Meeting With Your Wedding Photographer
Happy New Year, folks! Ok, I know it’s already late January, but give me a break. I’ve only just said goodbye to our last houseguest who arrived between Christmas and the New Year. One of the so-called perks of working from home. I’m living the dream: “Oh, you’re a wedding photographer? So you don’t have a REAL job, then. Can you show me around town for the next three weeks? Thanks! I just love London. Is it always this cold, snowy, and empty?”
Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, uncomfortable conversations… Actually, I had a wonderful talk last night with a couple who hired me to photograph their wedding in late spring. Hard to image late spring after all of this crap weather we’ve had lately. Coincidentally, weather which arrived just in time for the above-mentioned houseguest to arrive. But that’s another conversation…
This couple wisely funnelled their wedding photographer options through the bride-to-be’s sister, who studied photography in her undergraduate degree. She chose four candidates for a personal interview, based solely on their websites. I was the last to be interviewed, and I’ve constructed the following dialogues based on hints of the previous dialogue I gathered from our meeting.
C=”Client”
P=”Photographer”
Candidate The First
C: “So, you have a crushed ankle?”
P: “Yes, it’s quite painful, thank you for asking.”
C: “And you want to spend eight hours or more with us on our wedding day.”
P: “Oh, that would be ever so lovely.”
C: “Do you have an assistant? Or a motorised wheelchair?”
P: “That depends on the package you choose. I can bring my physical therapist along, but you’ll have to contact her for her rates.”
C: “Can we help you up from the couch?”
P: “Yes, I think that would be wise…”
Candidate The Second
C: “Oh, these are lovely photographs.”
P: “Thank you very much. Do understand, though, these are my own photographs.”
C: “Sorry?”
P: “I mean to say, I won’t actually be photographing your wedding but will hire someone to work in my place.”
C: “Oh? Can we see an album from a wedding which they have photographed?”
P: “Sorry, no. This is my only sample album. Don’t you just LOVE my work?”
C: “Yes, it’s lovely. Can we help you up from the couch?”
Candidate The Third
P: “Here’s a sample of my work. I do apologise, but it’s really not my best.”
C: “Sorry?”
P: “Yeah, it’s just a sample. The lighting is shit, and the printing technician OBVIOUSLY didn’t understand my artistic intentions.”
C: “Do you have any examples of other work under better conditions?”
P: “Um, if you could just help me off this couch…”
Candidate The Fourth
C: “Oh, these photographs are so BRILLIANT!”
P: “Thanks, I know…”
[details of conversation with Candidate the Fourth are significantly altered to protect the ego of Candidate the Fourth...]
Lessons from this post Seriously, is this section even necessary? Meet with your photographer candidates, folks. You’ll learn lots that their websites won’t tell you.
Randall Murrow is a London wedding photographer in Surrey, serving clients throughout the UK and abroad.
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