⚜️10 Questions you should ask yourself before booking a Korean Pre-wedding Photoshoot ⚜️

Korean wedding photography has become a popular choice for pre-wedding wedding photography in recent years. However, there is a big difference between the two: Australia is famous for its outdoor locations, where you can be in the endless grasslands and shoot with sheep; South Korea’s main feature is various photo studios, newcomers can travel all year round without worrying about the weather.

We want to share some tips and suggestions for preparations for Korean wedding photos for couples, as well as some frequently asked FAQs by newcomers! Our Hong Kong branch has now been operating for 7 years. These tips will help our Australian customers to understand more about pre wedding photoshoot.

(1) Does Korean wedding photography suit you?

Generally, Korean wedding photography takes 3 to 6 months from shooting to finished product, depending on the standard workflow of individual studios or agency companies. Before you decide, you should estimate whether there is enough time before your wedding date. Unless you have already prepared more than one series of wedding photos, rushing to the wedding will only increase your anxiety in the process of preparing for the wedding.

If you are very assertive and want to decide when to change clothes and design all expressions, movements and moods by yourself, it may not be suitable for you to shoot in Korea. Because most of the Korean photo studios, to maintain the standard and efficiency, they operate in an assembly line.

Customers follow the scene of the sample photos to shoot. In addition to the standard actions, there will be some changes due to the situation and interaction of the couple. Customers can give some comments or suggestions and ask for 1 or 2 more different shotting angles or scenes. However, most of the Korean wedding photography culture still grasps the feeling of photographers. They are used to arranging which scenes for the couple to change their outfits or accessories, rather than changing them according to the couple's preferences. Especially the more advanced photographers, they hope that customers will respect their professionalism and follow their ideas to shoot.

You or your significant other who don’t like Korea, although the Korean trend keeps blowing, there are always people who reject this pop culture. Marriage is a happy journey shared by two people, so if you or your other half don’t like South Korea, it is recommended that both parties can coordinate or communicate before making a decision, or change to a country or city that both of you feel comfortable with. Moving forward reluctantly will be fraught with danger.

For those of you who like outdoor wedding photos, in fact, in the past ten years or so, the major trend in South Korea has been the photography culture based on photo studios. It is no longer popular to take complete wedding photos in the suburbs of parks, because there are relatively large-scale photo studios in Seoul, which have garden views. There are also well-built rooftops and balconies. For the busy Korean new generation, they don't have to worry about the weather, and they can shoot almost all kinds of wedding photos in the morning and evening all year round. It is a very efficient system.

Couples can also consider adding couple photos to their schedules. Most photo studios can also provide such services. Wearing couple outfits while walking around and taking photos can be more natural.

Budget is also one of the most important considerations. The general Korean package is about $3,500-$5,500 AUD. Depending on the studio, agency, package, plus air tickets, the cost for two people (don’t forget that Korea is also a shopping hotspot), conservative range is at least $3000 AUD. So from a budget point of view, please consider whether it fits your range.

(2) What are the precautions when choosing a photo studio?

There are already hundreds of large and small photo studios in Gangnam, Seoul, and there are other photo studios in surrounding towns. Among many photo studios, one should not be too hasty in order to choose one's favourite. The sample photo album provided by the general photo studio has more than 30-40 pages (one page per side like a book). Be sure to choose at least 25-30 pages of photos you like first, because Korean studios generally provide 30-page photo albums. If you have 25-30 scenes of photos you like, there should be enough layout changes.

(3) How to choose an agency company to provide services?

100% of local photo studios in South Korea will also be sold by agency companies. The reason is very simple. They are very dedicated to and serious about their profession. Therefore, the identity of the agency is to help the couples with makeup, wedding dresses, Hanboks, and photo studios. Their colleagues will also be responsible for the integration of wedding venues and makeup. They are more like a wedding planner to provide you with plans and packages.

There are also some Korean wedding photography agency companies in Australia. It is recommended that you choose a company with a large scale or a good reputation. Because they also have offices in South Korea and their staff are directly in contact with local photo studios, beauty salons, and bridal shops, and the arrangements will be relatively safe. Be careful to choose a newer agency, because some are entrusted to local agencies in South Korea to handle outsourcing work. In this way, if the agency has any problems, even if the couple contacts the studio, it will be difficult to track it down, because the studio will only be responsible for the contracted agency and provide follow-up.

(4) How to choose a wedding photography package that suits you?

Many agencies provide the same studio photo templates, and some packages include accommodation, some have value-added services, and some gift lists are longer than the basic package? So does it mean that the one that is the cheapest and gives the most things is the best?

Of course not, since I am willing to spend time and money to go to Korea, the most important thing is to see the photos of real guests. Because all the photo studios send the agency the same sample photo album with the same cover, and the sample photos are all Korean model photos, what you see is the most perfect finished product.

So the most effective must be to see the effect of real guest photos, and the more original, the more powerful. If there is a company that can provide the original sample photos of the guests, you can see the makeup effect, the quality of the wedding dress, and the real feeling of the photo studio.

There are two schools of Korean photo studios. One school uses more than 90% of the real scene to shoot, so the background of the original photo will not be missing; the other school uses more than 50% of the photos to add scenes (such as when shooting) The background is blue cloth, which turns into the sea after retouching), such original photos, the back photos are often incomplete.

If you see the photos of the customers and feel good, this company can definitely be on your wish list.

(5) How to choose a Korean bridal shop?

In addition, everyone should pay attention to whether the bridal shop and beauty salon included in the package are the brands you want. Korean bridal shops are as big and small as photo studios, and they are divided into the following four types.

A high-end bridal shop that specializes in renting foreign wedding dresses

Local customers with high budgets also like to use foreign brands, so the most expensive bridal shops in Korea are shops that rent foreign wedding dresses.

Handmade wedding dresses by famous local designers

All wedding dresses are handmade, and the skirts are attached with laces, which can be adjusted in size, and there are standard monitoring for the life cycle of wedding dresses.

Comprehensive Korean wedding dress shop

There are different domestic and foreign wedding dresses, but they are not necessarily brand-name, which is a more economical choice.

One-stop wedding dress makeup shop

In order to make the price more attractive, this one-stop service will not specify the source of the wedding dress, and the makeup artist will not be a famous one. Some small Korean studios will also have this business. If guests have certain expectations for wedding makeup, it is recommended not to choose this form. With the mentality of Koreans to keep improving, they will choose this kind of package because of budget constraints.

Generally, Korean agency companies on the market are mainly in the form of bridal shops in categories 2-4. Of course, category 2-3 is the safest choice. If your package is more than $3,500 AUD, it is recommended to find out the names of the bridal shops and beauty salons provided, because now 95% of the companies use English names, so you can also research online first.

If a company is unwilling to tell you the name of their supporting company, there are two reasons. First, it may change at any time. In addition, it is because you are afraid that you will know the price. In today's information-rich society, you can find anything as long as you know the name.

(6) The process of trying on wedding dresses in Korean bridal shops

The above category 1-3 bridal shops generally have more than 200 items in stock. They are used to show customers the catalog first, choose the style they like, and then they recommend the tailoring that suits you. They are also a quantitative test, that is, they are not available for the bride to try indefinitely.

For the bride, the disadvantage of this arrangement is that there is no way to choose the style she likes early in the morning, and it is also impossible to reserve the style, because Korean brides generally have tried it a few weeks earlier, while most overseas guests only come one to two days before the shooting. You can try yourself out. However, because the bridal shop wants to better grasp the fitting time of each group of customers, most of them the suitable recommendations. This arrangement will be more efficient, and of course the groom will not have to wait for a long time.

The fourth type of bridal shop, because it is relatively small, generally allows brides to choose directly from the display racks. It is recommended that you first choose clean and simple styles. Because under the strong light of the photo studio, the quality of the wedding dress will be clearly seen.

(7) It is best for men to bring your own suit

In South Korea’s marriage culture, men’s suits, makeup, and hairstyles are all free of charge, because men are really “a green leaf” in the shooting. The above four types of bridal shops will provide men’s dresses, but they are conservative suits. The styles and colors are mainly black, white, blue and gray. Whether the sizes are complete depends on the size of the bridal shop.

However, even if the size is complete, it is still not tailor-made. Generally, Korean men like slim fit, and most of them prepare it by themselves. If your boyfriend or fiancé is very particular about dressing up and would have custom-made dresses for the wedding, you can prepare them earlier and take them with you when taking pictures. For these details, you can ask in detail when you inquire about the wedding photography package.

(8) Which one of the beauty salons is the real star?

Australian brides will hire a makeup artist to change their hair and makeup on their wedding day, but Korean couples are a little different. They are used to going to a beauty salon to arrange their makeup and styling before going to the wedding venue (you will also see this in Korean dramas). Hire a dress assistant to change the wedding dress or hairstyle for the bride. Therefore, the beauty salon is very important to the brides. They generally like to use the same beauty salon for pre-wedding and wedding day photoshoot.

Each agency company has its own beauty salon with different supporting facilities. We often hear "celebrity" beauty salons, but "celebrity" refers to the use of celebrities. Of course, even if you are not a "celebrity", you can still wear pure Korean makeup, but because there is no arrangement for guests to try on makeup for Korean wedding photography, for Australian brides, if you have not experienced it before the shoot, you will feel more at ease in choosing a beauty salon that worked with a celebrity that provides better quality and assurance.

In fact, most beauty salons have their own official website. As long as you find the website, you can see their bridal makeup samples and celebrity makeup samples. Of course, the easiest way is to look at their celebrity guests and choose the one that your favourite female star uses. Because Korean actors are like celebrities/stars in the sky, each manager’s company has different arrangements. They like to use the same beauty salon, no matter the size of the event, or even private parties and hair dyeing treatments, their artists also go there (unless there is a designated sponsorship for film or TV shooting outside). So if you have a favourite female star, it will be easier to choose, of course, you may meet her on the day of makeup!

Why the emphasis on "female celebrity"? Because if the beauty salon is used by male celebrities, but there are not many female celebrities , the makeup artists of male celebrities may not be good at female makeup, let alone the natural-looking but actually very thick princess makeup in wedding photos.

(9) Is it better to choose a package that includes accommodation?

You must understand that all accommodation is not free. If there is a package that can cover four nights in a hotel, it is recommended to ask the name of the hotel first, and then check the rating online. And it's best to tell whether it's a motel or a hotel. Although motels can also be very gorgeous, psychologically, most girls may not be able to accept the feeling of living in a motel in the complicated mood before taking pictures.

If there is a package that can include 4 nights of accommodation, then 90% of it is a homestay. If the homestay is under the management of an agency, that is also good. If they book it separately, then you can consider asking for a package without accommodation, and check the price difference. Generally, you can reduce $2000-300, and then go to the hotel website to see which hotels can be rented at this price, so that you can make more money. Take advantage of all budgets.

(10) Which flight is the best?

The wedding dress the day before the shoot. So the couple should arrive in Seoul before noon the day before the shoot. The advantage of a late flight from Australia is that you can take one less day off, but even if you sleep on the plane, you might not have enough rest, and most Korean hotels now only provide check-in from 1:00 to 3:00. It is recommended to arrive at least 1 day earlier before the photoshoot day to have proper rest in the evening.

If you fly to Seoul at noon, you don’t have to worry too much, you can shoot directly the next day.

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