Choosing a Wedding Photographer

For most couples choosing a wedding photographer can be a pretty daunting task.

After finding and securing your dream venue it is probably the next most important decision you need to make.

There are many competent photographers, most will be able to record the day’s events successfully and produce a reasonably professional looking album. However, modern brides are now demanding so much more than just a series of posed formal portraits. Today’s approach is more relaxed, leading to natural spontaneous pictures: ones that capture all the emotion and tell the complete story of the day.

Almost all top professional now only shoot with digital equipment. This enables the photographer(s) to use just the one camera and concentrate solely on the day’s events. Everything is taken in colour with any image also being available in black & white as required. Many photographers will also offer sepia toning, bi-colour and other digital effects.

Photographers will normally offer several types of packages to suit your requirements. These consist of a fixed amount of hour’s coverage, usually starting at home with the brides preparations and continue through to the wedding breakfast. Coverage can then be extended to include speeches, the first dance and all the evenings celebrations.

Engagement shoots are now becoming more popular following trends in the US. These are usually arranged about a year before the wedding and often take place at the actual venue. Ask your photographer if he’s willing to include this as part of your package and perhaps have the pictures incorporated into the wedding album.

Another increasing trend is to have all the images put onto a DVD-Rom so you and your guests can view slideshows on TV and even print off their own pictures. You would need copyright permission so expect to pay around £300 or so for the privilege. Alternatively have a web gallery so that friends and family living abroad can view and purchase online.

Just as equipment technology advances, presentation has also evolved. Now albums are designed around pictures, enabling individual one-off bespoke masterpieces to be created. Particularly in-vogue currently are digital magazine style albums where multiple images are used and printed as a single page. As these are becoming increasingly popular prices will drop and they are no longer just the sole domain of the high-end customer. The best albums come from Italy and New Zealand, ask your photographer if he has client status with one of these companies.

Remember that your photographer will be with you throughout probably the most important day of your life. It is therefore important that you develop a special relationship which will be key to producing natural, relaxed pictures on the day.

If you approach a large studio, rather than an individual professional, ask to speak to the actual photographer who will be covering your wedding and see examples of his work, including a complete recent wedding.

The Package

Something Different

Wedding Albums

Copyright (c) 2008 The Wedding Venue Photography Company. All rights reserved.

All images used courtesy of db photography