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<\/a><\/div>\nChoosing the perfect wedding photographer will not be an easy task.\u00a0 Out of everything you must consider when making your choice, there is one rule that you absolutely MUST<\/strong><\/span> follow!\u00a0 Do NOT choose your wedding photographer on price alone!<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Wedding photos are not some place in your wedding budget where you want to cut corners.\u00a0 I’m not just saying this because I am a wedding photographer; I’m saying this because you can’t do your wedding over<\/span><\/strong>!<\/p>\n When choosing your wedding photographer, the first thing you need to do is figure out your preferred wedding photography style.\u00a0 Do you like the traditional photographs or the modern “edgier” portraits or the photojournalistic style, or a combination of all styles?\u00a0 Believe it or not, not all photographers keep up with the current trends or know how to pose their subjects so it is important to know what you like and choose a photographer that fits your specific tastes.<\/p>\n Next, you need to set your photography budget.\u00a0 Keep in mind, this will be one of the more expensive parts of your overall wedding budget.\u00a0 Not only will you need to include your photographer’s base package cost, but you will also need to include the extras like prints, albums, DVD’s or whatever else you may want.\u00a0 If you are buying a disk of all of the images so you can create your own albums or prints, don’t sacrifice quality for cost<\/span><\/strong> and keep in mind the time it will take you to do all of this.\u00a0 Even for the professionals, it takes several days just to lay out the album, and we do this all of the time.\u00a0 You may want to let your photographer deal with the details to save yourself the headache.\u00a0 Nonetheless, you need to consider all of these costs in your budget as well.<\/p>\n Once you figure out what you can spend, then you need to research possible photographers.\u00a0 Again, do not sacrifice quality for cost<\/span><\/strong>!\u00a0 Just because someone has a great camera doesn’t make them a wedding photographer any more than someone who has a sports car makes them a race car driver.\u00a0 Also remember how much time a photographer will need to capture everything that you want photographed.\u00a0 You won’t be able to get in the ceremony, family portraits, the cake cutting, bride and groom’s first dance, etc. in 3 or 5 hours unless you are having a very small intimate wedding with just a few guests, and\/or the wedding and reception are in the same place and the reception starts immediately after the ceremony ends.\u00a0 Even then, it may be a stretch because of things being delayed, like the food isn’t ready on time or your pictures take longer than expected because a member of the bridal party or family member wanders off and you have to find them.\u00a0 Things like this happen more often than not, so you and your photographer need to be prepared.\u00a0 Also, you must know that the photographer’s time starts when they arrive, so just because you have a two or three hour break between the ceremony and the reception, this doesn’t mean your photographer will.\u00a0 This is when they get a lot of the formal photographs done.\u00a0 If a photographer tells you that they are charging you for all day coverage find out when they start and when they stop and if there are limits on the number of covered hours.\u00a0 Sometimes all day could mean right before the ceremony starts until the first dance.\u00a0 If you want your photographer to be there earlier for the “getting ready” photos or stay until the party is over, you need to make sure that this is clear to your photographer and included in the package price so you don’t incur extra charges or become disappointed that the photographer missed the groomsmen dancing to the YMCA (future blackmail photos!).\u00a0 Most photographers will offer basic packages and customize them to fit your needs, so make sure you know just what you want before you book your photographer<\/span><\/strong>!<\/p>\n The next thing you should consider when hiring your wedding photographer is the quality of their work<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 Every photographer will show their best work and it’s probably already on their website and facebook pages.\u00a0 But what about the rest of their work?\u00a0 Definitely ask to see as much as you can.\u00a0 Most photographers will be happy to show you anything you want to look at.\u00a0 Make sure the images they don’t post are as good of quality as those that they do post.\u00a0 Make sure the quality of their albums are professional quality and don’t look like they are cheap so they can make an easy buck.\u00a0 Most photographers do use professional photographer services, but there are those random few that are just in it to make the most money they can, so buyer beware.<\/p>\n Also, when looking at a photographer’s sample images, do they look good to you, or do they WOW<\/span><\/strong><\/span> you?\u00a0 If you are going to spend all of the money that you will be spending to WOW<\/span><\/strong><\/span> your guests, shouldn’t your wedding photos be a reflection of that and WOW<\/strong><\/span> you?\u00a0 Your photographer should know your vision for your dream wedding and be able to tell the story of your wedding day as you would want it told.\u00a0 Your wedding photographs should capture all of the details and memories of the day so that in the future when you are telling your children and grandchildren about your wedding day, they too can see the memories in your photographs.<\/p>\n Ok, so you figured out the style you want, the pricing you can afford, and the quality of the images, but how is the wedding photographer’s customer service<\/span><\/strong>?\u00a0 In a recent episode of Judge Joe Brown (no I didn’t watch it, but I did hear about it), there was a bride that hired an amazing photographer for their 2008 Wedding.\u00a0 It’s now 2011 and they still didn’t have their wedding photos or wedding album!\u00a0 That’s a long time (and yes, it said 2011 in the episode).\u00a0 They saw their photos on line and were very pleased with them and tried several times to order, but the photographer just couldn’t get his act together enough to get the job done.\u00a0 That’s definitely bad customer service to the extreme.\u00a0 It’s not very often that something this bad happens, but things do go wrong.\u00a0 So how do you find out how your photographer ranks when it comes to customer service?\u00a0 The easiest way is to find out what other brides say about them.\u00a0 You can read other bride’s reviews<\/span><\/strong> on most of the bigger wedding websites like TheKnot.com<\/a> or WeddingWire.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Plus you can find out things about them on the website for the Better Business Bureau<\/a>, which by the way, you have to be a member to get an A+ rating, so if they are not a paying member, the best score they can have is an A.<\/p>\n After you finally narrow down your list to just a few photographers, you should meet with them to find out what they are really like.\u00a0 You must feel comfortable with your wedding photographer<\/span><\/strong> when you meet them to make sure you are comfortable and relaxed on your wedding day.\u00a0 You will already be stressed enough that you don’t need the added stress from your photographer.\u00a0 Your photos will show if you are relaxed or stressed and you definitely want to be relaxed for good portraits.\u00a0 Also, if you are relaxed, your wedding party, family and guests will also be relaxed with the photographer.<\/p>\n With all of this being said, here are the questions (and reasons) I would ask a potential photographer:<\/p>\n All in all, you have to make sure that your photographer is exactly what you want.\u00a0 Don’t settle for a photographer because the price is cheaper!\u00a0 There are no do-overs on your wedding day!<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 In the end, you get what you pay for.\u00a0 After the party is over and the guests have gone home, you can’t keep the food, you probably won’t keep all of the decorations (and neither will your guests),\u00a0 and you return the tuxes, all you will have left will be your memories and photos of your special day.\u00a0 A good photographer will be able to tell the story of your wedding day image after image as if you are reliving each moment as it happened.\u00a0 A great photographer will make you say WOW<\/strong><\/span>!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n\n
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