Where Do You Begin?

Seeking advice from your friends, relatives and co-workers or personal referrals is a great way to start. Typically, people who have had positive experiences with photographers are more than willing to share that information.  In addition, you’ll already have some insight about the photographer’s personality before you actually meet.  After compiling a preliminary list, visit each photographer’s web site and thoughtfully review his or her online portfolio. If a portfolio looks appealing you, chances are, that photographer might be a good fit. Next, call or email each photographer on your list.  Through this initial contact, you can determine the photographer’s availability, the type of work they specialize in (candid or traditional) as well as an estimate of the cost and what you’ll receive for that fee.

Schedule appointments with the photographers who seem most appropriate and ask to view their portfolios in person and discuss more details. Ask each of them to show you a complete portfolio of a single wedding–this will give you a much clearer sense of what you can expect than a collection of choice shots from several different events. Pay attention to whether the photographer is adept at portraying individual expressions and personalities. Ideally, these meetings should include the bride and groom as well as the bride’s parents since you will all be interacting with the photographer.

What Questions Should You Ask?

Be sure to write down all of your questions beforehand, and take thorough notes during the meetings. Although most professional photographers will provide you with a clear outline of their services and fees prior to your meeting, you will, in all likelihood, still have a large number of questions to ask. Remember, with more information, you’ll feel more confident and relaxed on your special day.  The following are some questions, courtesy of http://www.iqphoto.com, you may wish to consider asking:

•How will you show me pictures for selection (e.g., electronic, proofs, contact sheets, online gallery, etc.)?
•Will you help me choose the final pictures?
•How will you make it easy for friends and family to order reprints?
•What are the costs of the various levels of coverage?
•Are there different degrees of coverage?
•What is your photography style; photojournalistic, traditional, mixed, etc.?
•How much for the duplicate prints, albums, folios, enlargements, thank you cards, etc.?
•What’s your time frame for preparing the pictures for my selection?
•How about engagement session?
•How long do I have to make up my mind as to which pictures I want and how many?
•How long have you been in business?
•What kind of guarantee comes with my hiring you?
•What’s your philosophy for photographing weddings?
•Will you have an assistant?
•Do you have travel fees?
•How much is your overtime fee?
•What do you plan to do at my wedding to make my wedding photographs unique and personal to me?
•Do you have a backup?
•Will you be shooting my pictures personally?
•Will you use film or digital?
•What’s your payment policy?
•Do you give any guarantees on your services and photographs?
•What is the possibility of the pictures fading?

How Much Will It Cost?

The following are some points will help prepare you for what you might expect to pay for your wedding photography:

•Plan to allocate a significant portion of your wedding budget to ensure photographs are perfect. A minimum of $1000 is what you are expected to spend on a professional wedding photographer to document your event. Albums and prints are usually extra. Other extras that may increase your bottom line include additional hours, additional photographers, custom albums etc. etc. Add on too many extras – and your photography budget could quickly creep to $5000 and beyond! 

•Cut the extras and purchase a basic wedding photography package from a skilled photographer. By paying for the photographer’s expertise only, you will ensure great images – and you’ll buy yourself some time to save up for the custom album and prints after the wedding.

•Get the proofs! With that in mind, try finding a photographer who will let you have the proofs. Many photographers consider themselves to be photographers only – artists not in the business of selling photographs. After the big day, they’ll hand over your proofs and be on their way. They’re yours to keep – you can print them in any manner you please or save them for printing after you’ve saved up some cash.

•Enter the digital age with digital photography. It’s less costly than film, and with technological advances in equipment – digital images are no longer a sacrifice in quality. Many photographers have taken the digital plunge – which results in savings for you!

Cut the timeline since the cost of documenting a longer event is more. Since photographers often charge based on the number of hours they will spend at your wedding, a shorter/smaller wedding celebration will yield big savings in your photography budget.

Making a Commitment

At this point, you should have a somewhat clear idea as to which photographer can capture your wedding day memories the best. Once you have made a decision, be prepared to leave a deposit to reserve the date. You may still wish to reassure yourself by asking about a few final details. For example, find out what the photographer’s policy for wedding-date changes is and what the alternatives are if he or she is not available on the backup date. Also, ask about their policy for an unexpected cancellation. If you feel the photographer is right for you, then relax and make the commitment with the confidence that you’ve made a well-formed, intelligent decision in planning the most important day of your life.

This article is support by Puerto Rico Wedding Photographer

1) Make sure you have a pre-defined list of pictures you are going to take. Check out the location ibeforehand and know where you want to position people for the best shots. Involve the bride and groom and ask their opinions on where they might like their photos taken and in what syle.

2) Speak to the best man. Weddings can deviate from the pre-agreed arrangements and its important therefore to have a point of contact with the best man or wedding co-ordinator to help arrange groups and keep things in order. The last thing you should do is ask the bride and groom to help round people up for group shots.

3) Be prepared, very prepared. So much can go wrong so make sure you have a spare camera, batteries, SD cards etc. Request a detailed itinerary from the best man and attend any rehearsals.

4) Remember the little things. Intimate pictures of the rings, order of service, flowers etc can often be as powerful and appreciated as the typical portrait shots.

5) Pre plan the group shots. It can be hard to take shot of a large group of people. Know in advance where and how this will be done e.g. take ladders if need be.

6) Be creative. It can be all too easy to take the expected portrait and group shots and the end results can be boring photos. Take informal shots, mix with the wedding guests and be alert for interesting opportunities that present themselves.

7) Dont automatically delete shots that are not perfect. With digital cameras the temptation exists to delete everything that wasnt a perfect shot. Very often you may be deleting some of the most interesting pictures.

Consider using an additional photographer. This can take the pressure off and sometimes 2 different perspectives will make for a better set of results.

9) Perfect shooting in different lighting conditions. You may be shooting in a dark church where flash photography isn’t allowed or at a reception room that has no natural light. Make sure you know how to bounce a flash or diffuse it to get great results.

10) Be confident. At some point in the day you will be running the show and must be able to communicate effectively and calmly with people. Being shy isnt an option.

Written by Marten Holmes, a professional wedding photographer in Cornwall.

Here are some tips to help you negotiate this photographic minefield.

Hire a professional.
No? Don’t want to do that? You think Uncle George can do it fine on the cheap? Save a few bucks and spread the joy around? Then read on, reckless fool…

Be prepared.
Emotionally, spiritually, intellectually and photographically. You will need more than just a strong heart and nerves of steel. You’ll need extra memory sticks, extra batteries, a flash outfit, a tripod and a zoom/wide-angle lens. You’ll also need a decent photo editing program to produce the finished product in an acceptable form.

Have an assistant or a helper.
You should have lots of stuff to carry around, and you need someone who will watch your gear when you’re busy. Get a person to help you. It’s also good to have someone relatively sane to talk to.

ALWAYS shoot for the bride.
Men aren’t interested in photos of themselves. Well, that’s a generality. 99.9% of men don’t care. Usually the only time a man looks at a wedding picture under his own volition is just after the divorce with a drink in the other hand.

Get a list of wanted shots.
Don’t go into this blind. Find out what shots the happy couple expect and try to oblige. Weddings have about 4 phases: getting dressed, the ceremony, after the ceremony (relaxed shots with the new couple), the reception including the cake and groups of guests. Take your lead from the bride not the juiced up guests at the reception.

Shoot a lot.
This is good advice for any photography. At a wedding you’re dealing with human nature at its most confused. Who can really tell what shots will be the big sellers? Just cover everything (even the speeches) and shoot everything three times and be safe.

Get the groups.
Groups are important but watch out here because semi-inebriated guests will want to be photographed with pot-plants, the foxy waitress, each other, maybe the bride and groom, and towards the end of the evening fascinating cloud formations. Get the bride to tell you who should be in the groups. Stay with her.

Get the proofs to the bride as fast as you can.
It is not only great service, it great business as well. Happiness and the vows of matrimony can be fleeting. Get your wedding photo bill in before the first fight if possible. Definitely before the divorce.

Be a professional. Weddings can be scary things.
They’re all about love, sex, eating and drinking. Passions and confusions can be rampant. Get your shots first and party later if anyone is left to party with. If you find yourself at the end alone with your camera, at least you can console yourself that you completed your mission.

Do your own quality control before you submit the proofs.
Your reputation can be destroyed by a handful of misaimed shots of the bride or her friends. People often remember that one shot where the matron of honor looked as if she was zonked when it was just an untimely blink. If it sucks delete it. Better safe than sorry.