How to Hire a Wedding Photographer

by Kara Schultz

Kara Schultz Storyteller

www.karaschultz.com

kara@karaschultz.com

So you’re engaged and now what?! It’s all pretty overwhelming isn’t it? And a lot of the decisions that impact your day you have to get working on pretty soon! Good photographers generally book up about a year in advance for prime dates, while some Fridays and Sundays will be more flexible, some photographers won’t work more than once in a weekend, others will.

A good photographer is every thing wrapped up in one on your wedding day. They’re there helping you stay on schedule like a wedding coordinator, they’re there in case your hair falls and needs more curling or pinning like a hairstylist, they tell you if you need more lipstick like a makeup artist, they’re your pyschologist in the event of a near breakdown or crazy family members or if your flowers turn out wrong, they’ll help you pin on flowers and fix them if needed so they look great in pictures. We’ve been there and have seen it all, we’re you’re confidant and everything in between while getting some amazing portraits. The photographer is generally the person who is there all day long and sees it all, we tend to experience every part of the day!

As you’ve heard many times, the personality of your photographer is very important! They will be there almost all day with you pretty closely and that connection is very important so that you don’t clash on your wedding day! Look at a full wedding from the photographer to see if you like the style, be weary of any photographer who will not show you a full gallery. Do you want more wedding party photos or more traditional formals or do you want the focus on you as couple or do you want none of that or even a mix? Always be aware of what you are looking for, some photographers focus on one area more than others, decide what is important to you in your photos and what kind of photos you want in your album. Do you want the photographer to guide you with posing or just let you do whatever you want?

Photography is all about light, so look at the images and how the photographer uses light. Do they do a lot of flash work? Or do things look a bit more natural? Do you like the background blurred or the background in focus? The photos should have skin tones that look natural, black and whites should have blacks and whites and the skin tones should be a light gray not a darker gray, you want all the tones in between there. Look at reception photos, does the lighting look off? Is there what is called a color cast over things (can be green, red, blue or about any color in between!)?

Also be weary of any photographer who says that they can fix anything in Photoshop, no, run from them! Photoshop is not a tool used to fix big mistakes, it’s an enhancement program that is very complex. You want a photographer who can get things right on the day of, not when they’re editing. Also be weary of photographers who turn around pictures immediately, you want some editing done! These days, digital editing is like darkroom exposing, it takes about 4-5 hours per hour shot that the average photographer works on a wedding for editing. So if you’re photographer is at your wedding for 8 hours, that’s 32-40 hours they have in post production at the very least!

Pricing for photographers vary significantly. You want to spend around 10-25% of your budget on photography and your wedding album. If you want to skip out on photography for something else instead, you may be disappointed! Your photos are one of the only tangible items left from your wedding (especially if there’s no videography!). Don’t spend more on your dress than you do on photography for an easy rule to remember! While most photographers include digital rights to photos, you want to buy an album from them. They have access to archival quality albums that no consumer can get, they usually layout the albums for each client individually in a timeless manner and they get it done for you whereas many times when you say you’ll make your album yourself, you never get around to it. Also, consumer labs do not produce consistent quality results, many of the albums that your photographer has are guaranteed for life against wear and tear!

Many brides may have a family member or one of their friends that is a “photographer.” Any professional would discourage you from using this type of situation, unless they have a legitimate business. Do they have a tax license, a business license, business liability insurance, equipment insurance, indeminity insurance in case of mishaps? These are the big things that many times people don’t ask about but they are very important. Also, using a family member or friend can hurt the relationship if there is any disappointment. These days with the easy access of digital SLR cameras, everyone thinks they’re a photographer.

Photography contracts are scary, there is no if’s and’s or but’s about it! There’s usually lots of clauses and terms that detail what is allowed and what is not. Some photographers ban guests from having their cameras out during the ceremony or during formals for various reasons such as being able to move quicker during these times, less distraction in the church, and so that all the wedding party members are looking at the photographer’s camera. Another term in the contracts that are a bit scary is the one that says they cannot guarantee any particular shots taken, this is done for a few reasons, photographers cannot guarantee that one particular moment is actually going to happen. Always always make sure to have a contract and that you understand all of the terms and conditions, if you have any questions just ask your photographer, they’ll be more than happy to explain it!