There’s no question.

I am a book lover.

Books have been a big part of my life, since I was a little toddler. My parents made sure they instilled the love of books in me. I never had any problems at school with reading, unlike some of my friends.

Reading was fun to me. I didn’t even do it to get good grades at school, I did it because I loved it.

As you’d expect, this love of books carried on into my adulthood.

To tell you how serious this love is, I even met my wife in the library where I went to get a novel I had heard so much about.

I still find the time to read, even though our kids take up a lot of my spare time now. I love books so much, and it’s great to see that my children are starting to feel the same.

It doesn’t matter how tired I am when I get home from the office, I make it a habit to read to my children EVERY night before bedtime.

At this point in my life, I had never realised that audio books were available to anyone and everyone - I never even knew that you could download audio books directly on the Internet.

I never expected it to, but my long hours at work meant that I would always get sleepy while reading to the children at bedtime. In many occasions I have even fallen asleep before my kids right whilst I’m reading to them!

Deep within me I could see that there just wasn’t any way I could keep up with the habit of always reading to my kids each night… I was left feeling that unless I managed to find another job that didn’t require such a time commitment (but one that still paid well - impossible, right?)

Whilst I’d been dreaming of the impossible, I was given a promotion at work. Unfortunately, this resulted in longer hours at work - a full hour before everyone else started, and another full hour after everyone else had gone home.

Sheesh, that’s an hour every morning reading motivational and inspirational chapters and an hour spent reading to my children after I get home from the office - all down the drain.

I was in a great dilemma about what to do. I didn’t give up reading my children’s bedtime story, even though my wife suggested that she take over.

I was still battling for a way out when I discovered audio books on a website I stumbled upon! The website I found was called Spoken Network. www.spokennetwork.com?cam=ama0005

Eureka… the savior had arrived.

Six weeks after my first contact with audio books, my dilemma has ended.

Being asked to be the photographer for a wedding is a big responsibility.  If you’ve been asked to do it as a favor, or have been asked to do it professionally, here are 5 tips to do to get the job done right.

This tips are coming from first hand experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.  So whether you are seasoned pro, or a rank amateur, if you follow these tips, you will feel comfortable and not have to second guess yourself.  You will be fully prepared for whatever may come.

Our first tip is pretty simple and that is to have the couple and their families make a list for you of shots they want to take.  When the day is hectic and chaotic, this will help immensely when you are trying to get family and group shots later on in the day.  You will love it and when you can just go down the list and get everything without leaving anything out by accident.

The second tip on our list is to not delete any shots.  In this day and age of digital cameras, most photographers use them.Great as they are, they might tempt you to delete a shot they may like that you don’t since it is so easy to do.Don’t even think of looking at the shots.  What makes a great shot in your mind could differ widely that what makes a great shot in the couples minds.You know what, they might like all those un “professional” shots you take.

For the the third tip, make sure you get candid shots during and after the wedding.A good photographer isn’t one who just takes the standard basic shots, like family shots, typical wedding shots, or whatever is the usual.  But they will also try and capture the emotions of the day through the shots of all the people that were there.It could include things that don’t go perfectly, like a flower girl not wanting to walk down the aisle or the ring bearer making a wrong turn.  Every shot counts.

The fourth tip is which is often overlooked is to make sure you have several cameras and other equipment as backup.Do you even want to think of a moment like that of not having a working camera halfway through the wedding.Be prepared for anything that can go wrong.By being ready with extra equipment, you will avoid the uncomfortable time of not being able to take any more pictures of the wedding day with a broken camera.

Finally, practice your lighting as well. Don’t get thrown a curveball by the different lighting conditions whether inside the church or outside, practice and you will be prepared. You should try and see if you can scout the locations for the big day and try and find the best spots to shoot as well as gauging the lighting needs.

Taking these 5 tips into account will help you immensely.  It will prepare you for whatever might go wrong, it will prepare you for capturing what goes right, and it will prepare you to help contribute to this wonderful day by being the best photographer you can be.  Take it from my years of experience as a San Diego photographer.