A Few Reasons Why You NEED to Hire a Professional DJ

This article is a guest post by our friends at Live Happy Studio, who have some great tips about why you should definitely hire a DJ for your upcoming wedding. Enjoy!

We have noticed a lot more people choosing to use an iPod in the reception, rather than hire a DJ. There are definitely advantages to this, cost being one of them. However, we wanted to let all of you guys out there know exactly why we think a DJ is an important part of your day, and how they help us as photographers!

A DJ is more than just music. They help the day run smoothly, inform guests of whats happening and where, and organize the timing of events. This is especially helpful if you aren’t using a wedding planner. Guests need someone to listen to/be directed by and a DJ is a perfect person for the job… especially seeing as they come equipped with a microphone and speakers—everyone will hear for sure!

Another reason we love working with DJs is they always make sure your photographer is ready for all of the formalities and events of your day. The last thing you want is no images of the bouquet toss because there were no announcements. Plus, the better the DJ, the more ladies you’ll have to toss to! It may not always be visible, but photographers work closely with DJs to make sure we are on the same page and everything is happening as it should.

DJs are skilled in getting the party going, reading the crowd…it’s whats they do. They don’t just sit there and play a playlist of songs. They look at your group specifically to make sure the songs they are playing are the ones keeping your guests dancing their little feet off. A good DJ will keep them smiling! Smiling people having fun means better images for your wedding album.

Uplighting! This one is HUGE. Receptions are often dark and cameras don’t always like dark rooms. We have the best equipment around, along with off-camera lighting so we can get great images of the reception. However, we think it looks even cooler if the room is lit up in your wedding colors! When choosing your DJ package, take some extra time to think about lighting. It’s not just there for the few hours you’re in the reception to make it look pretty, it’s also there for an eternity in your images.

Finally…they’re fun! Who wouldn’t want a big happy personality at your wedding day making things look great, sound great, and run smoothly?

Here are a couple of galleries so you can see the massive difference that uplighting will make to the feel of your ceremony and reception, and the look of your wedding photography. The first has examples of weddings with uplighting, the second without.

With Uplighting (look at how the purple makes these pictures pop!):