How to Choose a Wedding Photographer for your Wedding and Things to Consider
Tuesday, March 14th, 2006
How to Choose a Wedding Photographer for your Wedding and things to consider.
Here are some tips to help you Choose your Wedding Photographer for your special Day.
1. Ask your friends for a personal referral, most couples are the best sources for choosing.. been there done that sort of thing so, take their advice since experience is a good gauge to judge photographers. Build a short list of wedding photographers and do your research. Take time out and see which photographers styles best suit your taste and budget.
2. Dont Settle for mediocre, go for the best that you can afford. For an added bonus, find out if any of your guests is into photography, you may be pleasantly surprised at their skills to deliver better candid shots since photographer and crew are highly focused on the ceromonies.
3. Visit their Websites, Since this is a digital world now, most photographers should be online.. techonology has been the name of the game and any decent photographer should have the capacity to even setup a basic website… its all in the photos, they should speak for themselves. Try to concentrate on photos and not on the effects of the web design.
4. Talk to propective photographers, call or email them and get a feel of what they are like, check your wedding days and ask him personally what is his specialty, does he prefer the candid approach, photojournalistic approach or a combination of both.. try to get a feel if you can trust your most important day in your life to the photographer.. beware of the wine and dine approach. Personality is so much better than Pesonality.
5. Make an Appointment and take time out to get to know your photographer, He should be more than willing to share his time and show you his past work for you to evaluate and dream how your wedding should be executed and share this with him. Remeber that you are on the same side and that by talking to him, you open possibilities for potential images. Tell him your dos and donts when it comes to your wedding, he should understand and respect your wishes.
6. If in doubt, dont be scared to ASK! you are paying for services and you should know limitations of what you buy, your confidence in the product is a big big plus.
Some questions to clarify before you sign up.
1. What’s your photographers style? photojournalistic, creative, artistic, traditional?
2. Do you shoot in color or black and white? Can you specify if you want a mix of both
3. What kind of input can we have on the direction of the shots? Can we give you a shot list to work from?
4. Will you be the actual wedding photographer taking the photos? or will it be your assistant?
5. Will you be shooting other engaments on the same date? Some photographers do double bookings so be sure!
6. Is there any special equiptment that will be needed? Churches and hotels require some permits before equiptment is brough in.
7. Do you edit your own photos? or do you have a graphic artist? ask for samples.
8. Can we buy the raw files from you or is it included in your package? if so how much would it cost?
9. Personality.. does he get along with both you and your hubby? some photographers style be offensive to some the antics and effect done may rub off the wrong way if you dont get along well with your photographer.
Once you have given your commitment, and taken your time out to know the person.. sit back and relax and let him do what he does best and that is to let him take photos of your wedding. Remember if you impose too many restrictions on the photographer, he may lose the interest and passion that drives his photography. Give him some room to create wonderful images.
Things to AVOID when choosing a photographer.
1. When emailing them or calling a photographer, please be personal and dont do the shotgun approach and email 100+ photographers on one go.. without the decency to even blind cc the other photographers.. this is a big turn off and photographer will instanly know that you are looking for the cheapest without consideration for price.
2. Set appointment that you can keep, keep to your time and show the photographer that you mean business. Being late to a meeting is a sign that you dont really consider punctuality as a valid concern.
3. Trust the photographer in his selection of shots, if you dictate your shots and tell him how to do his work then your photos will not come out as you expect because the tension and frustration will come out in his images.
4. You are hiring a Professional, so treat them like Professionals, dont make them do things, carry bags or do errands on your special day.. let them feel that they are sharing this special day for your and that that is his main concern to show you the event that you dont see on your wedding day. The things that may make a difference, like reaction of the crowd to thing you do as a couple.
5. Please make arrangement for the Photographer to take his lunch or dinner or what refreshments that may arise. He is human and needs to eat.. he gets tired too and he has feelings. If you treat him like household help, he may return the favor to you and the effects may be seen in your photo. He is there to work.. give him the proper respect and treatment.. if you go out of your way for him.. he will surely do the same.
Good Luck and happy hunting!