This is an article reproduced from my main site. I wrote this in response to a question I was asked at a Wedding Fair.
At wedding fairs I’m often asked how a couple should go about choosing their photographer; often there are many photographers present, their work looks good so how do you differentiate between them?
I offer couples the following information; I don’t think it’s self promotion, just sensible ways to work out which photographer suits you best and ensure there are no unexpected surprises for you.
1. Talk! You need to get on with your photographer. You’re entering a relationship that may last over a year (and hopefully beyond!) from first consultation to delivery of the album. You need to establish a rapport so you feel at ease and this will be clearly visible in the photographs. They say we form our impressions of someone in the first few minutes and that impression is usually correct. So talk to your photographer and feel how you connect.
2. View a whole wedding. We photographers want to show you our best work and that will be on display at the consultation or wedding fair. However not all the photos taken at a wedding can be award winners. Some are a record of people and events, some are detail shots. They may well be nice shots but the photographer won’t be showing them off. So ask to see all the images delivered to the client. This will give you a better feel for sort of storybook that can be produced and the range of styles and abilities of your photographer.
3. View a few different weddings. Ask to see the images or albums from a few weddings. It sounds obvious but every wedding is different – even if at the same venue they all have their own special character, oddities (and challenges). Viewing several weddings will show you the photographers own style, timing and creativity.
4. Imagine yourself in the photos. There are plenty of good photographers around, thankfully, but we all have our own style. Wedding photography ranges from reportage to formal and in between you’ll find contemporary, traditional, art, fashion and so on. You may see an album and think it looks fantastic but can you really imagine yourself in that album? Again you should ask the photographer about his style and how (s)he achieves the shots. I believe that different parts of the day call for different styles – for example photographing the guests offering hugs and kisses after the ceremony is pure reportage. By contrast when the photographer gets time with the couple on their own he’ll be more likely to express his own trademark style. Hopefully you’ll be aware of this and it will reflect your own ideas.
5. Study the album choices. There is a wide range of choices from album suppliers and the quality is reflected in the price. Can your photographer show you an example of the album you’ll receive? Many lower end albums are digital albums – the image is printed directly on the page and several may be overlaid or intersected. Higher priced albums have prints laid on the page with a matt framing the image. Which do you prefer? How many images are you being offered? Is that number enough for a complete album? What costs extra? Are parents replica copies available? The album is the biggest overhead a photographer faces and that will be reflected in the photographer’s rate. Remember that in wedding photography you tend to get what you paid for!
6. Is your photographer professionally qualified? If your photographer has the weight of the MPA (Master Photographer’s Association) or SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) behind him, not only is he more credible but he’ll have demonstrated a level of ability to become part of that organisation.
7. USP. What is your photographer’s Unique Selling Point? What differentiates one photographer from another? It may be their unique style, their album manufacturer or something else so ask why you should choose them.
