Who is Going to Tell Your Story?

 

 

 

 

 

With the internet it is so easy to research photographers and their work before you meet them. Talk with recent brides and look at their wedding albums to see if is the same style you want for your wedding day story. Once you have narrowed it down, talk to other brides that have used that same photographer and get their input as to how the photographer was on the wedding day, final prints, and overall experience working with them. Ask them if they felt like they got a good value for their money and were they delighted with the results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the biggest pieces of advice is to make sure you interview the photographer ahead of time and make sure you see their work of RECENT weddings. You want to make sure you like this person because this is the one vendor that you are going to spend your WHOLE day with from beginning to end. You want to make sure that your personalities mesh well. There will be emotional and maybe even stressful moments on your wedding day. You want to feel comfortable and free to be yourself around your photographer.

 

I have found that being the wedding photographer also allows me to play another unique role on the wedding day. I am someone who has "been there, done that." I become the trusted advisor.  My brides have never been brides before and may have never even been in a wedding before. It often helps to have a seasoned traveler along for the day. I have painted a bride's nails, fixed a bridesmaids dress, put flowers on groomsmen, and dried a mother's tears as she saw her daughter dance with her new husband. I am honored to capture all of these tender moments with my camera. I get to be a part of these memories with the couples I have the honor of photographing on such a special day. This is something you may want to consider when meeting different photographers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make sure you understand all that you are getting in your package...how many photographers will be there? What hours will they be there? What will you receive? Proofs? An album? What kind of album? Ask to see samples of the albums.  Will you receive images on DVD? What is the turn around time? Are there other expenses such as travel? Less or more expensive does not make them a bad or good photographer. Sometimes, you might be cautious of the photographers that are really inexpensive...why are their prices so low? Are they new and trying to build their business? Is their work not high quality and that is the only way they will get hired?

 

How many images will they give you? Do they sort through the images before giving them to you or do they give you every single picture they took regardless of quality. A photographer can shoot 2,000 or more images at a wedding, which can be overwhelming for you as a new couple to go through. It would be more advantageous to have them choose the best of the best of your day. This is part of their job, telling the story of your day in photographs.

 

 

 

 

 

I personally believe that a package that is just a photographer for the day and all the images on a disc is not the best value for your money. In my opinion then you are only getting a portion of what the photographer has to offer. You are going to be a newly married couple and that alone will consume your life for the first year. Making your own wedding album is not going to be top on your list. Neither is making prints of your wedding images.

 

The job of a photographer is to tell the story of your day and if they just burn all of the images on a disc for you after they are done, then essentially all they have done for you is give you the rough drafts to a great novel or all the raw footage to the next big blockbuster movie! I now offer albums in all my wedding day packages. I don't want any couple to be without their first family heirloom to show their children's children!

 

 

 

 

 

 

People often ask why wedding photography is so expensive. They are just pushing a button, right? I wish it were as easy as that. Your photographer is the one vendor who will be working for you long after the wedding day. After spending the day capturing all of those special moments, then comes the time to weave your personal story together. It takes the right person to capture those moments so they are captured naturally. When you show your wedding album to your children all of those same emotions are felt all over again as if it was yesterday.

 

Hours of time go into choosing just the right images, editing them and putting them together in your album. Your first family heirloom is not an expense item, it is an investment.  You will wear your dress once, your flowers are only fresh on your wedding day, the food is enjoyed while it is hot, and music is over when the last song is played Your wedding images and album will be enjoyed for years to come. You are investing in the story of your first day as husband and wife.

 

I hope that this has been helpful and that you feel more confident as you begin or continue your search for your photographer and storyteller for your wedding day.