Computers have really changed wedding photography for the better, from the way we capture the images to the retouching of them, even the way some wedding albums are designed. One of the best methods in which computers have changed wedding photography is the ability to share your images via the Internet. This exciting new option allows your family and friends to view your wedding pictures no matter where they live in the world.
What do you need to do to make sure your images can be viewed online? Ask your photographer, of course. Just as each photographer has a preference of camera equipment, he most certainly has his preferred online proofing company. The bottom line is that as long as your family and friends can get online and see your wedding pictures, you are going to make a lot of people happy and take a little pressure off yourself.
Almost all of the online proofing companies make it possible for people to purchase images from your wedding as well. This is a great option for both the bride and groom and the photographer. Your guests can view and order pictures from your wedding with very little effort on your part. In most cases all you have to do is supply your photographer with a list of e-mail address of your family and friends. Most of the hosting companies have a utility built into their software usually called a guestbook, where the names are added and when the event is released the software generates an e-mail and sends it to everyone who is listed in your guest book.
Another way for guests to purchase your wedding photos is during the months proceeding your wedding, guests can go to the hosting site directly or via the link on your photographer’s site and register to view the images once they are ready to view after the wedding. Registration consists of a guest entering their name and e-mail address and then they are added to the guest book. One benefit of pre-registration is that you can view your guest book in the days leading up to your wedding, to see who will get e-mail when the pictures are ready. Maybe there is a name in your guest book you do not recognize; you can remove them from the gust book before the e-mail notification goes out. This is one way you can police your site to make sure you eliminate unwanted viewers. Another way is to add a password in order to access your images. This way only the people in your guest book, who you recognize, will get e-mail with the password.
Your photographer benefits by more people seeing your images, which can lead to future work as well as benefit from extra income due to orders they might receive from the people who in the past would have never had a chance to see the pictures of the wedding. By giving the guests access to your images not only can they buy the prints they want, but you also save time and money by not having to take your proofs everywhere and buy pictures for family and friends.
Finding an image among the hundreds of images you have is easy too. Your photographer, making it easy to go right to the image or images you or your guest may be looking for, will divide all your images into categories. The categories are set by your photographer and can vary, but here are some examples of categories you might expect to find: Preparation, Bride, Groom, Family Groups, Bridal Party, Ceremony, Cocktail Hour, and Reception.
Some programs even let you create your own personal categories such as favorites, categories that will be included on your home pages along side the other categories previously created, making it easier to share your favorites with your friends. Another plus is the ability to share your favorite images via e-mail. Most services allow you to e-mail your favorite shots to your friends and family as well.
Some companies offer other great gift items such as albums, holiday cards, or DVDs of your favorite images put to music, even the ability for your family and friends to buy gift certificates as wedding presents, just as they would buy from your registry.
As you can see everyone benefits from online proofing. There are several companies who cater to professional photographers and make this great service available to today’s couples. One of the largest companies and my favorite is Pictage.com; another great company is Eventpix.com and also Collages.net. These are just a few of the many companies who offer online proofing. It doesn’t matter who your photographer uses, make sure to take advantage of this great function available to today’s bride and groom, and remember share, share, share.