How do I choose a Wedding Photographer?

This is a good question and it is the one thing that many couples get wrong. So many people just look at the price and choose the cheapest, but that is not the best way to book someone for your special day to record your memories for you! Here are some of the things that can go seriously wrong with your wedding photography if you go too cheap:-

The Photographer pulls out or even worse, doesn't turn up!

We frequently get calls from desperate brides, asking if we have any last minute availability, when the photographer that they booked many months ago, suddenly lets them down! In the past few months, we have had enquiries from several distressed brides to be, who have each lost in the region of £700 to photographers who have pulled out! That is not a very professional way to behave but sadly, this kind of behaviour seems to be becoming more and more regular! We've also had calls actually on the wedding day saying that the photographer that they booked hasn't turned up! So why is it happening?

The Semi-Professional Wedding Photographers

If you book at the cheaper end of the market, then you are far less likely to be booking a full time professional photographer. He/she probably has a full time job, and the wedding photography business is just some "extra money on the side". The problem is that "the day job" can get in the way of this sideline business of wedding photography. For example, a colleague is ill or on holiday so your "wedding photographer" finds that he/she has to work in his/her "day job" on your wedding day. Ask your wedding photographer to meet in his/her studio. Don't accept excuses and agree to meet in your home, or in the pub around the corner. Look them up on Google. Do they have a business address, or is their address a residential home? Do they even give you an address at all? Any professional photographer will have a studio and will be using the studio in between the weddings to do portrait, baby and pet photography amongst other things.

Equipment failure

Today's high tech cameras are all very complex pieces of equipment, and they do break from time to time. A photographer at the cheaper end of the market, or a part time wedding photographer, is unlikely to have the funding available to ensure that they have spare camera bodies, flashguns, lenses, etc. to ensure that they can carry on if a piece of equipment is broken. A full time professional will always have spare equipment. After all it is our bread and butter and we cannot afford to let anyone down.

Photos are not what you expected

Every photographer has a "style" that they prefer to work with, but true professionals will adapt to what you are looking for. In short, you'll get what you pay for. At the lower end of the market, you will simply get the style that the photographer wants to take. He may even be experimenting with different ideas that he hasn't even tried before and using YOUR wedding to experiment and see if they work! There are also plenty of people out there who will go to a camera shop, buy a decent camera and think that they can be a wedding photographer, just using the camera on Programme mode all day. Yes, they will get some good shots this way, but they will also get some pretty awful ones where the lighting is not right, the images are blurry, etc. There is a lot more to being a successful photographer than having a decent camera, a web site and a few business cards!

Accidental damage

A wedding is a place where you have plenty of people all doing different jobs and safety is of paramount importance. Imagine the scene where a waiter comes out of the kitchen with trays full of food, doesn't see that a thoughtless photographer has left his tripod lying on the ground and falls over it! We have heard a story of a photographer's tripod falling over, knocking over a candle and setting fire to the curtains at the reception, but have been unable to confirm the story yet. I just hope that he/she had up to date public liability insurance to fund the repairs at the venue, otherwise it could be the bride and groom footing the bill for damage to the venue as many venue contracts hold the person who booked the venue responsible for any damage!

What questions should you ask your Wedding Photographer?

How long have you been in the wedding photography business?

Is this your full time job?

Where is your studio located? We'd like to come and see it.

What happens if you fall ill, cannot attend, etc?

Are you fully insured for Public Liability and Professional Indemnity?

Do you offer a money back guarantee if I am not happy with the proofs?