What To Look For In a Photographer
April 17, 2007 by Lesley-Ann Graham
Filed under Wedding Photos
A wedding being one of the most important events in our lives, it is but natural to want to capture every moment on film. Yet on the day itself, you will not have the time to worry about who is taking the pictures or whether they are taking the right shots. That is why looking for the perfect photographer for your wedding day is an important thing. Here are some things you should look out for when choosing photographers.
Check the photographer’s work. Of course this goes without saying. When you ask to see his or her work, see if you can actually take a look at complete wedding albums. That way, you will have a good idea of how yours will look like. One thing to consider would be the photographer’s style. Ask yourself if it suits you and your partner. You probably have ideas of what styles you want for your pictures already. Ask the photographer if he will be able to conform to your style if needed. Also check the coloring and lighting, even the backdrops that he or she uses. One more important thing is to make sure that if you like the work, the same photographer will be the one to attend to your wedding. This is especially significant when you deal with a studio which has several photographers.
Having like a photographer’s work, you should also meet the person. It is vital that you and the photographer can work together in harmony. That is, your personalities should somehow jive. The last thing that you would want on your wedding day is an uptight and demanding photographer who would snap at everyone. Despite his talent, you need none of that attitude on your wedding day.
More than his work and personality, also check his experience. How many weddings has he covered? For how long has he practiced photography? Does he have enough experience to be able to anticipate things that might happen during the wedding?
Most importantly, weigh the price you have to pay for the value that you will be getting. Check if everything fits into your wedding budget. The photographer’s work may be pretty awesome but if the price is way beyond what you have planned on, do not be suckered into making a deal. Remember that photos are not the only thing that you have to spend on. Find a good compromise wherein you will be happy and meet your budget as well.
Personality is very important, but the best way to judge personality on the job is to see it yourself or at least listen to clients or other vendors who have worked with that photographer.
The photographers I refer are ones who I have worked with on multiple occasions and who consistently satisfy my clients. But like your article states, personality is an extremely important part of customer satisfaction.
I’m convinced that clients determine how much they’ll like their photos the DAY OF the wedding. I have seen mediocre photographers who had a great day with the client get rave reviews over pictures that are just OK. On the other hand, I’ve seen excellent photographers end up with a high-maintenance, picky bride who just is never satisfied because on the day of the wedding, there was a problem.
Dave Williams
DVideography
Philadelphia Wedding Videographer
http://DVideography.com
Oh yes I agree 110%
Think about it you’ll be with this person all day on the biggest day of your life! You’ll love having a photographer that is willing to go the extra mile for you. I was just married and my photographer’s were husband and wife and they went out of their way to be there for everything. They actually ended up coordinating my wedding b/c they were so high tech with the ear pieces and stuff. Now they are personally our friends. They did not charge us for any travel and I’d recomend them to everyone. If anyone is interested in checking them out you can go to http://www.modernexposurephoto.com and if I am not allowed to do that just let me know. I know some blogs are sketchy about advertising but I can personally say that they made my wedding day flawless.
It is so important to get to know your photographer and that you feel comfortable. I had a wedding slide show done for our reception and I just loved the company I used. I really connected with the people there and it really make a huge difference in the outcome of my DVD as well as my stress levels. The company is used was http://www.allthroughtheyears.com. All Through the Years really understood me and what I wanted. If you don’t have that relationship with your photographer, etc. then it is time to switch!
other helpful tips on choosing a photographer for more specialised weddings can be found here
I just would like to add that being an artistic person myself, i often trust my own judgments. I think photographer’s style and personality has to match his or her client’s. My sister for example hired a guy who totally understood her spontaneous nature (his name is Andre http://www.riskinphoto.com), whereas my husband and I struggled with our way-too-formal wedding photographer.
thanks,
Theresa
You have to find someone who you can be comfortable with and admire their photography skills. The questions you must ask if are you confident in your photographer that he will get the job done without interrupting the wedding itself? You can see a sample of some cool wedding photos at San Diego Wedding Photography http://www.prodigy-studios.com and do a search in Wedding Vendors Directory. Good luck!
When choosing a wedding photographer, I think two things are important. One is that you get along great with the photographer. There’s a lot of photographers with bad personalities and there’s also a lot of chemsitry issues between different types of personalities. You want to make sure on your wedding day, the chances of some kind of conflict or argument with your photographer are slim to none. The other is that you like the photographer’s style. Wedding photographers are artists like any other, and either you like their style or you don’t. These two things should take importance over price! For more info about Sanibel Wedding Photography, visit my website!
I just got married in Hawaii and was very, very happy with my wedding photographers. They were also a husband-wife team and they went waaaaay above and beyond the call of duty - helped us find a perfect location, recommended reputable local vendors, and patiently answered all our questions via email and phone (we were planning our wedding from our home in California - without a wedding coordinator - saved a bundle). If anyone is getting married in Hawaii, may I recommend AinaKai Photography . Their prices are very reasonable - we shopped around a lot - and they took really beautiful photographs. Oh, and getting married in Hawaii was absolutely AWESOME!!! Aloooha
I agree about the budget, that is very important when choosing a photographer. Most importantly the photographer must meet your needs, but must also fit your budget. What you don’t want is to pick a really cheap photographer with unbelievable prices. These really cheap prices are usually set by amateurs, and inexperience new comers to the business who are trying to make a name for them self and gaining experience practicing on your wedding day with your money.
Do your research check out their work, and make sure its there images and not stock or ripped from the web. A good photographer may never price his/her work cheap but instead he/she may price reasonably even having promos, and coupon deals to compete with the market in there area.
I do agree with the post - First recommendation, If you have seen this particular photographer’s work you like : Call one of his past bride and ask a few questions.
Study his website and photos cautiously. After a good 15 mn of having gone through this work, you might get a real sense of his photography and his particular style.
Every wedding photographer has a blog these days. Look at the blog and get a more in depth view of who he is ! The blog usually convey the photographer’s personality pretty well. And a Good wedding photographer must have experience to be able to come up with ” the Good “- You are not looking at just 5 to 10 great images but some 300 that convey the beauty of the day and that takes a real professional guy!
Olivier Lalin, New York, Paris France wedding photographer
Good post, but I’m not sure if I agree with: “Ask the photographer if he will be able to conform to your style if needed.”. Most photographers will smile and nod to make the couple feel comfortable, but really they aren’t going to vary their style much, if at all. It’s like asking a baseball pitcher to go from right-handed to left.