All about wedding

Your professional wedding photographer is a key member of your wedding team. You have put large quantities of time and money into choosing a dress, picking a cake, designing the menu and writing the vows and your professional wedding photographer is the one who will document all the small details for all time.

Therefore, it is important to screen prospective wedding photographers very carefully to find the one that is best for you.

You may well never have hired a professional photographer before. Therefore, it can be difficult to know what questions to ask. Yet it is crucial that you conduct a careful interview process in order to find the best professional wedding photographer for your needs.

Here is a short list of important questions that apply to all circumstances. You may have additional questions based on your individual needs.

1. Will you be the actual photographer for my wedding?
It would make sense that the person you are interviewing is the professional wedding photographer. However, some companies employ a sales staff that is good at closing deals.

A scrupulous salesperson will let you know what his or her role is in the company. Unfortunately, not every wedding photography studio is reputable. The salesperson might not let it slip that he or she is not actually a photographer unless you ask.

Alternatively, the person with whom you speak may be the company owner. He or she may employ a staff of trusted photographers in whom he or she has complete confidence. Nevertheless, if the person you interview will not be your actual photographer, you may want to speak to that person as well.

2. Do you have any samples of your work?
Any professional wedding photographer who has experience knows how important it is to have a portfolio of his or her best work.

Ask to see samples, not only of the senior photographer’s work, but the work of all the other photographers who might be working for that particular wedding studio that may be involved in your day.

3. What is your experience with my preferred style of photography?
Engaged couples today have more choices than ever before. Digital wedding photography is increasingly common and photojournalistic wedding photography has become a hot new trend.

If you want something other than traditional posed photography on film, make sure that you choose a professional wedding photographer who is experienced in the style that you desire.

4. What possible additional fees might I incur?
Travel fees, hourly fees if your wedding runs long, setup fees and fees for additional rolls of film are all fairly common but not necessarily standard.

While price should not be your only consideration, try to find a photographer flexible and willing to work with you should unexpected circumstances arise. Also, inquire about charges for converting photos to black and white or sepia tones, digitizing film photos and printing out digital photos.

Some wedding photography packages cover some or all of these fees, so inquire about package rates.

5. May I have a list of references from previous wedding clients?
No matter how good a photographer’s pictures are, it is also important that you click with his or her personality. The interview will give you a basic idea of personality, but remember that a wedding is stressful for everyone involved.

Speak with former clients to learn how the photographer behaves under the real life pressure of the wedding.

A wedding day is an event each couple hopes to cherish for the rest of their lives. It is the job of the professional wedding photographer to capture the highlights of the day on film, and there are no second chances if the shots aren’t perfect.

Don’t rush trying to find a wedding photography studio to do your photos. Take your time to find the right one.

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This is an article by a wedding photographer about wedding photographers. I have tried to keep my advice unbiased.

1. What are they like as people?

You need to get along with your wedding photographer – as you are spending most of your wedding day with them and a negative relationship will show in your photographs. If you gel with a photographer it’s a great starting point. If they put you on edge for any reason run a mile.

2. Look at their photos with a critical eye

It may sound obvious, but I’ve seen plenty of photographers taking big bookings without ever showing a single photograph – marketing on price alone. Don’t be surprised if you have booked a photographer without an extensive portfolio if they let you down. There are plenty of good photographers just starting out who can be had for a bargain. There are also plenty who don’t know their way around their own anatomy, let alone that of a camera.

Is there a a good range of photographs? A good photographer will be able to get photos in even the most difficult of situations – commonly a darkly lit church or a difficult reception venue. If the photos are all outside on a sunny day it could mean that the photographer struggles with indoor shots. Ask to see a whole wedding to get an idea of where the photographers weaknesses are (being a photojournalistic photographer mine are group shots)

Do the photos all look posed? Some photographers specialise in catching the action as it happens – but there are still a great many who work in the traditional way and pose the key events; cutting of the cake, first kiss. You will be able to tell.

3. Are they above board?

A professional wedding photographer will get you to sign a contract to protect both themselves and you. It is important to read the contract and raise any issues you have with it. You should not feel pressured into signing.

They will also be above board with the tax man – sadly there are still people in the industry who do not declare their earnings and these have also been known to disappear before the wedding – if a photographer insists on cash in hand it should ring alarm bells.

Thirdly they will be insured – check that your photographer has Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance as these protect you should the worse happen.

4. Are they prepared?

A professional will have back ups of everything – cameras, lenses – and they will have a back up plan for inclement weather. A photographer needs to be highly organised.

5. Do they bring help?

Some photographers prefer to work alone, others will bring assistants or second shooters. A second shooter will help cover your day more thoroughly – especially if you need pictures of both the bridal party and the groomsmen getting ready. An assistant will help the photographer operate by doing things like setting up lights, holding reflectors, changing lenses and backing up your wedding photographs.

6. What do you get?

Coverage - how long are they going to be with you? Are they covering the preparations, ceremony, formal shots, evening reception. (If a photographer is with you for the majority of the day it’s nice to offer them food). Some photographers will dictate what they cover and others are more flexible

Albums and prints - do you want an album or just a cd of images? If you are getting a disk find out if you have permission to print for personal use. Albums come in a range of styles. I will cover this at a later date – but you will have an idea of what you like and loathe. Ask to see examples. Do you want to get extra albums as gifts for family members.

Oh, and when do you get it? You don’t want to be waiting half a year for your wedding photographs. A lot of photographers state around four weeks – but really this is a worst case scenario and they will want to get them to you whilst the post wedding excitement is still in the air.

7. The pre-wedding shoot

Some photographers will offer a pre-wedding or engagement shoot – if you are camera shy this can help with your nerves before the wedding as well as give you material for wedding stationary or your website.

You are getting married and you would like to have photographs taken that will be wonderful memories for the rest of your life but you don’t have a clue how to search for a photographer. Sound familiar? It can be a daunting task.

Lately, it seems that everybody who received a digital camera for Christmas, or a birthday is calling themselves a “Professional Photographer”. I don’t know of any state that has a licensing requirement to be a photographer. That does not mean that all of these people are truly “professional”.

1. Look for someone who has experience, equipment (and backup equipment) to photograph your wedding. The “new pro” probably has one consumer grade camera and one kit lens. What will happen if that camera jams, or breaks at YOUR wedding? (Yes, it can happen) A “true professional” will always have backup equipment, just in case.

2. Professional camera equipment is very expensive, but there is a reason the “True Professional” uses the best equipment. Weddings are often located in dark churches and the best equipment is simply required to capture all of the fleeting, emotional moments that occur.

3. Look for credentials. The Professional Photographers of America (PPA) has a “Certification” program that weeds out those who don’t really have what it takes. Less than 3% of all photographers are “Certified”.

4. Is your photographer registered with the state and/or local community? Do they pay all of the taxes required by a true business, or are they “flying under the radar” and not giving back to the community? Are they “zoned” to have a business at their location?

5. Does your photographer have business insurance? What if something terrible goes wrong and your photographer isn’t backed by insurance. If you trip and knock over equipment, or someone gets injured, it is simply a necessity to have the proper insurance.

6. Check with your local Better Business Bureau (BBB) and see how they are rated. If your local BBB hasn’t heard of them, chances are they are not a true business.

7. How long have they been in business? How many weddings have they photographed?

8. Who will actually photograph YOUR wedding? Don’t let them pass you off to another photographer you have never met, or viewed their work.

9. Don’t make a decision until you have seen actual “printed” work. A web site can only give you a hint of what their final printed work will look like, but an “average” or “unsatisfactory” image can look “ok” when viewed on a lower resolution media like a web site.

10. Do you like their style of photography? Photography is an art and you may not like one style, even if it is your best friend’s favorite in the whole world. (Funny how different people like different things.)

11. I see many “new pros” offering prices that are too cheap to believe. “True Professionals” will have a “Professional Print Lab” for all of their work. You don’t want your photographs to be printed at the local discount/drug store. I have compared them all, and the difference is huge. The bride’s dress really shouldn’t have blue tinges and the groom’s face shouldn’t have green shadows.

12. Have you seen examples of retouching they have done? True, artistic retouching is not a “push-button” process. It takes years to master the different techniques. Even a simple looking black & white image is not just the result of “taking away the color”. There is much more to it than that.

13. Many “New Pros” don’t even want to provide you with photographs. They simply say “you get the digital files on a CD and you can print them at your leisure”. Sounds like a wonderful bargain – right? Unless you are knowledgeable in digital photography, have a calibrated monitor and understand levels, curves, white balance, gamma, highlight recovery, composition, color space, and on, and on, you will never have photographs that will look great. Giving a Bride & Groom the digital files is the biggest disservice the “new pro” could do for you. But then again, they probably don’t know how to do it well themselves.

14. Remember, “You get what you pay for!”

Monte Evans is a professional photographer who has earned the coveted PPA Certified – PPA Craftsman Degree. He is a Past-President of the Professional Photographers of Nebraska, Inc. and is currently the President of the Professional Photographers of Greater Omaha, Inc.