As members of the wedding photography community in Tuscaloosa, we feel that one of our biggest responsibilities is to help guide couples along the long and winding path of finding their ideal wedding photographer. If that happens to be us, that’s fantastic, but if not, that’s perfectly fine too. At the end of the day, what’s most important is, who are you going to be the happiest with? It’s not an easy decision, but don’t fret, we’re here to help!
1) STYLE
We’re just going to jump right in, no need to beat around the bush! Flat out, if you don’t like the look and feel of a prospective photographer’s portfolio pictures, which is the first thing you should be looking at, there’s no need to even consider them. Regardless of price, personality, personal history, products they offer, etc, if you don’t like the images they create, you’re not going to be happy, I can promise you that. Every photographer’s style is different, as is every person’s personal taste. A photographer can take technically correct images, and still have a style that doesn’t suite your particular tastes. You don’t have to like every single image on their website, but you should legitimately love the vast majority of them. Ignore this one at your peril!
2) EXPERIENCE LEVEL
Okay, so you’ve found a photographer(s) whose images you absolutely adore, and better yet, they’re available on your wedding day – awesome! What now? Well, as great as they may be, now it’s time to find out if they’ve actually got the chops to photograph a wedding from start to finish. To be blunt, being a landscape photographer, portrait photographer, newborn photographer, etc. isn’t the same as being a wedding photographer. How many weddings have they photographed? How long has it been since the last wedding they shot? Do they shoot weddings fairly consistently, or is their wedding work more sporadic? Once you can answer all of these questions, you should be able to decide if they have an experience level that you’re comfortable with.
3) PERSONALITY
Once you’re satisfied that your prospective photographer is as capable as they are artistically inclined, now you need to decide if you can stand to be in the same room with them for an extended amount of time. Make no mistake about it, if you don’t like your photographer, it’s going to make for a long and frustrating wedding day! That’s not say you have to be the best of buddies, but you definitely shouldn’t be cringing at the thought of your next face to face meeting either.
4) WEDDING PACKAGES
Okay, you like their work, you’re satisfied they know what they’re doing, and you can even stand to be around them for than five minutes at a time – what’s next?For my money, I’d consider what services and products they’re actually offering in their various wedding packages.Are they so called ‘shoot and burners’ who are just going leave you with a thumb drive and no clue what to do next, or are they full service studio that’s going to help guide you through the process of choosing artwork for your home and helping to prevent costly mistakes?Do they offer albums with their wedding packages, or at all?If so, what are they like?Are you happy with the other products they offer?Do they include an engagement session with their packages, or is that a separate expense?What about bridal sessions?There’s no right or wrong answers here for the most part, but these are things you need to consider to ensure that you have a really great experience from end to end when choosing a wedding photographer.
-Josh
