Tips For Selecting Your Wedding Photographer
1. Always hire a professional. The memories of your wedding day should be entrusted to an experienced professional rather than a friend that is "into photography". Believe me; I have been hired to reshoot images because of this.
2. Seek the advice of those you trust. Ask someone you trust (a close friend or family member who recently married or another wedding professional) whom they would recommend as a photographer.
3. Choose a photographer whose style you like. Whether you prefer a majority of your photographs to be posed or spontaneously created, select a photographer whose style you enjoy and respect, and whose artistic vision you would like to see behind your own wedding album.
4. Choose a photographer whose personality you are comfortable with. Your photographer is the one wedding professional who will most likely be with you throughout your entire wedding day. Be sure you find someone with whom you can build a positive, enjoyable, working relationship.
5. Make sure you know all the costs. Some photographers hide costs like those of photographic prints. They attempt to lure clients in with low package prices, but then charge ridiculous print fees. Clients don't realize this until the wedding has been photographed and they are stuck with unexpected high expenses after the wedding when money is tight. What are my print prices? Check out the Online Album Example and add a few things to your cart to see prices. I look to keep print prices low. Products can be purchased from your online album at extremely competitive rates. For example a 4x6" Print costs $1.99 and an 8x10" Print costs $3.99.
6. Purchase your digital negatives and the rights to re-print images. You want to own your images. Years down the road you don't want to have to track down your photographer for more prints or access to your images. This is why we pass on to you the Hi-Res Digital files.
7. Choose a photographer that edits, optimizes, and organizes all your images. Photographers are imaging professionals with a trained eye and powerful software to make your photos look their best. You don't want to be suck with thousands of images with no way to efficiently view, edit, organize, and correct them. For more info about how we make your images look their best click here.
5. Hire your photographer early. Many photographers fill their schedules 4 to 9 months in advance.
6. View your photography as an investment in the future. Your wedding album is the one tangible item you will have to keep the memories of your wedding alive. Deciding who will capture those memories for you should not be simply based on who charges the least or most amount of money. Your decision should be based finding the photographer who you are most comfortable with and who can best document the joy and excitement of your wedding day. By doing so, you can be assured that you will receive photographs that you will cherish for a lifetime.
7. Get it in writing. Get as many details as possible in writing to avoid any confusion later. Questions to ask your photographer should include: Who will be the photographer for our wedding? What is your experience with and philosophy about wedding photography? How long will you be with us on our wedding day? What exactly is included in our package? What happens to the proofs and negatives? How long will it take for proofs and albums to be produced? What kind of back-up equipment and photographers are available? What is the payment schedule? And what, if any, extra charges apply?
8. Schedule time for your portraits. Whether you would like just a few basic wedding day portraits or a wide variety of poses with different people at different locations, set aside a specific time period as early in the day as possible for your portraiture so that you can spend the remaining time enjoying your wedding and the company of your guests.
9. Let your photographer be your wedding storyteller. From documenting the people, places, emotions, events and details of your wedding to tastefully laying out your favorite photographs in your album, your photographer's job should be to create the perfect storybook wedding album.
10. When meeting with a prospective photographer ask to see all the images from an entire wedding. It is very easy to assemble an impressive portfolio of the best images from many weddings, but what you want to look for is consistency of great shots followed by great shots. This is the best way to judge the strength of a photographer and you will know the quality of work they will be delivering to you.
14. Relax and enjoy! This is YOUR wedding; you should be free to enjoy yourself and the company of your spouse, family and friends without having your time dominated by your photographer.
- Jesse
