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How to Hire a Wedding Photographer provides step-by-step instructions for hiring a photographer for your wedding. From finding the best photographers in your area to negotiating the details of the contract, here's all of the information that you will need for picture perfect nuptials.
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Introduction
- Your wedding day will surely be unforgettable, but time does dull the edges of memory. So, it's a good idea to hire a highly-skilled photographer to capture the highlights of your wedding day for posterity. Find step-by-step instructions for hiring this essential service provider below.
Step 1: Before You Search for a Photographer
- Before you start searching for a photographer, work out basic wedding planning details. You'll need a photographer who's both available on your wedding day and able to provide you with the type of photos that you desire for a reasonable price. Start your search as soon as possible because photographers are in high demand and tend to be booked far in advance.
- Set the wedding date: You must know your wedding date to book a photographer.
- Book your wedding venues: Choose your wedding ceremony and reception locations.
- Set your budget:
- Make up your wedding budget.
- Plan to dedicate approximately ten percent of your budget to photography and videography.
- Learn about photo styles: Think about what style of photographs you would like to have for your wedding. Don't waste time considering photographers who don't or can't shoot photos in the style that you want. The three styles of photography coverage are:
- Traditional: Formal, posed portraits of the bride and groom, wedding party and families.
- Photojournalistic: Candid photos that capture natural actions during important moments, with the aim of telling the story of your wedding day.
- Editorial: A mixture of traditional and photojournalist coverage, the featuring both posed portraiture and the moment-to-moment shots that show the wedding day unfold.
- Look through real wedding photo galleries to get ideas for how you want your wedding to be shot. The Knot also offers a gallery of couple shots that will surely help you understand what photography style you prefer.
Step 2: Find Photographers In Your Area
- If you want to find the perfect photographer, you have to start by considering many different choices. Use all of the resources available to you to find a number of photographers who might be a good match for your wedding.
- Get Recommendations: Ask for recommendations for photographers from your family, friends, co-workers and anyone you know who has recently married or thrown a large party. Also, ask wedding vendors; they're in the same business, and thus familiar with which photographers their customers liked.
- Check with Your Venue: Ask a representative for your venue if he has a list of photographers whose services they recommend.
- Go to Bridal Shows: Visit local bridal shows to find vendors such as photographers. Wedding planning websites such as Onewed.com and WedAlert.com provide directories that list upcoming bridal shows in many different areas.
- Search Online: Browse online vendor directories, where you can find lists of local photographers:
- Onewed.com: Vendor Search Tool.
- Brides.com: Vendor Directory.
- The Knot: City-By-City Guide.
- PartyPop.com: Directory of Event & Wedding Photographers
Step 3: Choose a Photographer
- Now that you've compiled a list of photographers in your area, it's time to interview the most promising candidates. This is the best way to assess their past work, their personalities and what they have to offer you.
Narrow Down Your Choices
- Check Availability: When you call a photographer to set up an interview, the first thing you should ask is if she's available on your wedding date.
- Look At Work Samples:
- Look through each photographer's portfolio of best work to consider whether or not you're thrilled with her past work.
- Also, ask if she has samples of wedding albums that she made for previous clients. Make sure to ask specific questions as you look through the album, such as:
- What was the couple's personality like and how did she try to capture that in the album?
- Were there particular people she was asked to focus on and did she achieve that?
Conduct Interviews
- Conduct interviews with the photographers you are considering.
- Keep it Consistent:If you're consider working with a large photography company, make sure that the photographer you interview is the same person who will shoot your wedding.
- Ask About Equipment and Effects: Make sure that your photographer has the equipment and skills that you require:
- Ask whether she shoots in 35mm, medium format and digital:
- 35mm is great, but certain photo products, such very large portraits, require medium format film. Make sure that you hire a photographer with film that allows for as many photo options as possible.
- Ask your photographer whether or not she takes digital photos. Digital photography has some benefits: the photographer can see the photos immediately to assess their quality and you'll likely get to look at your proofs sooner than you would for pictures taken with film.
- Does the photographer generally use both color and black and white film?
- Ask how she decides when to use black and white or color film and what details she tries to capture through each.
- Can she do special effects?
- Learn about different types of photos effects that you might want the photographer to use and ask to see examples of her work. Here are examples of popular wedding photo effects:
- Cross-processing: developing process that enhances color, sometimes unnaturally, and creates high contrast.
- Fish-eye lens: creates a rounding effect that creates unique photo distortions.
- Grainy film: creates an old-fashioned effect with a visibly grainy texture.
- Infrared: plays with colors and auras in photos, an effect that adds a unique touch to your wedding day photos but it should not be overdone.
- Does she bring backup cameras in case equipment fails?
- Ask whether she shoots in 35mm, medium format and digital:
- Consider Personality:
- Get a sense of the photographer's personality. Since you're picking someone to document one of the most important occasions of your life, you need someone you can trust to capture all of the highlights of your wedding ceremony and reception.
- Hire a photographer who asks questions and seems to understand you.
- She will have to draw smiles and poses out of people for hours.
- Given the extent to which your photographer will be present and involved in your wedding, it's a good idea to find someone who's both enthusiastic about shooting weddings and a pleasure to be around.
- She will likely be in the dressing room with the bride and groom.
- She will mingle with wedding guests.
Make a Final Decision
- Get Package Details: Get the details about the packages you're considering and price points.
- Discuss your photography budget with each photographer to find out whether or not you're financially compatible. Keep in mind that, depending on what type of package you get, costs range between $1500 and $4000.
- Photographers price their work in different ways. Make sure that you understand how each photographer comes up with her numbers.
- Price packages might include: the hours that the photographer works at your wedding and developing prints afterwards, combinations of different size and style prints and wedding albums for the bride and groom, and possibly their parents.
- Price compare each package against the other options, but keep in mind that it's wise to spend a little bit more to get better pictures and better service. The photographer is preserving your wedding day, and for that you'll want a talented, diligent professional.
- Check Reputation: Make sure that the photographers you're considering are reputable.
- Check with the Better Business Bureau.
- Request and check client references. Do not go with anyone who refuses to furnish at least two or three, and it's best if the photographer can show you the wedding pictures for those clients.
Step 4: Confirm Details of Service
- Once you've drawn up plans with your photographer, make sure that you confirm all of the details of the service that she will provide and the compensation that you will pay. Draw up a service contract that includes the following points:
- Parties to the contract:
- Include the names and contact information for all parties to the agreement.
- Ensure that the photographer you've chosen and any assistants that you've requested are named in the contract. You don't want to end up with someone you don't know on your wedding day.
- If there are substitute photographers you would consider in case of emergency, insist that they be named in the contract.
- Wedding day details:
- Detail the locations, including addresses, and hours that the photographer will be expected to be present and shooting.
- The contract should also include the details of the shot lists that you and your photographer agreed to.
- Equipment specifications: Write out what kind of camera the photographer will use, what additional and backup equipment she will bring and what kind of film she will shoot on and how many rolls she will shoot.
- Package details:
- Detail how many proofs and enlargements you've ordered. If you're getting a wedding album, the contract should say so.
- Ownership and reordering: The contract should say who owns the negatives (this is an important consideration because you may want to make copies of your photos later) and, if applicable, include costs for reordering prints.
- Also, try to add language to your contract that allows for the possibility of upgrading to a bigger package or locking in the initial photo rates until all prints are ordered.
- Get all of the time-related details down on paper:
- How long you will wait to view your proofs.
- How long you will wait for your prints to arrive.
- How long, if applicable, the photographer will hold on to your negatives.
- Price points: The contract should include the following price points:
- Total cost, which should be broken down item by item.
- The deposit amount you'll pay upon signing the contract.
- The balance that you will owe once the services are rendered.
- The fee schedule with the specific amount that you will owe, especially if you're paying in installments.
- Reorder price that you will pay, if applicable.
- Additional expenses, such as for travel, that you've agreed to pay.
- Cancellation and Repercussions Policies: The contract should detail what happens if you or the photographer cancels the service or what happens, such as a partial refund or additional fee, if one of the terms of the contract is violated.
- The tiny details: Make sure that you understand the contract fully. You can even insist that you have time to take it home with you to read through it.
- Sign the contract: Once you're happy with the terms of the contract, sign it and make sure that all parties have signed it. Make a photocopy for your records.
Step 5: Make a Wedding Day Plan
- Now that you've sealed the deal with the photographer who possesses the right personality and abilities, get down to making your wedding day plan. Make sure that she understands everything that you want ahead of time because you will be too busy at your wedding to remind her to take important shots.
- See the Sites:
- Discuss the sites for your ceremony and reception and, if appropriate, visit them with the photographer ahead of time to scout prime settings.
- Try to go at the same time of day that you will hold your ceremony and reception so that you can see how the light falls.
- Make the Shot List:
- Make a shot-by-shot plan for the day. Before the wedding, discuss what shots you want to have taken, and which shots you don't care to have taken, with your photographer.
- From detailed pictures of the wedding dress to shots of the bride and groom with their families, you want to make sure that your wedding photos capture the day.
- Set a Time Frame: Decide what time you'll meet your wedding photographer and decide when her shift is over. That way, you have the photographer there early enough to get the pre-wedding shots and you're not paying a high hourly wage for her services long after your attention is immersed in the reception.
- Take Photos Before the Wedding Ceremony: It's a good idea to take your formal, family portrait shots before the wedding ceremony, when everyone is present and looking their best.
- Decide on High-Priority Guests: Tell the photographer which guests you would like to have in your wedding album and what type of shots you'd like to have of those guests. Make sure that you introduce the photographer to important guests at the beginning of your wedding day.
Step 6: After Your Wedding
- After your wedding day, you will want to stay in touch with your photographer to make sure that you get all of the wedding photo products you've ordered.
- The photographer will send you your proofs in the agreed upon time frame. If this doesn't happen, contact your photographer to request them.
- Look at the online or printed proofs that the photographer provides.
- Select the photos that you like the best.
- Order the number and sizes of photos that you want. Keep in mind what your package included, or see your contract for package upgrade options.
- The prints should be ready and sent to you within six to seven weeks.
Conclusion
- Hiring a wedding photographer is an important decision that requires researching local vendors, learning a bit about photo equipment and style and finding the right personality. What you spend on a photographer results in photos that highlight your wedding day. So give thorough consideration to which photographer you choose, what style of wedding photos you request and the details of the package that you order, and you're sure to end up with photos you love!
