Booking the right wedding photographer can make all the difference in the world when it comes to the outcome of a person’s precious wedding photo album. The best wedding photographers can turn the wedding photo albums into beautiful works of art.
The worst wedding photographers are going to give people something that’s worse than what they would have created themselves using only their smartphones. Booking a photographer shouldn’t be too difficult, but it does require the right amount of preparation.
How to Book a Wedding Photographer
For one thing, almost any wedding photographer who has been in the business and who has become established will usually have a portfolio that people can inspect anonymously. It is very important to try to evaluate the quality of that portfolio in advance before deciding on booking a photographer. The best wedding photographers are going to prominently display their portfolios, and people will get a real sense of their talents.
What your style?
It should also be easy to find a guide that will point people in the right direction when it comes to wedding photographers. There are lots of guides out there, and many of the best wedding photographers have been mentioned in several of them. Finding a good guide can help people get in contact with the best wedding photographers, allowing them to skip through the difficult process of going through lots of different wedding portfolios in order to find a style that they enjoy.
When it comes to looking for your perfect wedding photographer you shall see a few different photography styles, it is important to find a style that you like as it will help with your search and make it easier. We have produced a brief summary for each style you may come across to help you.
Traditional
This is your classic style dominated mainly by posed shots, be it the bride and groom, family and group shots. A lot of time is taken to carefully arrange the shots which are usually pre set and arranged with the photographer. With this style you miss capturing the atmosphere, fun and emotion of the day, you would rarely get candid shots of people showing emotion, unseen moments by the bride, the tears and joy of family members as the Bride walks down the isle.
This style is ideal if you want traditional, formal posed shots, of course if this style isn’t for you but you would still like a few posed shots then most photographers whatever their style shall accommodate this, which you should pre arrange with them before you big day so they know what you would lie taken and they can find the best spot at your venue for these.
Reportage
An ever popular growing style is reportage, also known as documentary wedding photography or journalistic, it is the opposite to traditional photography as mentioned before. This style is a natural approach, capturing shots and recording what happen to tell a story of the day in an unobtrusive candid manner. This is about capturing real moments and emotion with people not even knowing the camera is there.
Contemporary
Contemporary wedding photography (This style is also known as editorial, creative, modern wedding photography) usually consists of a less formal or rigid set of photos where the image are captured with interesting creative backdrops, striking lighting effects or shots from unusual angles. If you want some traditional style shots but with a modern twist then this is ideal, just make sure you find a photographers style that you are happy with and view a couple of wedding albums to check you are happy with the style throughout.
It’s also always important to read reviews online. In this regard, it is relatively easy to evaluate the best wedding photographers from afar today. However, there are countless reviews to read, and people are already going to be trying to cram in a lot of different activities in preparation for their weddings. As such, it is important to remember that there is an art to reading reviews and taking in the information that is related to all of those reviews.
Not everyone is going to be satisfied with the work of even the best wedding photographers. Good wedding photography and what does and does not constitute good photography is still somewhat subjective.
Weddings are highly emotional times, and people are obsessed with looking their best in the way that they define looking their best, which is going to have an effect on the way that they perceive the results of wedding pictures. As such, even the most talented wedding photographers in the world are going to attract some bad reviews.
It is also important to note that the best wedding photographers are usually going to have more experience. It isn’t entirely fair that the people who have only just arrived on the scene are going to get shut out, since they might be talented in their own right. However, people who want to avoid taking a risk with such important pictures should try to choose the most established wedding photographers.
Choosing a Wedding Photographer
Established wedding photographers are going to attract a wide range of different reviews. They will have people who loved the pictures, people who hated the pictures, and every reaction in between. Booking a photographer who has attracted a wide range of opinion is a good idea, because a wedding photographer like this is going to have a wealth of experience.
Naturally, the best wedding photographers will have reviews that cluster in a particular place and that are generally positive. However, finding a range of opinion is particularly important in a world in which it is so easy for people to write false reviews or create false reviews in order to deceive people about the quality of the service that they can expect.
Booking a photographer as far enough away from the actual day is important, since wedding photographers are typically going to have a swell of business during certain points throughout the year.
The best photographers are going to be people who are in demand all the time, which is going to make it even harder for individual couples to be able to hire them in time. Still, professional photographers are going to work around the needs of all of their clients. Usually, the majority of the preliminary work involves evaluating them from afar and making sure that they really are professionals, and then going from there.
How to Choose
My advice to couples looking for a Wedding Photographer – find the best you can and don’t be tempted to cut corners due to budget.
When you hire a wedding photographer you are handing over the responsibility of capturing one of life’s most precious memories and for that photographer to be able to deliver them back to you. The album is a vital document as it is testament to the day and to the times in which we live, holding all the most vital memories of people and friends assembled for that moment in time.
Research your photographer, view actual real weddings and not just their ‘best of” folio, talk to them, meet with them and make sure they are ‘your’ type of person. Groundwork is always worthwhile and never a waste of time. If you are holding a wedding at a venue which has a preferred suppliers list, do read this article, The double edged sword of being a Venue ‘preferred’ Wedding Photographer. It is worth being aware of such procedures which luckily only happen at a small number of wedding venues.
Style – Have a good look around online and in magazines to get a feel for the style of photography you like. Don’t get distracted by the latest trends and buzzwords floating around and just concentrate on photos you really love.
Research – Once you know the style of photography you love then ask friends for recommendations, spend some time on Google and on websites like Your Perfect Wedding Photographer to see what photographers are around and if they fit your budget
Meet some photographers – You’re going to spend a lot of time with this person throughout your wedding day and so once you’ve found some photographers you like arrange to meet up. You’ll know from the offset if you’re with someone who makes you feel comfortable and relaxed, and this is the key to looking great in your photos. Choosing a photographer whose work you think is great but you don’t get on with is never going to work. If you want those relaxed smiley images where you REALLY smile then you need to book the photographer who can get the best out of you.
Don’t go for cheap and cheerful… The results may well be the poor results of false economy:
While you as a future wife will want the best, your future husband will invariably be looking at the coffers – savings do have to be made, but maybe better having the cheaper option for the Wedding Dinner sweet than cutting down on Wedding picture quality. There are many weekend chancers simply covering Weddings for a few extra quid – with no ambition or passion in photography, nor consideration of your results.
It may seem expensive – however you will have, as yet, no knowledge of the hard work and creativity a true pro Wedding photographer injects onto your day of days, and the experience, care and consideration he/she then adds to the results…
The photographer is a bigger part of your day than you may well not realise – pick one to trust, respect and have the confidence with for helping you through the day – and making it as memorable as possible.
Look to speak to the photographer, and see if he/she has passion in their work:
Overselling to you (badgering and bullying) is not only intimidating, but also unprofessional – and points to lack of confidence in his/her skills, and the ‘needy’ wish to divert you away from the service you should really receive.
DON’T book without seeing samples – but allow ‘start-ups’ the benefit of the doubt
The expressions you see in his/her past Weddings give it all away…are the Brides/Grooms unhappy? miserable? wanting it to end? The photographer can drive the mood – and impact on the visual composure…a knowledgeable and practiced photographer will respond well to ‘stage-fright’ – and boost the couples AND guests day by alleviating the nerves, replacing it with a happy, but professional looking day – the results will show in the faces and body language of the samples…be sensitive to this when you see them.
Questions to ask…
Can I see some more examples of your work?
Obviously you have asked them as you like their style and some of the photos you have seen, however here you are looking for consistency in their work, you don’t just want to see their best shots but a complete album making sure the photographer shows consistency throughout. You want a photographer that will give you a whole album of beautiful shots, not just a few.
What locations will you cover?
With all the different aspects and locations with a wedding you want to make sure your photographer captures it all, this will need to be discussed with them and arranged to suit yourself and your budget.
Can you make sure you take this photo?
Perhaps you’ve seen a photo position you like, or perhaps you’d like pictures of each family together or maybe with your best friend, then you need to make sure you have discussed this with your photographer so that these shots are not missed out , they can then be planned into the day so that everything is covered that you want, you don’t want to be thinking about this on your big day!
The what if question…
Check with your photographer to see what the contingency plan is incase they are ill on the day or just for unforeseen circumstances, do they have a back up?
What do we get in the end?
Make sure your clear in what you are going to get, how many shots does your photographer expect to take, how many will you get, will you be able to see them on their site, get copies of them on a CD, do you get any printed?
Obviously these are things you should be considering and will be dependent on what you want and what matches your budget, discuss this with your photographer and make sure you understand what you shall be getting.
