How To Choose Your Wedding Photographer

AN UNBIASED GUIDE TO FINDING,CHOOSING AND HIRING THE PERFECT

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

StylePersonality

Price Reliability

PresentationBooking

Final Thoughts7

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This guide is provided for all freshly engaged couples in order to help with the planning of one of the biggest days of many couples’ lives - their wedding day. Talking from over 15 years experience in the wedding industry, using that knowledge to provide an unbiased guide ensuring the decision made when choosing a wedding photographer is informed and correct.The text and photographic content of this guide is copyright Stuart James Photography and must not be copied or reproduced without prior written consent from Stuart James.

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Choosing a photographer to document one of the most important, emotional and happy days of your life will be the longest lasting decision you will make out of all of the dozens of things you’ll have to choose in order to make your day as perfect as it can be.

This is for one simple reason...following the day, you will have only one thing left to relive and remember the memories and the details of your day, the photographs.

The chances are you’ve never hired a professional photographer before and it can be a bit of a minefield when you start your planning journey. Finding your perfect photographer is so important, and there are a few things that are worth considering when searching.

This guide is written to help you through the start of this process, and make the search for your professional wedding photographer informed and considered.

Stuart

Welcome

Get in touch0800 3317741 ● 07834 978905info@stuartjamesphoto.co.ukwww.stuartjamesphoto.co.uk

www.facebook.com/stuartjamesphotowww.twitter.com/sjphotographer

StyleHOW WILL YOUR DAY BE CAPTURED?

∞ Think about exactly how you’d like your day captured ∞ Imagine yourself in the photographer’s portfolio images∞ Go for timeless, not fashionable!

Points to remember

Top of your priority list when you start looking for your photographer will be how the photography looks and how the photographer shoots. When choosing the style of your wedding photographer it is important to look at their work, over and above how they describe themselves. Many photographers will mix a combination of styles, choosing to approach different parts of the day in different ways.

Their portfolio should be consistent, and their website and blog should provide a good history of previous weddings they’ve photographed so you can see what they can achieve at different venues, with different people, at different times of year, and also how they cope with the inclement British weather! It can be very easy to get caught up in a photographers portfolio and get captivated by their work, but it is important to consider how you want your wedding to look. Take the time to picture yourself and your wedding in that photographers work, making sure what you’re seeing is a match for what you want...If the idea of model-like posed photographs isn’t for you, and that’s all their portfolio consists of it’s time to look elsewhere, and if all they do is fly-on-the-wall style photojournalism, and you want dozens of formal family portraits, you are mostly likely not going to be a good match!

Second to this is the way the pictures look; the content and composition of the images, the colours and the processing. The composition is a huge element - look at the way different photographers choose to capture a similar photograph, and you will see different approaches - choose which it is you like! Photographers tend to have consistent looking colours to their images, some choosing to process their images with high clarity and punch, others choosing to tone their images in a certain way - choose which you prefer, and choose a photographer that prefers this style - don’t ask them to change.Finally - and most importantly - is the content of the images; what does the photographer choose to photograph? Is it a seemingly endless set of detail photographs, or do they choose to capture the moments that show the feeling and emotion of you, your friends and family. A good balance of both is probably the best approach, but this is worth looking at.

PersonalityWHO IS YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER?

∞ Your photographer will be with you all day ∞ You’ll remember a bad experience over good photos∞ Is this person someone you could be friends with?

Points to remember

Your photographer’s personality is almost of equal importance to the quality of their work and the style you’ve chosen them for. Your relationship with your photographer will be one of the longest of all your suppliers, booking them shortly after securing your venue throughout the planning and the day itself, spending time with them after the day putting together the perfect albums and print packages that will stay with you and your family. With all that in mind, it’s really important you choose someone you get on with!

Chances are your photographer will be with you from the hair and make-up in the morning through into the party - that could be for over 10 hours, so it’s hugely important that you are completely comfortable in their company. On the morning of your wedding, you may be feeling all sorts of emotions and the last thing you want is to be in the company of someone you’re not comfortable with. The only way to truly judge personality is in a meeting before booking them, or at least a phone call or Skype chat. You’re really thinking: ‘Is this person someone I could go for a meal with?’, ‘Are they your kind of person?’, ‘Do you like them?’, ‘Will your guests warm to them?’

Your photographer will also have an impact on how smoothly your day will run, and to some extent the mood and feeling of the day. They can be a calm and relaxing influence throughout the wedding or an easily stressed and flustered person that will pull the mood down...

Choose a photographer you get on with, and one that you like!

Price

∞ Go for the best photographer you can afford, not the most product you get for your money - you can always buy albums and products later∞ Your only memory of your wedding day is the photography∞ The bitter taste of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of a cheap price...

Points to remember

After all the excitement and hours of planning that leads to the perfect day, you’ll only ever want to be left with a stunning photographic record of your day. A bad photographer can make an amazing, fun and expensive day look horrible, depressing and cheap whilst a great photographer will capture every moment and intimate detail of your day, reliving it in an instant.

When you started planning, price was probably top of your list, and whilst this is indeed important to ensure your budget doesn’t get out of hand, it’s also important that this area of your day isn’t compromised. If you value the memory of your day in any capacity and you want great photos, the only way is by hiring a creative, experienced and trustworthy professional photographer. Unfortunately there’s no real qualification body that sets the bench mark, or indeed a professional body that can provide all the assurances you need. There are countless photographic groups and competitions that dish out dozens of awards and prizes, but not many of these are a good indicator of professionalism, creativity or reliability; your judgement is the only one that counts here!

It’s very easy to start comparing photographers on the products that you’re paying for. This sized album against that sized album; that many hours versus that coverage. The only way you should really judge the value you’re getting is on the quality of the photos you receive and the service you’ll experience. Hire the best photographer you can afford, not the one who offers you the most products for your money. You can always save up and buy albums and prints later, you can’t buy missed moments or repeat your day...

The magazines recommend that 10% of your total wedding budget is spent on the photographs, but of all the decisions you’ll make, choosing a great photographer is one you’ll never regret. There are plenty of stories about ‘bad wedding photography’, ‘DSLR wielding guests out of their depth after being asked to capture the day’, not to mention lost photographs... The next section covers reliability but this is a good reflection on the price you may pay.

ReliabilityMAKE SURE EVERYTHING’S COVERED

Many photographers are secretly geeks underneath who love their gadgets, so the amount of gear they’ll own isn’t normally the issue - it’s whether they’re backed-up on the day or not. Should any one piece of equipment fail, there should be something else in it’s place to take over the job should the worst happen.

Once the photos are safely downloaded they should also have an off-site copy should they get burgled or suffer a fire at their studio/home. Once the photos are with you, you should do the same and keep a separate copy somewhere safe, but also consider talking to your photographer about a ‘fail-safe’ solution that you can call back on in years to come.

An experienced photographer will undoubtedly archive all of their weddings, and be there when ever you need them. Many photographers offer an online storage solution so you can access your photos at any time from anywhere, which is great when visiting friends and family or should you wish to share your images with people overseas.

Also worth checking out with your photographer is that they are covered by public liability and professional indemnity insurance - this isn’t a legal requirement for a photographer but any professional should have this in place. Some venues also require that the vendors you bring in have this cover.

What would your wedding photographer do if they were ill on the day? Don’t be shy about asking this question, and if you get a flustered answer, this isn’t a good sign! It’s probably something they haven’t thought about, and are just hoping they don’t break an arm the week before your wedding. If you’ve not looked at your own wedding insurance, please take a minute to check it out. It’s not normally that much and would cover you in the event you had to postpone the day for any reason.

∞ Don’t be shy about asking your photographer about their back-up solutions ∞ What happens if the photographer can’t make the day? ∞ Consider getting your own wedding insurance.

Points to remember

PresentationWEDDINGS ALBUMS + WALL PRINTS

∞ Don’t leave your photos in a disc sitting in a drawer!∞ Pick a few select favourite photos and get them professionally printed - your home will thank you for it!

Points to remember

Part of the experience of booking a professional photographer is the exclusive access to a range of beautiful and bespoke products that simply aren’t available to the general public. Whilst there are dozens of companies for photographers to choose from, most will have selected a choice few products to showcase your photos with; albums, books, frames and other wall mounted prints.

Not all products are created equal; a great wedding album will show-off your big day at it’s finest and last a lifetime, becoming a true family heirloom - lesser books may not be much better than you could order from your supermarket; you don’t want to be disappointed by sub-standard options in the future.

Don’t leave your framing or wall prints to a high steet store or the supermarket either! A professionally printed and finished print will make a stunning stand-out piece in any home. Your wedding photographer will generally be the best person to trust with this job - who else cares more about how their work is presented than the photographer who created it?

BookingSIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED

∞ Don’t leave it too late to get in touch!∞ Speak in person or over the phone before booking∞ Make sure the paperwork holds up

Points to remember

Wedding photographers will generally only accept a limited number of bookings every year, so it’s important that you start looking as soon as you have your date and venue. You don’t want to find the perfect photographer, only to find out they’re already booked.

Once you’ve made contact and found out that they are available, you should arrange a consultation in person or over the phone to ask any questions you may have, and get to know them whilst confirming for yourself that they’re definitely the right person. Don’t be pressured into making a booking there and then, a pushy photographer isn’t a good photographer.

When you’ve made your choice, there will be some paperwork to sort out and a booking fee. Don’t be put-off by the contract - it covers you as much as the photographer, but make sure you read it carefully and only sign it once you’re comfortable.

Final Thoughts

THE PHOTOGRAPHER HASN’T SHOT AT OUR VENUE BEFORE, SHOULD I FIND SOMEONE WHO HAS?

This is a question that often comes up, and the only response I can give is please don’t dismiss a photographer on this basis alone. Often bringing fresh eyes and ideas to a venue can result in the most stunning photographs. A good photographer will be looking for the best light on the day, using the most photographic - though not always the most obvious - locations, ensuring your wedding photographs are unique and very special. A pre-wedding visit isn’t essential either - unless the location is off the map!

THEY DON’T HAVE ANY AWARDS, NEITHER ARE THEY “QUALIFIED”?

There aren’t any industry standard qualifications, although there are quite a few industry bodies, but please don’t let any photographers without the phrase “award winning” on their website put you off. Photography is art and only you can be the real judge of how good they are.

SHOULD I GIVE MY PHOTOGRAPHER A LIST OF SHOTS?

This is something that gets written about ceaselessly online and in magazines, but providing a ‘shot list’ is a sure fire way of stifling the natural creativity of your photographer. A meeting to discuss what is important to you about your day, and the specific family photographs you would like is really important and valuable to ensure you get the final collection of photographs that you are looking for, but you really must trust your photographer to capture your day in their style. Trust in their professionalism to capture the memories that you will cherish...but if there is something you want that’s a little different, make sure you talk about it!

DO YOU SHOOT CANON, NIKON, SONY, FILM etc?

Photographs are all about the gear, but when it comes down to it much like a spanner, a camera is just a tool. It’s not the camera or lens that captures the photographs, it is your photographer that uses the tools at their disposal to capture their vision of your day.

AM I COMFORTABLE?

Above all else, your photographer should be someone you are 100% comfortable with. You are trusting them with your memories! They will be with you during some of the most intimate and precious moments of your wedding, so it’s vital that you feel happy with your choice and you can relax in their company. Trust your instincts!

REVIEWS / TESTIMONIALS

So you’re new at this - don’t worry! Use the tools at your disposal, read the reviews on google and facebook, ask around with the local wedding suppliers, ask for referrals if you need to - a good photographer will always be able to give you testimonials from previous clients upon request, or even provide you with contact details should you wish to hear from them directly. An experienced photographer relies on their recommendations and word-of-mouth!Speak to your friends abour their experiences with their wedding photographer and try to make use of tips and advice from those who have organised their own weddings.

Who is Stuart James?My name is Stuart James (that’s me to the left with my wife Beki) and I have been photographing weddings for over 15 years. I’m very passionate about photography, and more than anything, about capturing and telling the story of each and every wedding in my own natural documentary style, and plac-ing in the hands of my clients a timeless photographic record for them and their familis to look back upon for decades into the future.

I’ve long had an interest in photography, something which has to be at-tested to following my father’s footsteps, but there has always been a spe-cial place in my heart and mind for storytelling documentary photography, and from when I started to employ this approach to my own work over ten years ago, it started to really make the magic happen.

Weddings are such amazing events which are so incredibly special and precious for not only the couple, but their families and friends. For me being able to witness and record the love of one person to another, from a mother and father closing a chapter on their lives as their daughter starts a new family with her man, to the friends you don’t see from year to year but are always there, to the people who are just coming into your lives…these are all just such incredible elements of a day that I’m fortunate enough to be a part of. I have such a huge passion for photography and could think of nothing I would be happier doing than documenting weddings.

Having recently had the huge high of my own wedding, I know just how important it is to find the right photographer, someone you feel comfortable with and whom you trust, and someone who will capture your memories the way you want to see them told.

Should you wish to talk to me about your own wedding, ask for advice, or indeed discuss the possibility of me capturing your story, please do get in touch.

I hope this guide has been helpful!

Get in touch0800 3317741 ● 07834 978905

info@stuartjamesphoto.co.ukwww.stuartjamesphoto.co.uk

www.facebook.com/stuartjamesphotowww.twitter.com/sjphotographer

Ⓒ Stuart James Photography | How To Choose Your Wedding Photographer 2016