bride photographed in natural light
Photographs serve many purposes in our society. They can be a record of a building, or our family memories, or capture something that we missed with our eyes. Photography can be art or it can be a snapshot of your dog. It is many things to many people and in that lies one of the wonderful aspects of the medium. But because photography is so familiar to people and everyone seems to have a camera, many people do not appreciate how difficult and important it can be to take a photograph. This is pretty evident in photojournalism where an important event is occurring and we want to record it to save the moment in history or to inform the public. Photography is a way for someone to be anywhere in the world without going there.
When it comes to wedding photography many people make the mistake of not taking it seriously. I don’t mean that they ignore it, but because someone who is getting married has probably never before dealt with hiring a photographer, it can be a daunting task. I am a big proponent of having high quality wedding photographs taken by a competent professional photographer. WIth digital technology it is all too easy for someone to buy a camera, not learn much about how to use it, and then to claim that they are a ‘professional’ photographer. In many situations like a portrait of your family, or a photograph for a brochure or newsletter, hiring the wrong photographer or someone who will not do a competent job is frustrating, but you will get the chance many times to do it again. You can take your child’s portrait again or someone new can come photograph your business for that brochure. But when it come to wedding photography, that is a much higher stakes game. Hiring the wrong photographer can mean that you do not get good images and your wedding day memories will be lost forever. That is why part of my photography crusade is to educate the public about buying high quality photography and paying for it. Wedding photography is not something that you want to just buy based on price. In most cases the lower priced photographers are going to give you lower results. They are cheap for a reason. Either they are not competent, read my posts ‘Don’t Be a Lame Photographer‘, and ‘Mediocre is Not Acceptable‘, or they do not respect their services or are desperate. So here are a few tips to pick the perfect photographer for your wedding.
1. hire a real professional
You should look for photographers that have been in business for a reasonable period of time and have a track record. Look for affiliation with professional photography organizations and local business organizations.
2. look for knowledge
Now every photographer does not have to be a techno-geek, but they should know photography techniques and equipment. They should know how to photograph events, weddings, and other fast paced situations.
3. look at samples of their work
Make sure to looks at sample photographs. And not just those that are on their website. Look at their blog pictures and their Facebook or Flickr images. And don’t just look at wedding shots. Look at their other work to get a better sense of their style and personal aesthetic.
4. don’t just purchase on price
Hiring the cheapest photographer just to save a few hundred or a few thousand dollars may seem smart in the short term, but it is usually not wise in the long run. You cannot easily recreate a wedding. Things happen in a fraction of a second and then they are gone. There is a great level of skill involved in predicting these event and getting good photographs of them.
5. make sure your vision matches your photographer’s vision
I am not talking about the eye doctor here, but rather if your style is edgy then don’t hire a conservative photographer and vice versa. Make sure that your tastes and likes closely match your photographers. It does not have to be a 100% match, but you should both be simpatico and understand each other.
6. get reliable references
It is always a good idea to get references from people you know and trust. This will get you ahead in the searching game. But then you should still go through the other recommendations here and not just blindly take someone else’s word. Make sure that you mesh well with the photographer.
7. make sure they are confident and competent
Make sure that your wedding photographer is confident in his abilities and competent.
I hope that these recommendations will help you when you are selecting your wedding photographer. Take you time with this process, educate yourself, and make sure that your feel comfortable with them. Remember, these are memories of a lifetime that you want captured for a lifetime.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
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[...] Photography can be art or it can be just a snapshot, a stained and discarded piece of paper, or a lost digital file. Because it is so easy to record an image I think that we should take the time every once in a while to stop and appreciate the importance of those random images or those highly stylized and creative photographs. If you want to read more about the importance of photographs you should read, ‘Why Wedding Photographs Are So Important.’ [...]
[...] taken to preserve your memories for a lifetime. You can read about this in my post ‘Why Wedding Photographs are So Important.’ Unfortunately some people think that they will save some money by hiring a less expensive [...]
[...] Everyone seems to be looking for the best deal. We want to buy things at the lowest possible price. While that may work for some items, especially products that are all the same, that approach does not work very well when it comes to services, like wedding photography. Too often customers looking for a wedding photographer will make the mistake of going after low price without realizing that they are sacrificing many things and will more than likely not be pleased with the level of photographs that they receive. You should read my post ‘Why Wedding Photographs are so Important.’ [...]
[...] related to this subject including ‘Hiring the Perfect Wedding Photographer‘, ‘Why Wedding Photographs are so Important‘ and ‘Service in the Photography Business.’ I write about these subjects so much [...]