Spring is Here in the States

So that means the majority of weddings are here also. Here are some things to think about when hiring a photographer. Remember a photographers website will only show the best, so if it doesn't look good, walk away! If you go for the $500 wedding photographer, that's exactly what you're going to get. GET AN ALBUM! You'll look at that a lot more than the video. Do you really need video? Most photographers can do video clips for you. Whomever you're hiring for video is not Steven Spielberg. Don't expect a Hollywood production for $3000. Not gonna happen. Remember that when the expensive meal, flowers, chair covers, DJ, and cake are gone all you have left are the images. If your photographer does not initiate a meeting or lunch or portrait session with you prior to your wedding, do not use that photographer. The first words out of a good photographers mouth will be to ask what you expect as a final product. When you hire a photographer you will probably not have a detailed schedule so you can't be very specific about time. Remember his time is money. The average time of a wedding from start to finish can be up to 8 hours so don't book the photographer for 4 hours.  A good photographer will attend the rehearsal to meet the important people. The  Best Man and Maid of Honor should actually help in keeping the Bride stress free. Let them know that they may be asked to be a trouble-shooter. Don't pick a drunk. Make sure the DJ knows to announce important points in the event and does not let those happen without the photographer present. Have the wedding planner organize as much as possible. That is why they get paid. And last but not least remember that if everyone at the ceremony jumps in front of the photographer with their iPhone when you are walking down the aisle, you images will not look good!

Spring is Here in the States

So that means the majority of weddings are here also. Here are some things to think about when hiring a photographer. Remember a photographers website will only show the best, so if it doesn't look good, walk away! If you go for the $500 wedding photographer, that's exactly what you're going to get. GET AN ALBUM! You'll look at that a lot more than the video. Do you really need video? Most photographers can do video clips for you. Whomever you're hiring for video is not Steven Spielberg. Don't expect a Hollywood production for $3000. Not gonna happen. Remember that when the expensive meal, flowers, chair covers, DJ, and cake are gone all you have left are the images. If your photographer does not initiate a meeting or lunch or portrait session with you prior to your wedding, do not use that photographer. The first words out of a good photographers mouth will be to ask what you expect as a final product. When you hire a photographer you will probably not have a detailed schedule so you can't be very specific about time. Remember his time is money. The average time of a wedding from start to finish can be up to 8 hours so don't book the photographer for 4 hours.  A good photographer will attend the rehearsal to meet the important people. The  Best Man and Maid of Honor should actually help in keeping the Bride stress free. Let them know that they may be asked to be a trouble-shooter. Don't pick a drunk. Make sure the DJ knows to announce important points in the event and does not let those happen without the photographer present. Have the wedding planner organize as much as possible. That is why they get paid. And last but not least remember that if everyone at the ceremony jumps in front of the photographer with their iPhone when you are walking down the aisle, you images will not look good!

Selecting a Wedding Photographer Part 1

I've seen many articles on selecting a wedding photographer. They are usually found in bridal magazines or Pinterest and are not written by photographers. That is unless the photographer is looking for work. To be clear and for full disclosure, I am not actively seeking clients. I am in Cape Town until June of 2015 and at this point I am concentrating on personal projects. I may take on weddings again in the future, however, I plan on being very selective on the clients I work with. I will never be a wedding photo factory. I could never do that. I am the type of photographer that desires to establish a relationship with people I photograph. You can't do that shooting a ton of weddings a year. To that end, my number one piece of advice would be my number one piece of advice to be to pay attention to how many weddings a photographer shots per year. I would not select a photographer the shoots fifty weddings a year. It is almost impossible to give personal and unique photography services to each client. High volume photographers are generally, what I call the photo factory and will have a cookie cutter approach to the weddings they shoot. You will pay less for the photo factory, but remember, this may be your once in a lifetime wedding. A good clue that you may have found a great photographer is one that either answers a phone or returns a phone message rather than doing everything by email. The one that wants to speak with you and wants to find out what YOU want is at least starting out in a good direction. So in a nutshell. Step one would be to make a list of ten of your favorite local photographers that shoot twenty or less weddings a year, have a phone contact and return your call in a couple of days with plans to talk about your wedding photography desires.