Booking A Good Wedding Photographer, Wedding Photography

Booking A Good Wedding Photographer (Cont from Home Page)

Once you have a clearer idea of what you like, start looking solely at the wedding photographers who serve your area and start to build up a shortlist.

Contact wedding photographers to check their availability (bear in mind that summer dates with popular photographers can be booked years in advance) and obtain a quote. The more detail you can provide them with the more accurate the quote can be. For custom quotes length of coverage is one of the most important determinants of price - not only does it take up more time on the day, but more images are captured which require more time to be spent in post-processing. Ideally a photographer would want to know: details of all venues involved (with postcodes), time of ceremony and when food is served (generally the key fixed times during the day) and an approximation of the number of hours coverage required (try and avoid vague phrases like 'full-day coverage').

Many photographers now offer a disc of high resolution images with copyright allowing you to print your own photos. If this is important to you ask how much this will cost.

When you visit a wedding photographer you need to be gathering the information to answer the following questions. Do you like their work? Can they reliably deliver this quality of work? Can you work with them?

Ask to see complete albums. You don't want to be presented with a series of 'best of' shots built up over a few seasons. What does their work look like on rainy days? On very sunny days when the sun is strong? What does the bride's dress look like under these conditions (you should be able to see detail rather than pure white)? If you're having an indoors winter wedding lit primarily by artificial lighting ask to see examples of their work shot under similar conditions.

Don't forget that the wedding photographer will be looking at you with a critical eye too. Good wedding photography is about teamwork. If you're a fun couple, the easier it is for the photographer to get great shots.

After the meeting share your thoughts as a couple. Did you feel a rapport with the photographer? Will you be able to work with them? Again, feeling comfortable, relaxed and confident with a photographer makes it easier to get great photographs.

What does a professional offer that your friend with a top-of-the-range digital camera doesn't? Wedding photography is a skillful occupation and there are surprisingly few people who can do it really well. If this were not the case prices would be a lot lower than they are. It's technically demanding from a photographic point of view and very high pressure. There's often only one chance to get the shot. A professional will have a good feel for the flow and key points of the day allowing them to be in the right place at the right time. They'll have very good people skills, be able to capture great candids and also organise and pose formal group shots with the minimum of interruption and fuss.

Wedding photographers have to juggle many factors at the same time and these are not the conditions that keen amateurs are used to shooting in. Good wedding photography is not just about good equipment.

A professional can reliably deliver great pictures no matter the challenges encountered on the day.