How to Choose a Wedding Photographer
The photographer you choose for your wedding will have a major role in what is likely to be one of the most important days of your life. Long after the guests have gone home all that will remain are memories and photographs and perhaps a video. So how do you make your memories last a lifetime?
Where to start
The first thing is to look for a wedding photographer as soon as possible. Do an online search to find local photographers and take the time to visit several websites and examine their online galleries. Ensure that you are specifically shown samples of their wedding photography.
Style
Every photographer has their own unique style but a good wedding photographer should have the ability to vary their style to really capture the emotion, fun and sentiment of the day. Today more and more couples are choosing photographers who specialize in the reportage approach to weddings and you may want to consider this, This style of photography tends to be the least obtrusive and the most relaxed but be careful though as it is very easy for the reportage style photographer to miss those essential shots!
What do you get
In the old days, photographers always kept the negatives (remember those??) and gave you a wedding album, meaning that any additional photos you may require in the future would have to be bought through the photographer. Today, many photographers provide the photographs on a DVD or on-line gallery. An online gallery provides great flexibility, often enabling you to buy prints of varying sizes direct. Ask how long the gallery will be available for. Having the photographs on a DVD enables you to print out the images you like and to make up your own album which can be not only great fun but a significant cost saving. Wedding albums can be highly specialised affairs such as hand crafted Italian leather bound lay-flat albums that are simply stunning. Make sure your photographer knows what is available.
Finances
Your photographer will most likely require a deposit to hold your wedding date. The balance of the fee will be due a few weeks before the wedding date. Price ranges for photographers vary significantly, anything from a few hundred to a few thousand pounds. It depends largely on their experience, reputation, as well as overhead costs. So set your budget first and search for a photographer who is within that budget and whose quality and style of photography is consistent with your tastes. Meet your photographer and gauge how professional they are. What advice do they offer? How helpful are they and do you get on with them? Try to find a local photographer too as that can help keep costs down as well as make having discussions and meetings so much easier.
Delivery
The length of time it takes to get your photos back may vary from one photographer to another. Some photographers will provide you with photographs within a few days of the wedding, while others can take up to several months. An online gallery or DVD of your photographs really should be ready for you by the time you come back from your honeymoon. Specialist albums, however, take much longer. Make sure you find out what to expect.
Article by Dreamweave Photography Horsham West Sussex
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