Choosing the Right Wedding Photographer

It might have taken you a little while, but you finally found a wedding photographer to take photos of your wedding. Everything seems to be good - the photographer is available for your date, they quoted you the price you liked and they are willing to meet you to discuss your wedding in detail and to sign the contract.

But are you sure that the wedding photographer that you're about to hire is the right one?

There are a few things that you can do to check it, so that you don't get disappointed when you look at your wedding photos:

1. When you look at the photos of the weddings that the photographer took (whether it's online or in their portfolio that you can see during the meeting with them), make sure to pay close attention to details. Does the photographer take photos that you like? Do they use good lighting? Creative way of taking group photos? Do they cut off people's heads? Are any of the photos blurry? Unfocused?

Of course any wedding photographer chooses the best pictures to show in their portfolio or on their website, but if there are things about the pictures that you don't like, think twice about hiring that particular photographer, as there is a very good chance that this is what your wedding pictures will be like.

2. Make sure that the wedding photographer you're about to hire has some experience shooting weddings - this is especially important if you're going to have only one photographer. Inexperienced photographers might miss important moments just because they weren't prepared for them.

Personally, I would advise to have at least one experienced wedding photographer to shoot your wedding, just so you don't get disappointed with results (that's exactly what my sister did for her wedding - she hired a professional wedding photographer to shoot her wedding and then had another inexperienced photographer shoot it for free - it worked out great as she had professional pictures of her wedding and some extra shots of different angles- however, the overall quality of the pictures from the inexperienced photographer would be disappointing, had they been her only pictures!)

3. Ask for references and actually call one or two brides and ask them about their experiences with the wedding photographer you're about to hire. Were they pleased with the pictures they received? Were the pictures delivered in a timely manner? Were there any problems with the photographer at all?

Believe me, this is something you really want to do. Otherwise, you might end up like a bride whose story I had read online - she had hired a dishonest photographer. He came to her wedding and took pictures of it and then disappeared. He had never sent her any photos or discs or anything and now she doesn't have any pictures of her wedding! You don't want to risk something like this happening to you!

4. Look up the wedding photographer you're about to hire online. Type in his name, or the business name and look for reviews. You can also ask about the photographer on wedding-planning forums. See what you can find about the wedding photographer before you hire him. Does he have a lot of positive feedback? Is there something about him that doesn't seem quite right?

5. Don't feel obligated to sign the contract just because the wedding photographer came to meet you. If you don't like their pictures or there is something else (like their inexperience, bad reviews for their work, etc.) that makes you feel uncertain about signing the contract, don't! Just thank the photographer for their time and apologize to them saying that they don't offer exactly what you're looking for. It might not be very easy to do, but remember, your wedding pictures are at stake (not to mention that you're paying a lot of money for them).

Source:
Author's own experience