Your wedding photographer - How to choose what you want
Your wedding photographer - How to choose what you want
When it comes to weddings, we all know they are expensive, there are so many costs involved (especially these days) that certain areas are often neglected in order to be able to spend a few more pounds on the food, or dress. One of these areas is with the photography; often it is seen as a luxury to spend much on this element or is left to the last minute. In my opinion this is a BIG mistake! When the hangovers have left and the confetti has been swept away, the wedding photography will be all that is left to help aide your memories, this important aspect is often overlooked.
There are a number of important factors to consider when choosing YOUR wedding photographer:
What services do they offer?
Have you seen their portfolio?
Are they supplying references?
Where are they located?
Services:
Firstly I believe it is important to decide what you want from your photographer, Now this is a complex aspect as there are so many options, firstly you need to know what you will get on the day from the photographers you hire. Are you after them just for the service or do you want them all day, to get photographs of the bride or groom (or whichever combination of those you have) getting ready, through the service all the way up until late in the reception.
How many photographers will be at the actual event? Some photographers will have an assistant with them to help capture moments that the official photographer may miss.
What will you get at the end of the day? Will you be getting all the images on CD, after post processing work has been done, for you to do as you please, or will the photographer be helping you select a specified number for inclusion in an album (or more often these days a wedding book), while other extra images will need to b purchased at an added expense?
Portfolio & References:
So you know what you want and start looking for a photographer who offers all that you require, what next, well it is of vital importance that you do two things, check the portfolio of work the photographer has in their collection, and my advice here is to look for images with a number of different brides and grooms, it is all too easy for photographers to have gathered their portfolio from wedding workshops only (these are where they work with models on the shots). A range of people will help to show they have more experience.
Secondly, if they are any good they will be more than happy if you ask them about references. Speaking to actual brides/grooms who have used them will help assess not only the quality of the photography but also how they were as attendants at your wedding. The wedding photographer has to be in many cases unassuming while in others demanding the attention of large groups (if formal style photos are requested). Many wedding photographers get a large portion of their work through word of mouth (especially if they are good!).
Another important aspect in choosing your photographer while you are looking at the portfolio of work the photographer does is to see if the style is something you are keen on. For many years formal staged photos were the in thing, these days a reportage style is more popular, again your choice here will dictate who you look to hire.
Location:
While many people will disagree with me here, I feel it is important to hire a photographer who is in a similar location to you (obviously if the wedding is in a different location this can add to the cost), this, for me, is because it makes meeting them prior to the wedding and post wedding much, much easier. It also means that any problems you have after the event can be handled in person, with ease.
Cost:
So you have decided on the style you want and what services you want, the next thing many people will now do is look to price as a means of choosing the photographer for their upcoming nuptials, and this is where the biggest mistakes are often made. These days, since the advent of digital photography, large numbers of people see photography as a way of making a fast buck, and there are a lot of people who lay claim to being "professional" wedding photographers, yet do not possess the skills or experience to be able to complete the job well (a simple search online will show you a number of horror stories of people who thought cheap was OK). Now I am not saying everyone who offers a low price is trying to rip you off, it is a simple word of warning, check their portfolio thoroughly, and make sure they can deliver. Often those charging a premium do so because they have the ability and reputation to do so.
So now you have read my words, it's important that I tell you I have no affiliations with wedding photographers and am not a pro photographer myself, but have garnered thesetidbits of wisdom while running a web resource for photography, I've visited thousands of photographers websites (both bad and good) and have found that you need to pick someone who suits your taste over all else.
http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/your-wedding-photographer-how-to-choose-what-you-want-4498805.html
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