Blog – How To Choose A Wedding Photographer

Heard about Marc and Sylvia Day’s wedding photographer horror story? £1,450 for 22 “reasonable” photos and loads of useless ones, plus some shaky video, complete with cursing. I won’t delve further into details here, as they are readily available from most news sources and thousands of wedding and photographer blogs.

How to avoid the same fate as Marc and Slyvia Sylvia? If your bride-to-be has passed the responsibility of hiring the photographer to you, take some steps to ensure your process leads you in the right direction.

Step One: Get out of the pub.

Sure, there’s free wifi, and you’ve brought your laptop along. Loads of merry folk around to offer opinions as well. And any photographer worth your attention lives on the web. But so do the others you want to avoid (some of those might even live at the pub). Finding the right one will require a bit of leg work. Sober legs, preferably.

First use the internet to create a long list of candidates (Ok, for this part you can stay in the pub). Search for photographers within a reasonable radius displaying images matching your preferred style. Use resources like the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers, the British Institute of Professional Photography, and the Master Photographers Association. Know, however, that membership in any of these organisations (despite what their websites might tell you) does not guarantee a pleasing experience; the infamous photographer from the media story in question was a member of at least one of the above-named organisations.

Step Two: Ask around.

Ask friends and colleagues who were recently married for their recommendations. If you’re still at the pub on your laptop, check their Facebook profiles for wedding photos and potential links to photographer profiles. A personal recommendation holds much more value than a list distributed by a professional organisation. Word-of-mouth is still the most valuable resource, even in the age of Google.

Visit other wedding retailers and venues. Many will have promotional materials from area photographers you can view. Don’t count on them to make recommendations, however. Liability issues and threats of lawsuits may prevent some business from doing anything more than having the materials around for you to view yourself.

Visit a wedding show. They are littered with photographers these days.

Once you feel you’ve gathered a satisfying list of photographers, take a bit of time to narrow down your selections to a manageable short list. Then get to know your candidates.

Schedule face-time.

Internet portfolios can be a huge time saver when you’re searching for a wedding photographer (although disable the sound on your computer and listen to your ipod or something. Just trust me on this). Nothing beats face-time, however. Phone calls and emails are terrific and fast, but you really should meet your short-listed photographers face-to-face when possible. Spend at least thirty minutes with him or her to view work, discuss their portfolio, background, process, etc.

The questions you choose to ask are important, as are their answers, but focus particularly on their personality. They will be spending the better part of the day with you and your family, and their attitude will certainly influence the attitude you show in your photographs. So choose someone whose company you enjoy. One blogger still rants about her photographer’s bad behavior at her wedding last year. It’s a worthwhile read for couples and photographers.

A photographer who listens and responds to what you have to say will be a great start.

Met someone at a wedding show you like? Schedule another meeting before you commit. Wedding fairs provide great one-stop shopping, but a personal meeting outside of that environment will give a far better impression and allow more time to talk and question.

Make a list. Or several.

Write down a list of questions, even if you don’t plan to bring it along to the meeting. The process of writing will help solidify the questions in your mind and will often yield questions you hadn’t thought of. What questions should you ask a wedding photographer? Loads of great suggestions from wedding photographers via that link; scroll down toward the bottom of the post for the bulleted list. Here is a sampling of some key questions most clients won’t think to ask:

• Are you insured for liability and equipment? (You’ll find many of the cheaper candidates are not. And that’s bad news.)
• What has influenced your photography style the most, and why? (Great photographers can talk at length about photography generally and why they work the way they work)
• Can you tell me about a time you experienced a difficult situation at a wedding and how you handled it? (Yes, you are conducting a job interview)
• What does the day look and feel like with you as my photographer? (Just kidding! This photographer is obviously from California.)

Ready, ready… go.

Well ok, just one more pint…

Randall Murrow specialises in portrait and wedding photography, operating from Surrey and Greater London and serving clients throughout the UK and abroad.

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