How To Search For A Wedding Photographer.

If you need to search for a wedding photographer in your local location there are three main search strategies that I would consider using:

Printed Directories. The old favourite but still relevant even in this online revolution is to browse through the list of photographers in your local directory be it the Yellow Pages or your local equivalent. The advantages of using this method are surely its convenience and you can guarantee the photographer is fairly local to your area. The major disadvantages are twofold. Firstly you won't get to see any examples of their work just from looking at an advert in a book; therefore you will not be able to get a feel for their particular style. And secondly you have no idea as to their professional quality, reliability and indeed ability. Of course you might choose to call a small selection and ask them to show you their portfolio but any photographer worth their salt will have a website that you can easily type into your internet browser and check them out without wasting too much time. Another overlooked disadvantage is that some of the best wedding photographers in your area may simply choose not to advertise in a printed directory, you might overlook a real winner!

Google, Yahoo, MSN, ASk, Bing etc. Yeah the mighty search engine comes up trumps again. Any quick search for "wedding photographer yourlocation" will almost certainly result in a great long list of potential photographers in your area. If not, try broadening your search terms to include local cities or larger towns as some more rural areas may simply not have a suitable glut of local photographers. Any serious photographer these days will have a decent web site which will prove invaluable in checking our their portfolio, client list and possibly a few past customer testimonials. Do go beyond page one of the search results to make sure you're not missing an absolute gem. Also be aware that the "sponsored listings' that often appear above and to the left of the 'organic' results are paid for listings and just because the photographer spends a large proportion of their advertising budget on them, doesn't necessarily make them any better than any of the photographers further down the page. Using search engines has the great advantage of allowing you to quickly and easily gain access to a wide and varied mix of local photographers, their portfolios, prices and maybe a few real life testimonials.

The Personal Recommendation. Maybe the ultimate solution to finding a good reliable photographer is through word of mouth. Talk to any one you know who has recently got married and ask them their honest opinion. Would they recommend their photographer and would they use them again? Bare in mind though that wedding photography comes in many shapes and sizes so the beautiful traditional pictures that Auntie had shot may not be in a style that you would ideally like for your big day. Budgets for wedding photography vary widely too, your friend may have had the funds to pay for that top flight photographer but your budget may be considerably tighter, so be realistic. Again, don't forget to check out the recommended photographers web site to be sure that they meet your exacting requirements and also do be aware that there may be an even better photographer shooting locally in style that you adore but you friend simply simply never discovered them.

All three of these search options have both there merits and there downfalls, therefore I would strongly recommend that you employ a combination of all three. Don't do as so many people do and just book the first photographer you find, keep your eyes and your choices open. Your wedding day is one of the most important and certainly most expensive events in your life and a great photographer will help capture this memory forever so don't rush such an important decision.

by: Andy Nickerson

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