You have seen it on approximately every wedding photographer's web page and in bridal magazines. It seems that every person wants to give the bride and groom advice on how to select a wedding photographer. Most of what I have read is sound and useful advice, but I thought it might be helpful to write an description that explores this in more detail. So lets look at the mistakes brides and grooms often make in selecting their photographer.
Over the past 25 years I have had the occasion to speak with well over a thousand engaged couples. I am always surprised by some of the criteria many of them use to select their wedding photographer. Here are the top 7 mistakes I feel many brides and grooms make when selecting a photographer for their big day:
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1. Relying On Wedding seller Referrals. This may be the worst mistake of them all. Many wedding vendors trade referrals with other wedding professionals with no real knowledge of the other's work. And yes, many times it's an honest referral based upon working a few weddings with one another. But how much can a Dj, for example, in fact know about the quality of a wedding photographer's work? Often times this type of referral is just based on the fact that the Dj has worked with the photographer at a amount of events and liked him or her. Did the Dj ever see the final result? Did they see the wedding album? Probably not.
2. Judging A Photographer Based Solely On A "Greatest Hits" Wedding Album Portfolio. There is nothing more misleading concerning a photographer's talent than seeing at a sample wedding album that is a compilation of their best shots at 50 separate weddings. An album such as this may be useful in insight just how great an image they are capable of producing, but that's in fact all it tells you. Ask to be shown an album of one entire wedding from start to finish. A good wedding photographer should be able to produce a amount of faultless albums, which will give you a great idea of how your own wedding will be photographed. Virtually anybody with a decent camera can get one great shot per wedding!
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3. Paying Too Much attentiveness To The Sales Pitch. Every photographer can tell you great things about themselves and so they should. But in your preliminary wedding consultation, look for photographers who are concerned in You. A good photographer will want to know the types of photography styles you are concerned in and what you are seeing for in a wedding photographer. A photographer who asks you lots of questions about your wedding and your preferences will probably also be more likely to listen to you and have a great sense of what you
want. If the wedding meeting is just one long lecture from the photographer, move on to the next photographer. Find person who cares.
4. Not Assessing The Photographer'S Personality. This is a biggie. You will spend the entire day with your photographer. If you don't get along with him or her, it can ruin what should be the happiest day of your life. Rude and bossy photographers can also cause problems with your guests. Find a photographer who is easy to talk to and who you can organize good rapport with.
5. selecting "Uncle Bob" To Shoot Your Wedding! With digital cameras now in approximately everyone's hands, there seems to be a lot more "wedding photographers" out there. The fact that a friend or relative is good with his new digital camera does not mean he can handle a wedding. And what about file backups? Does your house photographer know how to do a correct backup, or even have the allowable computer hardware to do it? In my business, I bring a portable hard drive to every wedding and the images are uploaded and checked on the spot. When I get back to my studio, the images are uploaded to my main computer and then backed up on an external hard drive. Once that is complete, 2 back up Dvd's are burned. Only then will I erase the cards I used for the wedding. You don't want your memories to go up in smoke along with a burnt out hard drive.
6. Caring About The Photographers Type Of Camera Equipment. In this day and age, a photographer can make great images with any medium to high quality camera. Wedding photographers who spend an excessive amount of time discussing the type of equipment they use may not be the right person for you. What you in fact want to know is what type of images they can produce and if they can show you plentifulness of samples. It's the final consequent that matters. If you are happy with what they show you and all things else checks out Ok, you can assume their equipment is sufficient for the task.
7. Confusion Over Pricing. If you can't understand the pricing or packages, keep looking. Container pricing, if flexible, is the best way to go. It allows you to have a great idea of what your final bill will be. Ala carte pricing can confuse and be misleading. You may assume that something you thought was included in their coverage costs extra. Like a wedding album! However, a photographer who only offers strictly structured packages should also be avoided. Ultimately, you want to find person who will work within your budget and give you exactly what you want. If you don't see a Container that fits your needs, ask the photographer to let you organize your own.
This list was not intended to intimidate people in the market for a bay area wedding photographer. It should, however, help you understand what's important. Find a photographer with a style you prefer and who shows you images that you love. Use that preliminary consultation as a way to get to know your photographer and organize rapport. Talk to some old clients to get a sense of how the photographer behaved at the wedding. If all things looks good, you are ready to make your decision!
How Not to pick a Wedding Photographer
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