So the love of your life has finally popped the question… you’ve told family and friends… you’ve probably already started planning your day, and are now realizing that it’s not as easy as you thought!!!  Flowers, caterers, dresses, cakes, favors, napkins, so many things to plan!!!!  So when do you start looking for the professionals that will capture all of those details that you have planned out… the wedding photographer and videographer?  I can’t speak much for the wedding videographer, since that’s not my specialty, but I can sure give you some tips for looking for and choosing the right photographer for you.

There are many things to consider when it comes to finding the right photographer for your specific needs… sure there are tons and tons of photographers (thousands in the L.A. area alone!!!), and it will be a little mind-boggling at first, trust me.  So first… take a deep breath and consider a few things.  I always recommend to sit down (before you even start looking) and write down your needs… what you want, what you expect, and what you want to pay to get it.  Now … toss it all out the window, but keep it in the back of your head. 

First let’s think about what you do want out of your photographer… what is it that is most important to you?  Do you want a traditional photographer, photojournalistic, editorial? (feel free to read my previous post where I discuss the difference of those 3 styles).  Do you want to get time only, or prints as well? What kind of album do you want?  All of these things will play a huge role in your final decision.  Remember that whatever you get now will be an heirloom for your family for generations to come.  So do you want to settle for just ‘whatever’, are you ok with friends just taking pictures from those disposable cameras, or do you want to have something that will last a lifetime…

With photography, as with anything wedding related… you can get pretty much anything your heart desires – as long as you are willing to pay for it, of course.  So you want an amazing photographer to document your entire event, with 3 assistants, plus you want the CD of all the images, 2 deluxe parent’s albums, and an amazing wedding album for you made out of ostrich leather with a solid gold plaque engraved with your names on it and encrusted with diamonds? No problem!!!! …as long as you’re willing to pay for it, of course.   (yes.. that album does exist – and trust me, I nearly fainted when I saw the price for just printing it!!!! I can only imagine what it would cost for an actual bride after designer fees have been applied!)

I honestly believe that the trick is to finding a good balance between what you want to receive and then reconcile that with the budget you have for your wedding photography. 

So look around on-line, visit photographer’s websites… look at what they can do with images.  Personally, when I got married, I would not consider photographers that had a portfolio that had one image from each wedding all mixed into one gallery – I personally wanted to see more images from one particular wedding (at least 24 images from one event, but the more they showed the better).  I liked to get a better idea of what my wedding images might look like. I mean, if a photographer shot 2000 images, of course they can find one to showcase and add to their portfolio… I want to see more than one… I didn’t like the idea of just having one great wedding image from my wedding day.  Of course, like I said, that is just my personal opinion… I think that’s why I like to show tons of images from each event in my galleries (I have anywhere from 80-100 images per event in each one of the wedding galleries in my portfolio). 

Once you see what style you like, look at what they have to offer in their packages.  Do they offer packages or all a-la-carte?  What do the packages include? CD of images? How many hours? Album? What kind of album? Prints?  One thing I always emphasize to my clients is the fact that I color correct each individual image before they even go on the on-line gallery, and it is those color corrected images that are in the CD that they will receive.  This is important because some photographers give you the images “as-is… right off the camera” – that means that they may not be at their best saturation.  Sure, the prints you get from them will look good since they would surely color correct those images before sending them off to the lab, but what about the images you see on YOUR CD?  I personally like to know that any image ‘out there’ that I took will look great!

With the album in mind – ask what kind of album you will get.  Traditional? Matted? Coffee table album? Leather album? Hand made album? There are so many types of albums out there!  I personally offer the coffee table albums (linen and fully designed cover) and the deluxe leather lay flat albums as well.  You might also want to ask who designs the album? Does the photographer do the designing? Using templates? Or custom designed from scratch? Does he/she send it out to an album design company?  Do you get to see the album design before it’s printed out?  I personally feel it’s very important to see what the album will look like before it’s printed… but I know not all photographers do that.  And what happens if you need changes made?  Is there an additional fee for those changes? (This is usually the case if the photographer isn’t designing the album himself… he will most likely have to pass on the cost that he will incur from the album design company that he or she uses).  I personally design all of my albums individually (from scratch) – no templates or third party companies to worry about.  But I know this is not always the case… I happen to be a graphic designer, so I like to have full control of my own designs.

If you feel like they offer great quality, but you might not be able to afford the packages initially, maybe you can inquire about a-la-carte options… maybe the most important thing to YOU is to get them to shoot your wedding day, then you can worry about everything else later… so just ask for their hourly rate or a services-only package.  But beware that a la carte options usually tend to run more expensive in the long run than an actual package … but, it usually also means that you don’t have to pay too much up front. 

Another very important thing to consider is the deposit/retainer to hold the date. Most vendors in the wedding industry require a percentage as a deposit – anywhere from 20% up to 50% or sometimes more.  Think of that when looking for any of your vendors.  When I was shopping around for photography for my own wedding, I did notice most photographers that I interviewed charged 40-50% up front… the photographer I chose to hire only required $100 non-refundable deposit… and I loved that! It was such a huge relief to not have to worry about that payment at that point.  So that’s what I require from my own clients… just $100 to hold the date.

So now to what I believe is a vital part to consider – the chemistry between you and the photographer.  Remember that the photographer will literally be your shadow for the bulk of your wedding day – they will be right there no matter where you turn… so you want to make sure that you definitely feel comfortable with them… make sure you trust them and that you have good ‘chemistry’.  The more relaxed you are around them and their camera, the better your images will turn out!  If you feel tense and stressed out it WILL show.  I like to make sure that my clients are super comfortable with me… we laugh, we share jokes, we relax together – that way the images look more natural and more intimate.  When you interview your potential photographers try to pick up on what their personalities are like… aside from their profession, do they seem relaxed, do they seem like they would go with the flow- while still having a strong enough personality to take charge when they need to?

I guess there is no easy way to ‘weed through’ all of the photographers that are out there ready to capture the beauty of your wedding day… just make sure you feel comfortable with whoever you choose and that you trust them professionally and artistically!

Flower girl looking on as the bride gets ready for her wedding day