The Value of Wedding photography?
The Value of Wedding Photography?
It is very hard to put a value on wedding photography or completely understand just how important it is to hire a creative professional on your wedding day. That “value” becomes a harsh reality when you realize you hate your wedding day photos! Or they are just OK! And after it is too late, once of a lifetime moments were missed, you don’t like the way you look….. Where are my family shots? I hear it over and over from couples that made a wrong choice when hiring a photographer… The disappointment sets in and the term “you get what you pay for” repeats to you over and over. Why did I not make photography more of a priority and spend a little more?
Looking for a wedding photographer is now harder than ever. Just open any magazine and you will be overwhelmed with just how many choices there are. And to make the decision even harder, most ads and websites look pretty good. A photographer’s experience and reputation needs to play a huge part when making your decision. Look at other weddings he or she has documented and look for consistency from wedding to wedding from photo to photo. Consistency being a photographer’s ability to capture and document moments, wedding after wedding with excellent and consistent results. You don’t want to hire a photographer that has one good wedding to show you, look at many photos and make sure the photographer you are hiring will produce those “sample” images for you that you have seen in his/her portfolio and albums. Make sure you really look closely at the album design and that the photographs in the album tell a story and you love what you see. You should be able to imagine yourself in those photos. If you don’t, and you are not moved by them, move on and look at another photographer.
Ask how long will it take to get your finished wedding album? Get the terms in writing. Make sure you feel comfortable with the album production timeframe. We get calls all the time, “can you do our wedding album, our photographer has gone out of business, and we don’t have any photos” Referrals are also VERY important, ask around, ask your friends and gauge who was happy and who was not. Hearing a photographer’s name in a positive light over and over again is a good thing! Photographer’s who work venues several times become familiar with those properties and have the experience to work with the staff. They scout the best locations and creative angles/perspectives for those awesome photos you are looking for. Remember, EXPERIENCE, TALENT and REPUTATION…. are very important elements to think about when deciding which photographer will document you big day!
Hiring the right wedding photographer for your wedding day is one on the most important decisions you will make when planning your wedding. You can’t take away the band, the flowers, the food or the venue…but you can take away the memories from one of the most important days of your life. Those memories will be in the hands of the photographer you hire…. choose wisely and remember wedding photography needs to be a priority on your wedding day, it only happens once! ONLY ONCE!
