How to Chose a Wedding Photographer

How To Choose Your Wedding Photographer

Shopping for a wedding photographer is difficult because there are so many different ones out there and you can’t see the pictures you are buying until after your event is over. The decision will be based on faith that the photographer you chose will be able to deliver what you want. However price becomes the determining factor for most which doesn’t make much sense considering there are no second chances. After everything is said and done your wedding photographs will be all that’s left to tell your story.

So where do you begin? With so many factors to look at when choosing a wedding photographer it makes it hard to know where to start. I will try to give you some pointers to help elevate some of the stress of where to begin when looking for your photographer.

A great place to start is with referrals! Ask your friends and family who they have used in the past and find out what they did or did not like about them. You can also do a Google search to find photographers in your area or checkout online bridal guides. Now with a list of photographers at your fingertips, go online and review their portfolios. A good photographer will show plenty of their recent work that will include photographs from throughout an event within their website, Face book, and or blogs. At this point the most important factor is to see if the photographers work is appealing to you based on style.

Let’s stop there and talk about style for just a minute. As you are shopping for a photographer it is important not to get caught up in their website design. Don’t base your opinion upon the design of the site but rather concentrate on the style of the images he/she has taken. There are a lot of different styles of photography out there and this should be the first step in narrowing out the long list of photographers you may be looking at. What do I mean by style? Photographers may shoot traditional or as most people know it as posed candid where it looks like the people don’t know the photo is being taken, glamour or magazine style, or a combination of these.

You have now narrowed your list to consist of the photographers whose style appeals to you. It’s time to pick up the phone or send an email to first ask if they have your date available. If they do ask what level of service and packages they offer.

Let’s talk about what I mean by level of service. You will already have some idea in your mind about what parts of your event are important to you to be captured so your next step is to find out if these potential photographers offer what you are looking for. Are you looking for someone to begin and end the day with you, someone for just the ceremony and the formal photos, or something in between? Once you know what you want find which of these potential photographers offer the service you are looking for. Now that you have eliminated the photographers who don’t offer the coverage you need we will move on to packages. This is where it gets crazy! Again you should already have an idea of what you want at the end of it all. Packages range from photographer to photographer. Some include a disk with all your images on it and a personal copyright release. Some give you a certain amount of images they take on disk, while others give a certain amount of physical proofs. Some packages include albums and prints while others allow you to create your own package based off an a la carte system. Good questions to ask here are: how many images will I see or get? Is there a minimum or maximum of images the photographer will take and give you? Another question if you get a disk with your package would be about processing. Will the images you receive be edited, and how much edit work will be done. Minor retouching for color balance, light, and slight blemish work, or will all the photos have a glamour look and lots of edit work done. Also will you receive color, black and white, and or special effect images? Does the photographer have an album design that you like?

Now you have a much smaller list of photographers who offer the style of images you like, the coverage time you need, and the package that you desire. Now it’s time to setup a consultation with those photographers so you can view actual prints and discuss details. Remember it is always a good idea to see actual prints as online viewing can be deceiving.
Consultations are a big determining factor to find out if a particular photographer is right for your wedding. Client relationship is huge! I really can’t stress this enough! First and foremost if you are uncomfortable at the consultation you won’t feel comfortable with him/her on your wedding day and this will reflect in your photos. If you feel a connection with the photographer, you are at ease around him/her and you can smile and laugh chances are you will be at ease around them on your wedding day and this will lead to more relaxed looking images. This person is an integral part of the MOST IMPORTANT day of your life so be sure you feel good about it and that you feel comfortable around them.

Other points to consider, does this photographer pay attention to detail. Do they listen to what your needs are and will they capture the little things on your day. All the details you put so much work into, will they capture all that? Do they have an inspirational touch and utmost devotion to you and your event? Do they take each wedding with personal conviction? Basically is this just their job like any other job you go to where you just go through the motions or are they as excited about your event as you are. Are they looking for information about your event and logging ideas for unique photos for you? What is the photographer’s philosophy on photographing a wedding? Do they capture the moments as they happen, do they force a moment to happen, are they in the background waiting for the shots or are they in the front row noticed by all. This is something to consider as well.
At this point we have gained a lot of knowledge about this particular photographer and have decided if their personality and shooting style fits our event. Here are a few more questions to consider before jumping into a decision.

How many years have they been in business?

Do they work alone or do they bring an assistant, second shooter, and how many meals will be required?

Is there a travel fee involved for your event?

Will they leave the event at the agreed upon time or will they consult you first to make sure that they have captured everything you wanted. If you want them to stay longer is that an option and if so what would the fee be?

Who will shoot your wedding? Is it the person you are speaking with at the consultation or will someone else show up at your event?

What is the payment policy? When is the final payment due? Is the deposit applied to the contracted price or is the deposit separate of the contracted price.

Do they carry backup equipment? If so where will it be and how accessible will it be in the event something should malfunction during a key moment.

What is their dress code? Will they be dressed to fit into your event?

So now you have found a photographer whose style you like, who offers the coverage time you need, who offers the package you want, and has satisfied all these other criteria. But we never discussed pricing.

Just some food for thought since this is the most likely factor in determining who photographs your wedding even though it shouldn’t be. Let’s talk price versus quality. While I did a survey a few years back everyone checked that they felt a more expensive photographer would give them better photos but yet they checked the box that said they were likely to not spend that much. So I am here to tell you a couple facts. Price does not always determine quality. Yes, many photographers out there who are just starting out are going to charge less because they are just getting their foot in the door while more experienced photographers are going to charge more because they have more knowledge or have assistants and second shooters they have to pay as well resulting in images you can’t obtain without all that. However there are a lot of experienced photographers who believe that you should be able to afford your wedding day and while they hold the experience they may charge less. This is the most important day of your life and if you have found a photographer that has met all your requirements then price really shouldn’t play into this. You can pay less for someone who doesn’t meet all your requirements and you may regret it for years to come. You may pay more than you intended but you will cherish every single one of those photos because you made a decision that you felt was right for your day.

Now I am not one to tell you that you need to make your decision quick because the day may become reserved by another couple but in this line of business it is good to sign a contract and put your deposit down as soon as you are sure otherwise you might lose the photographer you worked so hard to find. I feel that impulsive decisions are never good so if you aren’t 100% sure think on it and sign when you are ready. Don’t ever feel pushed or rushed into signing something, this is about you and your day. You should feel 100% confident about this decision before you commit.
Planning your wedding can be fun but it can be stressful at times too. I hope that I have been able to give you some key points to look at while you are shopping for your wedding photographer and I hope that this information will help to elevate the stress of knowing where to begin and what factor should determine who you choose. I wish you the best in finding the photographer who is right for you!