Photographer advice

The most important thing I think other than the photographs is you being able to click with them.

It's vital that you feel comfortable and can relax around the photographer at the end of the day he'll be photographing you at your most emotional moment of your life and it shows through in the photos

make sure you see his insurance doc's etc.

Don't be scared of saying we'll think about it either

Hi Emma,

Make sure you see a few full weddings - not just their best photos. Ask how many photos you'll get on your discs, and check that the photos are high resolution & not watermarked so you can make decent quality prints etc.

As Chris mentioned, make sure that you get on well with him too, as you'll see quite a lot of him on the day and the last thing you want is a photographer who gets on your nerves!

Ali x

Insurance
Contract
Backup equipment
Full gallery of recent work
No axe in the boot of their car

Hi Germaki,

At that sort of price (around a £1,000) I wouldn't really worry about the difference in quality between a £900 photographer and a £1,500 - there are all sorts of reasons in terms of overheads, location, business plan etc that make some photographers charge more than others but someone who charges £900 should be pretty handy with a camera ?

If the website is good, the blog has some depth to it (in terms of images shown per wedding) & the photographer is 'fairly' experienced (& visually aware of what is current) then it will all depend on personality, if you feel you can trust this person to deliver the goods for you on the day & (importantly) are they pleasant to deal with - a sense of humour is always a good start in my book!

You can/ should always ask to see complete weddings, which shouldn't be a problem.

Ask how he works on the day, will he visit the venue with you etc.

good luck,

Andrew

Hi Germaki,

My OH is a photographer so our search for the right one was a nightmare! Loads I would have said were could he rejected. Anyways, from all of those discussions what I learned is that you need to see the full wedding, not just the best shots. Anyone can take one or two good pics at each wedding, you want someone who is consistently good.

The other thing to consider is photography of the reception. A lot of the photographers we looked at did amazing daytime shots but as soon as it got dark and there wasnt much natural light the quality plummeted! Watch out for ultra-bright flashes that leave shadows on everything behind them and zig-zagging lights (i'm sure its got a special name, where the camera has moved while the picture is being taken).

I hope this helps, but I think what people like when it comes to photography is so personal that what we think might be a shot that loses our business, it might be a winner for someone else. If that makes sense?

Good luck xx

Oh and showing up in jeans and a polo shirt to a wedding is a huge no-no to me. Even if you are the photographer!

Really good advice there - bet it was really hard for you to find a photographer - not sure who we'd choose if we got married again! Good point re the low light too, a good photographer knows how to use flash well if needed and not kill the atmosphere ?

Definitely agree with this one too! I don't hear of it happening often though, hopefully most photographers have more respect for the day than that. We once saw a photographer wearing scruffy trousers and a fleece covered in cat hair - I couldn't believe it!

Ali x

I've seen a photographer at a wedding in a registry office before the one i shot in shorts and flip flops would of been bad anyhow but in October lol

Even though i'm a photographer there are some crack pots in our profession am sure the other photographers here would agree lol

Oh yes! There's definitely a few of those!!!

haha! Let's hope not!

Thank you everyone for your replies. On his site he has a FAQ section which does seem to explain about back up equipment, what happens if he's ill, and even what he wears.

He does say that he'll take 300+photos which are edited- is that a good amount?

Thanks again

If that's for all day then imho that's him covering himself ... you may get more .... but as a safety net he says 300.... and for the editing part....every photo that a photographer takes these days is edited in one way or another - i doubt any including myself have ever sent a unedited photograph to a bride

These days, for'all' day photography 300 is considered quite a low number, considering that number would be made up of posed & 'documentary' shots.

i shot a wedding a couple of weeks ago from arrivals, ceremony & an hour afterwards (in the grounds of a really nice hotel near here) & ended up with 160 odd edited & retouched images.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew, I've just noticed your from Cardiff so will be taking a look at your site

What Chris said

Some good advice already.....I would add that you need to know timelines for online viewing of the wedding and how long before you get the final product. There have been many cases on this forum where the delivery is very slow. Get this detail in writing.

Peter

Excessive flash leaving shadows is my bug too....... The zig zag you refer to is when flash is combined with a slow shutter speed so that you end up with a double image.(camera shake plus flash)

On the subject of flash, check how your tog deals with first dance lighting. This can be quite difficult to illuminate the couple, maintain general lighting levels and not ruin the floor by excessive and incorrect technique. Below is a hitchers wedding from last Saturday.

I have always believed you get what you pay for. However we videoed a wedding recently with an award winning photographer who was paid a lot of money. When the photo came back there were only 4 in the church and there were a lot of random people. On the question of the number of photos you should get from a full day. It's better to get 300 high quality ones than 900 average at best ones. Also the amount of editing varies a lot I know some photographers who consider tweaking the contrast as edited. Happy Planning XX