Tips for Picking a Wedding Photographer
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Yes, we have a wedding date set - and it’s happening in a couple of weeks. Ponzi has a countdown clock on her desktop, and it tells me that we’re almost a month away from the day. So much to do, so little time! We have the flowers, the food, the venue… the photographer! Someone’s gotta take pictures of our hallowed event. We didn’t just flip open the phone book and pick the first name listed, though. I went by a small set of guidelines to narrow the field:
- Avoid Extreme Discounts - If there’s one part of your wedding that you shouldn’t cheap out on, it’s the photography. Don’t skimp on or sacrifice this element, as your wedding photos will undoubtedly last longer than the sandwiches you serve. Should you have a relative or close friend who is a professional wedding photographer, you could likely book ‘em at a lower rate. But don’t just grab uncle Willy at the last minute. Grabbing uncle Willy is a bad idea to begin with, actually.
- Get the Rights - First thing you should ask any photographer is if you will be able to post the photos online. And if you can’t, then think about using another photographer on your list. I’m sure some wedding photographers would disagree with this assertion, but I’m the kind of guy who can’t wait to share that day’s experience with everybody - and proper credit will be given to the lens. It’s your life, and you’re spending the money, and there are plenty of photographers who would die for the added exposure. No pun intended.
- Seek a Slick Site - Pictures don’t just speak a thousand words, they’ll likely cost you more than a thousand dollars. If someone is still hosting his or her wedding photography site on Geocities.com, run far and fast. I’m not saying that their site should be award-winning or anything, but it should certainly reflect their skills in this arena. Background music is par for the course, sadly.
- Meet in Meatspace - Even the most elaborate Web sites will never give you all the information you need. If you don’t meet the photographer face-to-face long before the wedding day, how can do you know that your personalities won’t clash? Even if the shutterbug doesn’t laugh at all your stupid jokes, at least you’ll be able to judge their general demeanor. And demeanor they are, demore you need to keep looking.
- Subjective Style - Let’s say you find the world’s best wedding photographer. Art is subjective! The “best” in your eyes may not be the “best” to everybody else. Find someone who is going to be able to capture moments as you would capture them. Take your time, review portfolios, get recommendations, have discussions, talk about your likes, discuss your dislikes - and for goodness sake, don’t settle for second best.
I’m not a wedding expert. Then again, who is? I’m getting married and I don’t want to look back on the photo album 20 years from now and wonder… “Whose thumb is covering up my head, there?” If you have any other tips to share, by all means - do.
[tags]wedding, wedding photographer, wedding day[/tags]
7 Comments
CQ
November 7th, 2006
at 1:00am
Hey Chris,
you are absolutely right about the importance of choice regarding the right photographer, but one thing you should not forget: the fun of the moments, when there is no photographer present. How to capture it?
Here is how my sister did it at her wedding:
Buy one way cameras. You know the…analog ones. I know you prefer digital lifestyle, but do uncle Willy and aunt Wilma have a digicam? A cam at all? Best thing is to buy at least two dozen of those cheap cams. Place them on the tables for the party afterwards and let the fun begin.
95% of the shots might be (considering rising alcohol levels) not worth mentioning. But hey, it’s fun and adds a personal view…
Jeff
November 7th, 2006
at 7:10am
The only thing that I can add is to have a trusted friend who is a camera freak, back up the pro. I’ve seen several instances where the pro had an unavoidable failure of some kind, like black stripes down the center of some pictures from a hair or small piece if something, and the pro was able to use several of the backup pictures for the wedding album. What makes matters worse was that in one instance, I was the one paying for the photos as a wedding present and was also the backup photog.
Morgan Schweers
November 7th, 2006
at 4:09pm
Greetings,
I’m terribly curious who you ended up with as a list. I got married earlier this year in downtown Seattle, and we ended up with a short list of 4, which got shorter when one was purely non-digital and would own the rights, and another turned out to be a ‘budget’ choice. It ended up with Eric Sartoris (Northern Lights) and Cory Parris, and chose Eric Sartoris. It worked out wonderfully, and we have a DVD of his pictures.
As for the idea of handing out cheap/one-use cameras for the guests, it’s a great idea, but *check with your photographer* first. I guarantee that the guests will be lining up behind the photographer to take pictures over his shoulder, as he’s framing great shots. Find a photographer who’s dealt with that, and is comfortable with it.
Another thing that I don’t think you touched on enough is, make SURE that your ‘personal style’ meshes best with the photographer. That was the only difference betwen Cory Parris and Eric Sartoris, was that we got along just a little better with Eric.
I can’t reiterate the financial part enough, also. Get just a little better than you can comfortably afford. Of course that’s my policy on everything, so…
Anyhow, I also wanted to leave a, ‘Congrats!’ here too…
It’s a wonderful experience, revel in it!
– Morgan Schweers, CyberFOX!
Chuck
November 7th, 2006
at 9:18pm
Chris,
As a (budget) wedding photographer, I agree with you 100% regarding the rights and the necessity of physically meeting your photographer. I’ve long been annoyed by the idea that my sister, who got married in 1985, had to pay $200 to replace the pictures of her wedding that had faded from sitting in our parents’ sunny, tobacco-smoke-filled living room. It’s your wedding, and they should be your pictures, not the photographers.
THere is a flip-side to this, though - when choosing a photographer, be sure to inquire as to whether any of your pictures will appear on the photographer’s web site or in other martketing material. Most people don’t mind this, but some are very sensitive about it.
As for the placing cameras on the tables: this was done at one of the weddings I photographed this summer - twenty cameras, and at the end of the night, two were missing, never to be seen again (at least as of 3 weeks after the wedding) and only 2 of the others had been used at all. For myself, I don’t have a problem with others standing behind me or next to me taking pictures. I have learned, though, for certain shots, that I can ask people not to take pictures at a particular moment to prevent them from interfering with the “official” shots. So far, I’ve never had anyone complain about that.
Chuck
Oliviero
November 8th, 2006
at 2:12am
Hi Chris,
I married four years ago, and some months before the event my wife and I went to a fair, here where we live, to browse various dress makers, flower shops, catering firms and, of course, photographers.
We wandered along and saw many stands of photographers: in the end we chose one, and in the following days we visited his shop here in Milan (Italy). We chose him, well, because the photos he showed, both at the fair and in the shops, were those we liked the most: they were kinda “easy”, people where pictured while laughing, joking and so on; there was not some kind of pose, it was all very spontaneous, and that was what we wanted.
So, the moral of the story is: visit 3 or 4 shops, and choose that with the photos you like most (if all the other criteria are met). After that, you can leave him freedom to take some 10% of photos in the way he likes, but you will be sure that for the 90% part they will like YOU want.
bLaugh » Archive » Wedded Blisters
November 9th, 2006
at 2:44pm
[...] Source: The Pirillo Wedding Domain: WeddedBlisters.com [...]
Ellen
December 7th, 2006
at 12:16pm
I am looking at this photographer:
http://www.dgphotostudio.com
What do you guys think?