You want your wedding photographer to capture everything that makes your day special, to capture it at its best, to deliver photographs that live up to your expectations. Here are 10 tips for selecting wedding photos that you can live with throughout your new life together.
- A reputable wedding photographer must have a physical location. It is important to have a physical location where you can find them when you need them and where you can meet them safely. Traditional wedding photography studios build trust within the community and with their clients. If your wedding photographer does not have a local address (not a PO box) that he will share with you, it is a good reason not to trust him. They can work outside their home, but do you know where it is? A physical office or a study is essential for them to be trustworthy. Would you be willing for a random stranger to come to your house, or for you to go to his house? It is safer and more reliable to choose a wedding photographer with a studio or office that you can visit and where you can find your photographer.
- A good wedding photographer should help you make your day go smoothly. Aside from a dedicated wedding planner, your photographer is the only provider who will spend the entire day with you. A good wedding photographer should make things easier for you. They should solve problems. Your wedding photographer must be flexible. They must be able to adapt and thrive in difficult situations. Learn more about their skills and ask about a difficult lighting scenario, bad weather or other catastrophe and find out how they coped with it in the past.
- You need your wedding photographer to focus on you. When you meet a wedding photographer for the first time, do they ask about you, know you, and find out what you want? Or do they just talk about themselves and what they do? Find a photographer who is willing to take the time to get to know you so you know that they understand you and your needs. This is the best way to find out if they are right for you.
- Your wedding photographer must be knowledgeable and helpful. They should offer suggestions on the options you have for different things, give advice on scheduling and setup, be full of ideas, and be ready to make your day and planning easier. A good photographer is very important in planning. Your photographer should work with you prior to an engagement session to select clothing and location. Your wedding day photography should be scheduled as part of your day and not as an afterthought. Photography doesn’t have to be inconvenient, it can be a fun and integral part of your day.
- It may sound strange, but not all wedding photographers are created equal and not all photographers are suitable for all clients. If your wedding photographer comes across you and finds out what you are looking for and then tells you that they don’t think it’s a good fit for you, it may be surprising, but it’s nothing personal. Wouldn’t you rather have a professional be honest about this than try to change to suit your needs? Photographers sometimes find that what they specialize in is not the same as what a client wants. Photographers don’t want to make you unhappy, and if a wedding photographer thinks you could be happier with a different style of photography or a different situation, we’ll tell you before you book so you won’t be disappointed later.
- Price is NOT the most important factor when choosing a wedding photographer – you definitely get what you pay for. Photography is like anything else in life – you get what you pay for. It is not logical to think that you can hire someone for little or no money and get the same results that you would get if you had spent twice what you paid. Price is often an important factor when it comes to quality. Photographers who charge the most are often backed by reputation, brand, and expertise. You must also understand that your photographs will become the indelible memory of your wedding day. There are two things you should spend money on for your wedding, it should be your venue and your photography. People probably won’t remember the food, they’ll only wear your dress once, and most other things aren’t great investments anyway (flowers, music, makeup). You will see your wedding photos regularly, maybe even every day, for the rest of your life. Shouldn’t your wedding photos be great?
- Your wedding photography studio must be insured and licensed as a legal business. Many places require insurance from the providers who work there. Camera equipment is expensive and you need to make sure your photographer is fully insured by a reputable insurance company to make sure they are protected. Many photographers are just people with cameras and maybe a fancy website. Make sure your photographer is endorsed by a legitimate and legal company.
- Your wedding photographer should have backup equipment and a backup plan. Required: cameras with two memory card slots that can be simultaneously written to in the event of a card failure, backup cameras and lenses, a data backup plan including external backups, and a disaster plan. Protect your investment. If your photographer only has one camera, it is not enough.
- Having multiple photographers with your package is much better for you than having just one. Your wedding photographer should have multiple photographers on staff in case someone gets sick or God forbid injures them. A lone photographer cannot be in enough places at once to adequately cover a wedding day. For all but the smallest weddings, your wedding photographer must have a minimum of one photographer and one assistant / second photographer. If you do it less, you will miss important moments, angles and opportunities.
- Your wedding photographer should NOT throw a photo disc at you and disappear after the wedding day. Some photographers will sell you a high resolution photo disc, they will give them to you and that’s it. The wedding photographer must provide you with value-added products and services after the wedding day, for example, photo albums or albums, photographic prints, and wall art. Other services to look for are studio viewing and selection, retouching and editing services, and gift options. A photographer taking photos for an album will give you a result that is a completely different set of photos than a photographer taking with an album in mind or to create a work of art. You’ll get a much better selection of photos from an art-focused photographer and heirloom album than one who’s going to shoot and record an album for you and call it a day. Do you really want to spend time and money designing your own album? Probably not. Make sure your photographer gives you personal use rights to the images, but you don’t need raw files or ultra-high resolution photos if your wedding photographer designs an amazing photo album for you, gives you a JPG digital negative disc, and offers Print. , illustrations and design options after the wedding. Consider what you really need and talk to your photographer about what they offer.
If you choose a wedding photographer that you get along with, whose portfolio or sample photos you enjoy, who offers the products you want, and who you feel you can trust, your wedding photography experience should be a positive one.
Photography is one of the most important decisions you will make for your wedding, and you owe it to yourself and your future legacy to invest in selecting a good wedding photographer rather than the cheapest photographer you can find.