Choosing Your Photographer

So many photographers - but which one is right for you?

You don't need to look far these days to find someone who describes themselves as a 'Wedding Photographer'. It's likely that your Wedding photography will be the most important photography you will ever commission - so you really do need to make the right decision, but where do you start?

To help you, let's look at enlisting the services of a Wedding Photographer from the viewpoint of a potential customer.

It's quite simple really, the first steps should be no different than when considering any other important purchasing decision - there are three main things to consider...

Exactly what are you looking for?
How much are you expecting to pay?
What sort of people do you like to deal with?

What are you looking for?

In answering the first question, you'll need to consider the style of photographs you require and the type of album you'd prefer. There are two main styles of wedding photography...

Traditional - consisting of mainly posed images and likely to produce fewer images for your album.

Reportage - consisting of mainly informal or candid images, likely to produce many hundreds of images from which to choose for your album.

And three main types of wedding album...

Traditional - consisting of pages containing mainly a single image.

Storybook - consisting of individually designed pages that are printed edge-to-edge in the style of a book. Storybook pages can be designed for individual or multiple images and a whole range of creative design elements.

Contemporary - providing an update on the traditional album, offering a full range of cover styles and an enormous range of multi-image combinations (and occasionally the ability to include some Storybook pages too!) - these albums offer the ultimate in design choice.

In the case of both the style of photography and type of album, it's important to look at the different possibilities yourselves, decide what you want and then make sure that the photographers you approach can deliver to your requirements.

How much are you expecting to pay?

If you look around, you'll find Wedding Photography advertised at anywhere from as little as £250 to as much as £5000 and beyond.

Clearly you should expect there to be some differences at these extremes - generally speaking however, most couples will find their requirements will be very much satisfied when they find the right professional photographer for them, for a budget of between £1000 and £2000.

As with everything else in life, how much you pay will, to a point, depend on your specific requirements. Expect to pay more if you need the services of your photographer until the end of your reception, or if you opt for some kind of specialist, hand-crafted album, for example.

As an industry, photography is known for a certain lack of openness regarding prices. This is very unhelpful from the perspective of potential customers... if your budget is important to you make sure that you have access to all of the photographers' prices (including additional images or pages for your album, parent albums, prints for guests, framed prints, canvases, etc) before making a commitment - and you'll avoid any unpleasant little surprises after your wedding!

What sort of people do you like to deal with?

If you think about it, when commissioning your wedding photographer you are inviting them along to your wedding... and not just to your public wedding ceremony, but to your home before the wedding, where they will be in the very priviledged position of observing some very special, highly personal moments.

Surely, you'd rather share all of this with someone you feel comfortable with?

To be confident of this, you'll need to spend a bit of time getting to know your photographer. Many work from their home offices - make sure you visit them there and you'll soon get a very good idea of what they're really like as a person.

A word of caution here - make sure that the person you are spending time with is actually the person who'd be photographing your wedding - and that the example photographs are actually their own work.

Answer these three key questions and you'll be on your way to some beautiful wedding photographs, at prices that you'll understand, provided by someone you'll be happy to work with.

So many photographers - so little time!

With so many 'Wedding Photographers' to choose from, you'll probably want to create a short-list of those you want to meet following your initial telephone conversations.

To help with creating your shortlist - and answering at least some parts of the key questions above - we've created the following list of questions that you may like to use when you call the photographers you decide to call...

Firstly, are they available on the date of your wedding? If so - carry on, if not - move on!
How would they describe their style?
What kinds of albums do they supply?
Ask how much you should expect to pay for what you are looking for - and for a full list of optional prices (additional images for your album, parent albums, prints for guests, framed prints, canvases, etc).

You should have now identified if the person you are speaking to is likely to provide the style of photographs and type of album that you require within the budget that you have available.

Having arrived at this point you now need to find out a little more about the business and the services that it offers...

Are you talking to an established professional photography business or a weekend photographer with limited experience?
Ask how long they have been in business and whether wedding photography is the only photography service they provide.
Find out if the photographer is fully insured to carry out wedding photography - that means both Public Liability and Professional Indemnity. Should the unthinkable happen on such an important occasion it's essential to have the right insurance in place... and that includes having your own Wedding Insurance.
What contingency plan does the photographer have in place in the event that they are unable to cover your wedding due to unforseen circumstances? You don't want to be the one trying to find a stand-in photographer the day before your wedding if the unthinkable happens, do you?

If you are satisfied that you are talking to a suitably professional business, find out a bit more about how they propose to do business with you...

How will they require payment - when and in what form? Most professional businesses will accept most forms, including card payment.
Will they expect you to sign a copy of their terms and conditions? Most professional businesses will have terms and conditions and they should tell you a great deal about the business - we have seen some very intriguing clauses in the past - so beware!
How many times can you expect to meet with your photographer before your wedding?
Will they want a detailed planning meeting with you or just a list of the photographs that you think you require?
Will they prepare, and share with you, a detailed plan for your wedding day - and will you have the opportunity to add to it or amend it?
Do they include an opportunity for you to practice being photographed before your wedding - or will it cost you more?
How will your photogrpahs be presented to you after your wedding - in a proof book, on CD, on the internet or on a large screen presentation?
How long should you expect to wait?
Will you be expected to organise orders on behalf of your guests or will they be able to view and order your photographs on the photographers' website?
Once you have selected the images for your album, how long can you expect to wait for its delivery?

Having given thought to the points above, gathered the information you need, and met with the photographers on your short-list to see if they're the kind of person you want to work with - you should now be able to make the right decision for you.

Good luck and have a fantastic day!