Blog | Christian Oth Studio - International Wedding Photographers based in New York City

How Do You Want Your Wedding Photographed?

I like to ask this question because I’m always interested in the answer. And the most common answer I get is that couples want their wedding covered well, but…

Heading on a Beach Vacation? 5 Tips: How To Take Great Travel Photographs

Whether you’re heading to Saint Barth’s, to Cap Ferrat, or to Lake Como, these tips apply. From what to wear to when to shoot, Christian Oth shares his top five…

Wedding Hashtags

It makes sense to create a hashtag for your wedding weekend. A wedding hashtag lets you see all of your guests’ photos in one spot. If you were a guest at a wedding,…

You Have Your Photos, Now What?

You hire a great photographer to capture your wedding day, but afterward, where do the photos live? The obvious answer is an album. If you have any doubts about…

Tying it All Together

The last entry of our five-part series highlighting the creative series helps you tie it all together. It’s always best when there’s someone in charge of the…

Visual Building Blocks

When approaching a wedding, we sometimes start with the couple’s inspiration board. This gives us a sense of what the couple is looking for and allows us to provide…

Communication

Optimal communication between the photographer and the couple is a must. As photographers who have shot all types of events, we’ve found that the most successful…

The Creative Process

During the next few weeks we’ll be talking about the creative process behind your photography. Think about it this way. If you’re in the process of building a new…

First Kiss or Any Kiss Done Right

With kissing photos, there can be too much kissing or too little. I don’t want you to get self-conscious here, but let’s face it. Some of you are just bad kissers.…

Trust & Letting Go

The secret to gorgeous wedding photos that capture the very best version of yourself is to build a trusting relationship with your photographer. As photographers,…

Declare Parts of Your Wedding Social Media Free Zones

Today social media is part of our daily lives. Smartphones mean you get to Instagram every highlight of your life, and isn’t your wedding the ultimate highlight?…

Wedding Day Transportation

Even if your ceremony and reception are being held at the same location, we highly recommended you still have some sort of wedding transportation. Sometimes couples…

Avoid the Mundane

You’ve spent countless hours planning every aspect of your wedding day, and now it’s time to trust it will be great. Your floral designer will create gorgeous…

The Differences Between Professional Photographers

There are many disciplines in professional photography. The largest ones are fashion, still-life, interior and architecture, photojournalism and fine art photography.…

Shot Lists

As professional photographers, we know what shots you need to take on your wedding day. A good photographer has an internal list of details that are always…

The Importance of Lighting on the Dance Floor

While you may want a dark, candlelit reception that is super romantic—it’s important to have the right lighting on the dance floor. Trust us, you don’t want the…

Outside Reception Lighting

One of the most important, yet sometimes overlooked areas of a wedding is the lighting. Not only will your planner & designer tell you that lighting is important…

Hiring The Right Wedding Day Teams

Hiring the right team is one of the most important to-dos before the wedding day. These professionals are the ones that will work tirelessly to ensure your wedding day…

Emerging Photographers

On our website we have a section called ‘Emerging Photographers.’ You may be curious to learn what an emerging photographer is. At our studio, we look for young,…

Turn off your distraction devices

Recently I shot a ceremony that was completely iPhone and camera free. As the hired photographer, it was ideal for shooting. Every single guest was able to witness the…

Wedding Experiences

Gone are the days of a wedding consisting of only a Friday night rehearsal dinner and Saturday wedding day. More recently, wedding celebrations are taking place over…

Hiring your Destination Wedding Dream-Team: What Pros to fly in?

Fly In Photographer: Of course, you should fly in your photographer. This shouldn’t be a question. You generally find the top photographers in top city markets. Most…

7 tips for a short engagement period

We’re seeing many of our couples opt for shorter engagements. This means that the population has either gotten more decisive or fear Armageddon in our current…

Order of Dress

When you’re working on your wedding day timeline, who should be getting ready first? The bride or the bridesmaids? Even though the bride is the wedding day VIP—the…

Energy

A wedding is a highly anticipated, milestone event. It marks the culmination of everything you’ve hoped for from your single days. You’ve found the right partner,…

How to time the couple portrait photos

We’re frequently asked how much time is needed for couple portraits on the wedding day. The short answer—as much as possible. It depends; however, on the type of…

5 Things to Look for in a Photographer

Since wedding photography has a low barrier of entry and there are literally thousands of photographers in a single market—how do you know what to look for?…

How Many Photographers?

It’s not about quantity, but more about the job assignments for each photographer and what kinds of pictures a couple wants and what it takes to get there. There are…

Window Light

Photographers need light, it’s what they work with. There can be too much of it, like harsh noon sunlight or too little—but it’s definitely the most important…

5 tips on how to have an unplugged wedding

A wedding ceremony needs to be sacred. It’s a big milestone in anyone’s life. There’s a reason we choose a spectacular location and make it look as pretty as…

Celebrate!

The image above I took this past New Year’s Eve. It’s powerful. This is a great couple on all levels. I admire Ann and Scott for their ability to celebrate their…

Light vs Dark Wedding Venues

Wedding venues come in all shapes, sizes and lighting conditions. One of the biggest determining factors as far as photography is concerned are the “dark” venues.…

Have you shot here before?

At the studio we are frequently asked, “Have you shot the venue before?” The quick answer is, “It doesn’t really matter.” Whether or not the venue is a brand…

Where are you getting ready?

The hours I have the most time to be creative with the bride and her wedding party is during the getting ready session before the ceremony. This point is a valuable…

Move, don’t pose

Being photographed can sometimes be intimidating for those who are not used to being in front of the camera. To take the edge off, staying in motion with your body is…

What to wear when you’re getting ready

Before the wedding ceremony, remember there’s a photographer in the room while the beautification takes place. Want to know how to take those getting-ready photos…

Wardrobe Essentials for the Engagement Shoot

There’s no doubt you will be dressed to the nines on your wedding today, but how much thought are we putting towards the wardrobe selection for the engagement shoot?…

The Engagement Shoot - It’s a necessity

Think of an engagement shoot as if it were a first date with your photographer. You have the opportunity to get to know his/her perspective and shooting-style. In…

A Posing Primer - give your body shape

We aren’t used to posing in front of a camera. In fact, most of us feel pretty awkward about having our pictures taken. Sure, we have some great selfie poses (or…

Landmark vs Texture

The idea of using a city’s texture versus an obvious landmark as a photo shoot backdrop comes up frequently with my New York City couples. We want to clearly depict…

Where will you be between moments?

The location of your wedding is one of the first details to hammer down when planning your Big Day. Once you get that out of the way, we can talk about how your…

Stay in control of your visuals

Staying in control of the public visual narrative of your wedding day is a topic I want to explore as it is coming up more and more in the iPhone era. Weddings are a…

First Things First

Engagement Season is over and you’ve found yourself with a brand new, sparkly piece of jewelry and a fiancé to match. Now what? Engagement Season quickly turns into…

Rain

Rain. Yes, it rains. Even on the Big Day. I’ve seen it happen too many times to count, where the slightest chance of precipitation sends even the calmest bride into…

THE FIRST LOOK - doing it right

You’ve seen First Looks done poorly and absolutely wrong many times. You know the shot - where the groom has his back to the bride and he turns around as she taps…

FIRST LOOK - let me talk you into it

The First Look This very special moment that is unique only to your wedding day. However, when done wrong, the First Look can feel contrived. It also has a certain…

The Unposed Pose

The Unposed Pose is the combination of all the thought, planning, preparation and creativity that goes into each of my shots. It is part technique and part creative…

Be a Bride

There’s this one of life’s best moments and lasts for a mere few hours: that is being a bride! Your wedding day is the day when you are the center of everyone’s…

Mission Statement

Every time I photograph and edit a shoot, I keep a running list of the good, the bad, the areas of improvement and whatever else I want to remember for later. This…

iPhone Documentarians

iPhones, Samsungs, Androids. They all have cameras. Really good cameras that are only getting better with each hardware upgrade and software update. The luxury, ease…

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