March 28, 2016
I remember when I got married 9 years ago the photography scene wasn’t what it is today. I had maybe 5 total to choose from in my area. Things are very different today. There’s so much talent and so many great photographers to choose from!
So how do you choose the best photographer for your wedding day? My goal for this is to help you make a decision in an overwhelming market of choices, whether you choose me as your wedding photographer or not the most important thing is that your happy with your decision. This day is the best day ever! It’s your day! That means everything!
Five tips on choosing your wedding photographer
1. Pricing
Photography pricing is based on what I like to call the three E’s experience, equipment, and education. All this reflects pricing. The more experience, equipment, and education your photographer has naturally it will be more expensive. That’s for good reason, as a photographer myself I want to invest in all those areas. At the end of the day I want to rightfully say that I have the knowledge, tools, and experience to handle any lighting situation. Those things are very important because your end result reflects those three things.
2. Equipment
I often receive emails for initial inquires for dates that I’m already booked. At times my heart gets a little sad because I end up chatting with them back and forth via email about their wedding day, and I feel like we have been friends forever. One question always arises during the conversation and that is what equipment do I use. I always tell brides to make sure their photographer has a backup camera. If your ceremony is at night or your having a dark reception make sure to ask if your photographers camera has good low light capabilities, or knowledge of flash, or video lights.
3. Film vs Digital vs Hybrid
A lot of photographers like myself are going back to film. Neither one is better than the other, it’s based on preference. I shoot film because it makes my heart happy! There’s something rewarding about having to wait for it, and I feel such an amazing accomplishment at what we have created together. I love the tones and the way it retains detail and highlights. I love the feel and the atmosphere that film creates when I work with my couples. Film photographers tend to be more expensive going back to #1 on the list. It takes money to shoot film. Film shooters have to pay for the film, development of the film, and postage to ship the film to have it developed.
Digital has a lot of great advantages. It’s fast! Instant gratification! Most digital photographers I know will post a wedding image the very next day after your wedding! Digital is awesome in lowlight! Digital always blows me away with low light situations without having to use flash.
Hybrid. Most people aren’t really familiar with the term hybrid photographer. A hybrid photographer is a photographer that shoots both film and digital. I fall into this category because I love both mediums for different reasons. I love film for it’s timeless beauty and the qualities that I mentioned above. I also love digital for really low light situations when I can’t use color film. It’s the best of both in my opinion.
4. Your budget
Every bride has a budget and I’m sorry I’m going to be a little partial to photographers here, and this is why. At the end of your wedding day what do you have? Your memories and your photographs. The cake has been eaten, the flowers will fade, and the only thing you will have are those pictures. If I can be completely honest here, I wish I would have invested more in my pictures. At the time I wasn’t a photographer and I honestly thought pictures were just pictures. It kills me to say that but it was the truth. I’m not saying they were horrible by any means, I’m just saying my story could have been told better. That brings me back to the three E’s. The photographer I chose had some of the experience, equipment, and education, but not the amount that a seasoned photographer has and the price of the service reflected that. I guess what I’m trying to say is that be mindful when your budgeting for your wedding. What things are most important to you?
5. Personality and style
With so many styles and options to choose from when it comes to your wedding photographer, I think finding the right personality to mesh well is key. You will be spending a lot of time with your photographer so it’s important to feel comfortable! I love to chat with my couples whether it’s via Skype or a lunch date. I would rather take that time to get to know them and they me. The last thing I want someone to do is make a drastic decision. I think I can speak for my fellow photographer friends on this one 🙂 . When choosing your photographer look over their blog, instagram, Facebook, galleries etc. What do you like about their work? Do you love how they tell their couples story? Do you love that they have laughter, seriousness, or a mix of both in their portraits? Those are some great things to look at and visualize since these are the images you will be displaying in your new home together, not to mention passing them down to your children.
I hope this helped as you continue to plan your big day! Enjoy every minute 🙂
Happy wedding planning!
With love,
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