When it comes to advice on selecting a photographer for your wedding, it seems like most magazine and online articles present couples with a series of questions they should ask a photographer. No doubt this is important. There have been times however when I have received a list of questions from a prospective client and I could tell these questions came from one of these articles. That I guess is fine, but I often am left wondering if the couple actually have figured out for themselves what is important to them, apart from the questions. When they ask what kind of camera I use, is that information really going to play into their final decision? So my desire here is to offer some of my own recommendations for couples looking for a photographer for their wedding.
Researching a wedding photographer, I believe, is a circular exercise. The couple should first ask themselves what exactly are they looking for in/from a photographer. Once they can establish what is important to them they can then compose their list of questions for photographers. That list of questions should be short and to the point. Keep it simple. Once you go through the above process, it all comes back to you to access which photographer best fits your needs.
So how do you decide what is important to you? Well, here are a few questions to help get you going:
1. What style of photography are you after? Do you want exclusively all the typical wedding shots; or do you want a more artistic, free flow style? Or do you want a bit of both? While there are only so many ways to photograph a wedding, there is no question that the kind of photos you end up with rely almost entirely on a photographer's eye and style. You cannot hire someone who shoots in a traditional manner and expect them to shoot your wedding in a photojournalistic style. If you know you don't like the typical wedding shots, don't hire a wedding photographer with that style.
2. How important is the photographer's experience to you? We all have a friend from college who took nice photos while we were in college. How comfortable are you with having them do all of your wedding photos? This question probably gets to the heart of the matter in terms of how important photos of your wedding really are to you. Your college friend might do an okay job, but it might come at a cost: missed shots, many shots could have been a lot better, confusion. Will you in the end wish you would have spent the money to hire someone with experience? Of course experience in and of itself is not enough. We have all had teachers who taught for 20-30 years, and they were awful. They were either always that way, or as they got older they got stale and boring. Likewise I know teachers who have been teaching for 20-30 years and their students still love them. They know how to keep things fresh and up to date, and they still have a passion for their students and for what they do. That is what has set them apart. I also know teachers who have been teaching for 1-2 years, some are very good, some need to find another vocation. So experience is not the only factor. The quality of the work is much more important.
3. What do we want to walk away with from our wedding in terms of the photography? Do we want/need an album from the photographer, or can we do that ourselves? Do we get full ownership of all the images and digital files? Can we print ourselves? Do we want the photographer to handle all of the printing? All of these questions get down to your own desire for control. Some people are well suited to handle all of their printing themselves, and they like the idea of having full control and ownership of all the images from their wedding. Other people either don't have the knowledge or the time to deal with any of that. They would rather have someone else handle the printing and ordering. Which are you?
4. How much can we afford? For many people this is the question they start with right from the beginning. It's an important question, and I would be the last person to tell a couple to blow their budget on any part of the wedding. But of course I am partial to the photography end, believing what most everyone tells me: "the photos are the one thing that will last". I keep hearing from my photography friends of couples who tried to talk them down in their pricing in order to fit their budget, but then the couple spent hundreds/thousands of dollars on items that most people would call frivolous. This question also really gets to the core of your priorities. On a limited budget there is always a give and take. Some things will be sacrificed in order for you to get what is truly important to you. So what are you willing to give up, and what is truly important to you?
When it comes to your final decision, I believe maybe 80% of your decision should come down to these two questions: 1) Are we comfortable and confident with this photographer . . with their style, their personality, with their ability to deliver what we want? 2) Does the quality of their work stand up? Do I like what I see? Price and costs are important, but secondary. It's hard to put a price for the comfort and confidence factors, but trust me, for most people these qualities prove to be invaluable. And in the end, if you don't have great images, what's the point?
As always, please let me know if you have any feedback or questions about all of this.
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