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Where to start? We want to help you know How to choose the right wedding photographer. Read this great article and consider these factors!
Number One: Love their style.
Look at other people’s wedding photos, now, What did you really love? What is it about them that resonates with you so much? Was it the emotion? Do you want more candid moments captured, finely tuned posed photos, or a combination? When choosing a photographer look for a company that can capture they style that you love.
Show them other people pictures that you like and ask if you can have a photographer that shoots your style. Then ask who will be editing your photos and is that person someone that has edited with your style in the past? Not every photographer will naturally be able to mirror the style that you love. It’s very important that the photographer’s natural style is your preferred one. Using a business that has a photographer that shoots in your style is imperative! Using a business that has multiple photographers and an editing team that matches your style is always best!
COLORS! Each photographer edits a little bit differently, some companies have a dedicated editing team. Communicate with your photography company if you want the colors in your wedding photos to be bright and really pop, or do you prefer they be more subdued and subtle? Consider what their style will look like years down the road and not just today. Wedding Photography is extremely trend-driven. The problem with trends is that they so quickly become dated. Trends like these will not withstand the test of time. Be careful that the photographer you choose isn’t extremely trendy with their editing.
Look at sites like pintrest, brides.com, local wedding magazines like this one and many other sites or even google
Number Two: Make sure they are legal, insured, and professional!
This is your big day, the only way to make sure it’s as perfect as it could be is to make sure your doing business with someone reputable, responsible and professional. If you hire a photographer that is not legal and/or insured, your venue may not even allow them on site for your big day! This is something that people often forget about when choosing a wedding photographer. It’s easy to focus on portfolio and bedside manner but miss these extremely important qualities. If your venue will not allow your photographer to work there due to a lack of proper licenses and insurance, will you be allowed to have the person you’ve paid to capture your perfect day show up? Make sure you ask about this!
Hire a professional, someone who takes their responsibility as the photographer of the most important day of your life seriously, will take a weight off of your shoulders. Are they on top of communicating with you? Does your photographer have software to create a timeline and shot list? Are they there for you to address any questions or concerns you may have? Will they have you sign a contract in order to protect you as clients and themselves as the photographer? Hiring the right person goes a very long way. When considering how to choose the right wedding photographer make sure this is a question you ask.
Number Three: Ask to see full wedding galleries.
It’s great to see a photographer’s website full of pretty images from various weddings, but make sure they will allow you to see full galleries! If not that’s a HUGE red flag. Why? For one, you need to make sure your photographer is able to create beautiful images throughout the entire wedding day even when extenuating circumstances occur. Weddings rarely go exactly according to plan and a great photographer has to be able to “role with the punches” to capture the perfect moments.
When some photographers start their businesses, they will take part in styled photo shoots. Not that there’s anything wrong with these shoots, as they are a great tool for photographers. However, as a client, you want to make sure that the photos you are seeing are not all from these slowly-paced styled shoots. If the photographer you’re interested in has a lot of beautiful images but no real-life wedding experience, they’re going to have trouble navigating your big day. Experience is imperative in how to choose the right wedding photographer. There are no second opportunities to capture these moments!
Number Four: What’s the Backup Plan?
Electronic equipment fails, batteries die, and people get sick. Imagine for a moment a one of these scenarios: The wedding day has come, your photographer has a car accident on the way to your wedding, who’s the backup? OR makeup, first look and pre ceremony shot are completed, ceremony starts and your photographer drops his camera, is there a backup? Is it the same quality camera? How about this; Your photographer was so excited about your photos, and you and your spouse can’t wait to see them! Some time before you are supposed to receive all of your edited photos, your phone rings- it’s your photographer. They explain that their memory card corrupted, and they were unable to recover the photos. Those wedding photos that you were counting on as the way to look back on the most important day of your life are gone.
Unfortunately this is a horrific reality, problems happen BUT the right plans and equipment in place can ensure this is never your reality. A true professional takes every single measure to ensure that you never experience something like this. Professional cameras have the ability to record images to two memory cards at once, so there’s always a backup of the photos should anything happen to one of the cards. And once the wedding is over, the photos should be put on an external hard drive or cloud-based interface ASAP. The diligence with which a photographer cares for their files after the wedding day is documented is another sign you are dealing with a professional who is just as invested in your photos as you are. Losing these photographs is not a gamble you want to take.
Number Five: Missing that memorable shot?
Everyone is here, all of the pieces are in place. Wait! Where is my photographer? I wanted him here to capture these moments before they are gone! There are no “do overs” for your wedding day. This is a once in lifetime, impossible to recreate day so how does your photographer know where to be and when to be there? One of the most important, but rarely done things that are a photographers responsibility is to make a photo timeline and shot checklist. This ensures that you have told the photographer what shots you want taken, where to take them and who to capture, without this you can be left wishing you could redo a picture with the sad reality that it is not possible!
A Lot of photographers use your planners timeline to figure out for themselves where to get the best shots, using their own opinions of what moments you want to capture, yet a highly trained professional photographer understands this day is about you two and not their own opinions. Your planner will make a great timeline that is a good starting off point for the photographer but no one knows what shots you want captured like you do, look at others full galleries see what thing you like that the photographer captured then have them, your planner or even you put together a list of all the shots you want to ensure are taken. Ensure you list when and where these moments will take place!
After you’ve considered these factors call some photographer, ask them all of the right questions
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