How to Choose The Right Wedding Photographer and What To Expect
By Lee Stewart
Tip # 1: Knowledge is Key
Arm yourself with some industry terminology, and know what the differences are in the various styles of pictures. Do your research about photography ahead of time. Know the difference between a candid and a posed shot. Know what photojournalism is. Know what you like, and what you don't like, and do not be afraid to communicate that to your prospective photographers. Make this statement: "We want a photographer who knows how to control the depth of field". If he looks at you with a quizzical look that says "I have no idea what you are talking about", it might be time to consider ending your meeting early.
Tip # 2: Ask The Right Questions
I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have been asked questions that must have been taken from outdated sources.
Here are some of the right questions to ask:
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How long have you been shooting weddings?
I would not have a photographer on my wedding that has been shooting weddings for less than 5 years. Reasons for that are many, but the bottom line is that you want somebody who really knows what they are doing, has an "eye" as well as technical knowledge to make things happen.
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Have you worked at our venue before?
If the photographer is local, and your wedding venue is local, chances are he has worked at your venue beforehand. Ask to see those pictures. If he has not worked there before, ask if he is willing to go there ahead of time to scout the location.
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Our wedding photography commitment is X hours...do you have a plan that will accommodate that? Are your pricing plans negotiable?
Most photographers have 3 or 4 plans to choose from (I personally have more than that) because I have not yet found one set of packages that will accommodate everyone. I have also learned that versatility is key.
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Do you bring an assistant?
I usually bring an assistant to help with lighting etc. My assistant can also double as a second photographer for a small fee. Check with your photographer...this is a very valuable asset.
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What kind of equipment do you have?
Professional photographers should have high end SLR cameras. In Nikon, those cameras include: the D3, D2X,D2XS, and D2H. In Canon, those cameras include: EOS1D, 1DS, 5D, and 5DS. Of course there are other brands and quality levels, but these camera make up the bulk of the professional wedding photographer's lineup in today's market. Be aware: Photographers who proudly say that they shoot with the Nikon D200 or the Canon 10d or 20d are not on the professional level. Those cameras are designed to be sold to consumers, not professionals, and while they are good cameras in their own right, they do not possess the characteristics of professional grade camera bodies.
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Do you have backup equipment?
Occasionally, a camera goes down, and without a backup, the perfect wedding can be ruined. Don't leave your precious wedding memories in the hands of someone with low end, consumer grade equipment and without backup. It is a recipe for disaster. Most professionals carry at least 1 backup unit of the same quality as their main unit.
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Do you have any professional affiliations?
Most professional photographers with more than 5 years of experience will have some sort of Professional Affiliation. Those affiliations can include, but are not limited to: The Professional Photographer's Association (Nationwide, State Level, and maybe even County Level memberships are available), the BBB (Better Business Bureau), Rotary Clubs, The Wedding Photojournalist Association, and others. Membership in any of these affiliations is not mandatory, but it says something positive about the photographer.
Whenever I meet with prospective clients, I give them some warning signs to look out for. Look out for any photographer who says "We will shoot some in black and white, some in color, and some in Sepia". That's a HUGE mistake. Same thing for "We'll shoot some in a tight focus, and some with a soft focus". The main reason for this is that most professional photographers use Adobe Photoshop to edit their pictures. It is much better to shoot everything in color, and make the switch to black and white, instead of shooting in black and white. Once you shoot it with no color information (black and white) you can not convert it to color...no matter how good your Photoshop skills are. Same thing for focus. Look for a photographer who shoots everything with a nice tight focus, and then can selectively "blur" your image to get the desired effect. If the image is shot with a soft (blurry) focus, it can not be cleaned up very easily, and maybe not at all.
My best friend's fiancée ignored this advice and told their photographer (I was in the wedding so I could not do it) to shoot everything with a soft focus. Their wedding photos were worthless, and she was devastated.
Most couples head into Wedding Day knowing very little about photography, and even less about Wedding Photography. This can be a killer. Use the tools I listed above to know what to expect. The entire point of this article is to educate you to the process so that you select the right Wedding Photographer, and that you understand what that photographer will provide.
Magazine Quality Photos
Chances are, if you hire the right photographer, your images will be pretty close to magazine quality. But you do need to understand that there are many variables that can affect the quality of the image, some of which the photographer will have little to no control over.
Something you need to consider is that the images used for advertisement purposes in most major magazines are not actual wedding photos, with few exceptions. They are photos of professional models, in elegant surroundings, with a small army of people around to make the pictures perfect: on-set makeup artists, hair stylists, set decorators, lighting engineers, wardrobe people, and of course, the photographer. This is very different from one can expect on Wedding Day.
Venue
If you have your wedding in someone's back yard, you are not going to get images with a view like that of a 5 Star hotel. Stands to reason, right? Not to say that there aren't some elegant backyards around, but a backyard wedding will always photograph differently than a wedding at a resort with sweeping views, grand staircases, etc.
Time of day
If your ceremony takes place 30 minutes before sunset, your images after sunset will all have black backgrounds, no matter how good the camera and lens is.
Amount of Time Available
Most weddings allow the couple about an hour or so after the ceremony to shoot family pictures, and their individual pictures. The pictures presented in magazine advertisements often took many hours to compose, and in some case, may have extended into a couple of days. Cut your photographer some slack...allow enough time for proper composition, and take time of day into consideration.
Quality
We have two schools of thought on this subject. Some photographers believe that if they shoot a thousand images, the client will be able to select a hundred or so to put into an album. Other photographers focus on the details of every image, and that's great, except that it produces a smaller quantity, and now the client has to select a hundred or so from 300 images instead of 1000. I am not saying that either method is better than the other, but be wary of the photographer that shoots a bunch of pictures, and gives you a CD at the end of the day. Unless you are a Photoshop Guru, what good is that CD really? The images are raw, uncorrected, unsharpened, uncropped, and basically sub-standard in most respects. The differences between a finished image and a proof quality image will astound you. Wedding Photography is an art. Light sources, color temperature, and angles constantly change, and thus provide a constant challenge.
Budget
Don't ask for the impossible. When you visualize what you want your wedding album to look like, you must consider what is financially feasible. In my experience, there is so much going on during a wedding, and in so many different areas, that many images the bride and groom may want can easily get overlooked. We can only be in one place at a time. The bride is usually getting ready at the same time as the groom, usually in different locations, and if you want pictures of both, be prepared to spend a little extra money for a second photographer. The same applies with candid shots of the guests during cocktail hour, which is when the bride and groom are off getting their personal pictures done. So you have to make some decisions. Can you afford a second photographer so that you can get most of the events covered? If not, you need to choose which events during the course of the day are most important to you, and be able to communicate those ideas to your photographer ahead of time.
Summary:
In the end, you do get what you pay for. If you are extremely budget conscious (and let's face it...who isn't these days) and select the lowest bidder, you will probably end up with the smallest quantity of acceptable images. Selecting the most expensive photographer does not guarantee anything either, but if a photographer commands a higher price, and you have seen the beautiful work, and you have communicated your desires effectively, you are probably in safer hands.
Remember this basic rule of photography: The three most important things in a picture are: Composition, Composition, and Composition. Hire the photographer that understands that, and you will be well on your way to getting a beautiful wedding album that you will be proud of for the rest of your days.