Trough the years of your childhood up to the present day you might have felt once or twice that life gave you some second chances. But there are times and occasions when something goes wrong, and no matter what, not even life itself can help you. You can say that Wedding Photography is one of these occasions.
You have waited and dreamed about this magical day for your whole life. The day that you were finally getting married to the man of your dreams, your price charming. You have made so many special plans so you would have the perfect ceremony and reception, the most beautiful dress, flowers, etc, etc and etc.
Now it is time to choose your Wedding Photographer. Note that it didn’t say to you to choose just a regular photographer, neither someone like your friend or uncle just because he or she has a camera. Wedding Photography is a very detailed specialty inside the photography business and if you really care about the only memory that you are going to have from that day and that you can show to generations to come, here are some tips:
1- A Good Plan
You need to start planning ahead before you go checking websites for samples, prices and etc. You need to put together all the information that you already have, like; wedding location, date and time, details of flowers, dress, etc.
2- Style
Once you go through some wedding pictures that you’ve found in few different websites and magazines, you will need to start selecting what kind of pictures you would like to have of your special day. Don’t just say that you want a Photojournalistic or Traditional Style, because this is an old way to define Wedding Photography. Today’s Top Wedding Photographers go beyond old styles incorporating some artistic, modern and creative style to their collections creating the most beautiful piece of art.
3- Finding a Wedding Photographer
Do a simple Google, Yahoo or MSN search: “Wedding Photographer in ____________ (name of the city)”. This will bring hundreds, if not thousands of different sites that you can start doing your research. Start filtering all that information avoiding sites that don’t say the name of the photographer on its description. You want to connect with a Top Wedding Photographer, not just another search engine channel or some photography studio trying to get you into their studio without saying the name of the photographer. If the Photographer is good, his name is going to be there.
4- Samples and Testimonials
Once you’ve found few different Websites with pictures that match the style that you are looking for, go ahead and write down the name of the photographer and the phone number. It would be better if the samples that the photographer is showing in his or her website came from at least few different weddings and different areas. The Photographer might not post any negative testimonial in his or her own Website, but it is always good to check what other clients had said about that specific Photographer and how good was the connection between the photographer and the previous clients.
5- The Budget
This is one question that most of the brides get it wrong and most of the Photographers are terrified to explain it to them. There is a simple rule for that; you should spend between 15% and 20% of the total wedding costs. This a general figure that works very well in most of the cases, but once a while you can go a little lower or a little higher. The investment for the Photography Packages of a very basic and simple wedding will be totally different from the investment for the Photography Packages of a wedding were you are investing a huge amount of money, time and expectations. You can expect spend between $3,000 to $30,000 on your wedding pictures, depending on the wedding Photographer that you are hiring, the photography package and/or extras.
6- Contacting your Photographer
Once you check the website samples and prices, it is time to call the Photographer to check if he/she still has the date available and to set up an appointment. It is recommended that you meet the photographer in question as soon as possible, so you can be sure that he/she would still have the date available for your wedding.
7- Signing the Contract
Since you already saw the Photographer’s Webpage, the samples, the testimonials and the prices, the only logical thing to do now is to meet the photographer and be sure that there is a good connection between you and him or her. You also might want to check some more of his/her work, ask few last questions and if everything seems fine, just sign the contract. Remember that Wedding Photography is not a Department Store and that you are not going to find another Photographer like that one. You already did your homework, you know that you came to visit this Photographer because his work, prices, style are exactly what you were looking for. There is no reason to not close the deal.
8- Final Product
Imagine if few years ago, when digital cameras didn’t exist, would it be ok if after you spent a huge amount of your time and money to create the most romantic and perfect day of your entire life, the photographer just gave you the negatives and you would have to develop the pictures yourself? I don’t think so! As we live now in a digital era, most of the Photographers have digital cameras, and most of the cheap photographers will try to make a good deal and give you just a CD with all the pictures from your wedding on it.
Is that what you want?
If you forget everything else from this article, I hope you remember at least this one…
Don’t treat your wedding photographs like the pictures that you took on your last vacation. The ones that you didn’t even had time to print or the ones that you printed in a cheap department store.
The beauty of Wedding Photography is when the Photographer makes the transformation to the pictures and memories that were once captured through his lens, to create the most beautiful and elegant Costume Designed Story Telling Album that you and all your family and friends will cherish for the rest of your lives.
