pinterest to help your wedding photographer is to pin his or her work.  No one understands that picture quite like the person who took it.  Think about it, it’s work, poses, and styles that they have created and put together.  It’s their own inspiration in (almost) print form.  And while we all learn from other peoples work, we understand our own work more than anyone else.  And by pinning a photographers own creations, he or she can better understand what went into the photo and what made THAT photo what it was.

And of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t pin anything else in the way of wedding photos; we all need inspiration.  This is just one way to use Pintrest to better help your photographer help you.

My final thought: as you continue your quest to create the perfect Pinterest board and from there the perfect wedding, don’t be afraid to give your photographer some creative control.  Sometimes it’s nice to try find that shot that’s original to you.  You know, the one that because the next ‘must pin’ shot.

 

My name is Catherine Winkelman and my focus is on Wedding Photography in Duluth, MN.  

My goal is to capture the real moments that matter most in a unique and artful way.  

It’s about you and it should be beautiful.