GroovyTip: How To Choose A Wedding Photographer
As the preferred photographer at several Columbus wedding venues, we talk to a lot of couples who are searching for a photographer to capture their big day. Sometimes it turns out that we’re not available for their date, but we usually go ahead meet with those couples anyway just to pass on some helpful tips on how to choose the right wedding photographer.
Why do we take the time to meet with bridal clients even if we know there’s no chance of us shooting their wedding? Pay attention here, brides and grooms… This is important. The photographer you choose for your wedding day will be with you on your special once-in-a-lifetime-fairytale day more than anyone… More than your mom, more than your friends, and more than your partner. If you find your photographer annoying, guess what? That irritation is going to be reflected in every picture from your wedding day!
So, with that in mind, here is a list of questions and tips that we offer to every couple we meet with:
- Ask friends who have recently been married which photographer they used and how well they liked them. And if they liked them, find out why. This will help you compile a list of who to definitely contact as well as which ones to definitely avoid!
- When you call around, be sure to share your wedding date with the photographer and have a budget in mind, even if you’re not yet ready to share it with them.
- Look through magazines and cut out wedding photos that you like. This will help you convey your preferred style to the photographer, as well as compare their style against your preferences.
- Find out if the prospective photographers are willing to meet you at either the wedding or reception venue or someplace local and convenient to you because, let’s face it… Your wedding day is (and should be) all about you! A photographer who is unwilling to meet you on your turf is already displaying the wrong attitude for someone you’re going to be hanging out with from the start to the end of your special day.
- Meet with each prospective photographer for at least an hour. During this time, you should be able to peruse samples of their wedding photography, talk to them about any unique services they offer (photo booth, composite dvd services, bride or engagement pics, online gallery, etc.), gather references of recent wedding clients, and find out what exactly the photographer is going deliver and when.
- Do they have specific predefined print packages?
- Do they deliver anything electronically or will every family member have to pay for any prints they want?
- How do family members order additional prints outside of the package you choose? And for how long are they available?
- If the photographer offers a disc of your images, what size / resolution are those images? Is it all of the images? Or just the ones from your print package?
- Do the electronic images come with a print release? Is it unlimited?
- Do they do retouching for blemishes or artistic development? Does it cost extra?
- How many photographers will be at the wedding?
- Are the people sitting in front of you the ones who will actually be holding the cameras on your big day?
- Things happen. Do they have liability insurance? What’s their cancellation policy? How will they handle it if something catastrophic happens on their end and they’re not able to deliver for any reason?
- Will there be a written contract detailing everything you’ve agreed to?
- If you obtained references, call them! You’ll want to know if the reference’s final photos have been delivered yet, how they felt about the delivery turn-around time, the quality of the final images as well as about their experience with the photographer at the actual event.
Whew… Once you’ve done all of that and asked all those questions and invested all that time, how will you know you’ve found the right one? Well, you’ll feel comfortable with the quality of their work because they were able to show you living recent samples plus offer you the validation of their references, you’ll know they are conscious of and willing to work within your photography budget for the event, and quite frankly, you’ll have just “clicked”. When it comes down to it, the photographer you want is the one with whom you were relaxed and laughing with by the end of the meeting. Because really, isn’t that exactly what you want in your wedding pictures?
Have you recently worked with a wedding photographer? Perhaps even us? What other advice would you offer to couples looking for someone to capture their special day?
I think you nailed it! I wish I would have read this before we looked for photographers
Although, it all worked out because we were lucky enough to have the both of you!
The only thing I might add is communication with the photographers – Are they prompt with returning phone calls or emails? Or does it take multiple attempts before you hear back from them? There are so many details to organize when planning a wedding that you don’t want to waste time on unorganized or photographers that are too busy to get back to you – or any other businesses for that matter.
Great idea on adding this tip to your website!
This is a great article emphasizing all the important characteristics to look for when choosing a wedding photographer. I think the most important thing for people to do is to really take some time to look at the photographer’s previous event photos because that will be an excellent indication of what they can expect. Prospective clients should also think about making a list of the important events of their day that they want the photographer to capture so that no one is disappointed that something was missed.
Mel and Adam were a great fit for us because they were current and not afraid to share their creative ideas while also being receptive to ours. I have many wedding pictures throughout my house and constantly receive compliments from people regarding the quality of the photos and the moment that was captured. We would recommend Mel and Adam to any couple looking for high quality photographs at an affordable price! I would invite them back to photograph other major events in my life.
We couldnt agree more on the important questions you outlined in this article. When selecting our photographer these are all things we thought about before we made our decision. We were so pleased to have GroovyDoodle do our wedding becuase of their flexibility and fun attitude, not to mention fantastic photography. Mel and Adam were also very helpful in keeping our large wedding party on schedule, creating great photo moments, and helping to make sure we were not worrying about anything on our wedding day. Their help with scheduling and experience from prior weddings were priceless assets that were able to use to create a smooth flowing wedding day. Overall, we were extremely happy with GroovyDoodle and would recomment them to anybody.
This is great advice and we couldn’t agree more! Being comfortable with the photographers is soooo critical, but also that they understand your vision for the day. They need to be able to understand what you don’t like or want as much as what you do. Also, a good question is whether the photographers shoot in all types of settings (i.e. low light vs. bright light) and do they have examples to show you? In our venue, we have low light in some areas, normal light in others, and sunny areas as well. Mel and Adam were able to take pictures regardless of the lighting, which gave us a lot of great pictures to choose from. Another thing that GroovyDoodle did for us was take really unique pictures of the rings, the stained glass windows in the church, the flowers, table settings, etc. I think any photographer can take the standard pictures of the bridal party but what GroovyDoodle was able to do is take really unique photos throughout the wedding and reception which captured the spirit of the event and the people that were there.
I absolutely agree!! and I would recommend all my friends who are getting married to read this before they find their photographers. John and I feel very fortunate that we had you as our photographers. I was really impressed with how professional and dedicated you were. You helped out with so many things beyond your responsibility to make everything easier for us, and John and I am very thankful for everything you have done.