Weddings Part II: Choosing Your Photographer

Welcome to the second part in our series on photography and your wedding. Today we will explore some suggested criteria you can use to choose your wedding photographer.

Let’s begin by agreeing on one simple truth; for most couples, after the wedding is over, you will only have 4 things left to take with you from your big day. Your wedding gown, your wedding rings, your wedding photographs and your credit card bills. You had better make sure that you like the first three and that you put an appropriate amount of thought into choosing all three.

Many people get so caught up in the fun of selecting the wedding items that their family and guests will see, the cake, the gown, the decorations, that they almost choose a photographer as an after thought.

Why is choosing your wedding photographer so important? That person, or team, will potentially have the greatest impact on how you remember the most important day of your life. Consider that once the cake has been eaten, the DJ has packed up and the flowers are gone all you will have left are your memories, which may very well be just a blur of moving from table to table, and your photographs. After your spouse, this may be the most important person you choose to make a part of your wedding day.

Style & Quality

The first thing that you want to consider is the style and quality of the photographer’s work. Be sure to look carefully at all the images displayed on the photographers website or blog. Are you looking for someone who does more traditional posed wedding photography, someone who uses more of a photo-journalistic style or a combination of the two? Make sure their shooting style matches with what you envision your photographs will look like. Also look closely at their work with an eye toward these three questions:

1. Is it well lit?
2. Is it in focus or focused on an appropriate element within the photo?
3. Is the subject well framed within the photo?

Price

This is the point where you want to look at price and which of the photographers you have on your short list fit into your budget. I recommend looking at quality and style first because if you truly want beautiful wedding photos that should be your primary consideration. When evaluating price, find out everything you get for the price points each photographer uses. Be sure to ask the following questions at a minimum:

• Are you limited in the number of hours?
• If so, what is the cost for additional time?
• Are you limited in the number of locations the photographer will go to on your wedding day?
• Does the photographer use an assistant or a 2nd shooter?
• What is the additional charge for these folks?
• Does the package price get you any type of credit towards your wedding album or other products / prints?
• Is online proofing available?
• If not, how will out of town family and guests see the photos?

Experience

Now its time to look at the photographer’s experience. Keep in mind, like any other occupation or career, there are people with a vast amount of experience that you will not like as much as someone with much less experience, so use this as one check point on your list. Talent doesn’t necessarily come with experience, but what does is the ability to know how to shoot a wedding; where to be at the right time; how to get into position for the shot without being a nuisance to your guests; maintaining a professional demeanor on what can be a very stressful day; the ability to keep you and the wedding party smiling when you feel like your cheeks will crack and fall off. All of this comes from two things – the photographer’s experience and personality.

This isn’t to say that you should never consider or contract a less experienced photographer. After all, there wouldn’t be experienced photographers if no one gave them a chance when they were new. Again, use experience as one of your check points and weigh it with all the other criteria to make your choice.

Interview

Next you will need to interview your prospective photographers either on the phone or in person; I prefer to meet in person. This is your opportunity to get to know the photographer, after all, this person and their team will be spending several hours with you on the most important day of your life. Your photographer is one of the most important and conflicted choices you will make. The person you choose must be someone you feel a connection with and who you feel listens to what you want and also understands you, but who can also be unobtrusive and seem to almost not be there. Get to know and LOVE your photographer…whoever you choose. I would NEVER contract a wedding photographer without speaking with them more than once and getting a feel for the person and how they interact with people.

Here are some sample questions you should ask, at a minimum, during your interview:

• Will they be your photographer on the wedding day?
• What is their back-up plan in case or illness or an emergency?
• How many photographs do they estimate they will take?
• Can you put together a list of “Must Have” photos?
• What are their policies on the deposit, paying the balance and refunds?
• How long after the wedding will you receive proofs or your online gallery?
• How long after choosing your images will you will receive your wedding album?
• Do they charge extra for touch-ups / editing and how much?
• What format do they shoot the images in? If it’s digital, make sure they are shooting in RAW format.
• What lighting situations are they familiar with?
• How intrusive will their equipment be?
• How many weddings do they shoot on one weekend?
• Can you buy the negatives or a high resolution CD/DVD of your wedding photos? What is the cost?
• Will they make site visits to the ceremony & reception location before the wedding date? Is that included in your price?

A word about site visits because this is a pet peeve of mine. In my opinion, your photographer MUST do at least one site visit to each location before the wedding day, preferably with you. This is an invaluable tool for both of you. If your ceremony or reception will be outdoors, they should also do the site visit at the same time of day as the wedding and not 6 months in advance. This is to see the lighting they will be working with outdoors and how the buildings, trees, etc impact that lighting. The lighting at your ceremony site in December will look much different on your wedding day in May. The photographer also needs to meet the people running each location to be sure of their policies and restrictions. This is especially important if your ceremony is in a church. Many churches do not allow flash photography during the ceremony and restrict where the photographer can go within the building. They need to know these things ahead of time. It also helps ease the mind of the person performing the ceremony if you assure them you will respect their restrictions and their church. The last thing about site visits is that it gives the photographer the opportunity to scout locations at the site for photos either before the wedding, after the ceremony or during the reception. In my opinion site visits are imperative and should always be done at least once. I don’t mind flying by the seat of my pants when the situation calls for it, but why do it if I don’t have to?

Make Your Choice and Get It In Writing

It’s time to evaluate all the information you have accumulated and make your choice. Once you choose…sleep on it for the night and then call and ask the photographer to pencil you in their calendar until you can meet again to complete the contract and pay your deposit. Make sure you get all the details in writing; dates, times, locations, phone numbers, a description of what the photographer is doing for the fee you are paying, how many hours, all of it. The contract should be as detailed as you can make it so there are no misunderstandings.

Now it’s time to relax, finish your wedding planning and get ready to read Part III of our series with tips on how you and your wedding party can look your very best for your photos.

Please feel free to leave any comments you might have.