How to choose a wedding photographer

Looking for a wedding photographer is quite tough. For most people it’s the first time that they’ve had to hire a photographer and so they’re unsure of what to expect in terms of prices and services.

Most wedding photographers base their packages on number of hours at the wedding and the number of prints or type of coffee table book or story book album. Other factors that are considered are: how long they’ve been shooting, what their formal qualifications are and what their ability is. Sometimes a really good photographer is really cheap. Sometimes a really bad photographer is very expensive. Making an informed decision can be extremely difficult.

Your first point of call is to look at what you can realistically afford.

Then consider some of the following:

1. Do you get on with your photographer? For me this is of utmost importance. Unlike the other service providers that you’ll use, a photographer will be with you for the entire day. If you don’t like them or they don’t like you it will show in your photographs.
2. Choose someone that works with top of the range equipment and that has back up equipment. A good camera doesn’t make a good photographer, but it can make the difference between a good photograph and an excellent photograph.
3. Consider the number of years they’ve been shooting for but don’t base your decision solely on this – there are quite a few really bad wedding photographers that have somehow managed to stay in business for years.
4. Price range is not always a good indicator of ability. Sad but true. There are a lot of really over priced, fairly new wedding photographers on the block. People charging a lot of money who don't actually have the goods to back up their price tag. There are also, if you look carefully, really good photographers who are still working their way up the ladder and who haven't got ridiculous price tags. In fact their price tags might even lead you to believe that they're not that good. Unfortunately with no regulatory body, price really isn't an indicator of ability; don't use it as such.
5. Have they got a formal qualification in photography? Often you get really top class photographers who are self taught. But, I have to say I’ve seldom seen a formally trained photographer that doesn’t know what they’re doing.
6. Have they shot in a range of conditions and environments (and can you see this in their portfolio)? What you’re looking for here is evidence that they know what to do when it rains, if they have to shoot at mid day (a photographer’s pet peeve because of the bad lighting) or if they’re shooting in a situation with almost no ambient light. If all their portfolio photos look the same, it is not a good thing.
7. Are they good at shooting receptions? For me this is often the separator of the mice and the mean photographers. If someone can’t do good reception shots (working under low light conditions) then don’t hire them because they don’t understand enough about light.
8. Can they read people? Do they have images that show people mid-blink, mid-yawn, mid-sneeze? Or have they captured the people in front of them at the apex of their emotion, when the smile is biggest and the tears most expressive?
9. Will they show you a full wedding shoot? It’s easy to pick the very best photos to impress people, but what is the level of their ‘worst’ photos? If their ‘worst’ photos aren’t good – don’t choose them. Remember, you want 90% of shots to be good. Of that 90% about 10% should be excellent. About 30% should be really good. And if you’re seeing more than 10% that are bad . . . it’s not a good thing.