Things to consider when hiring a wedding photographer

So you want to hire a wedding photographer? You want beautiful images that are high quality and at a decent price. The old saying “you get what you pay for” is very relevant when it comes to photography or videography. A professional photographer can create great images with a cheaper consumer based camera for sure, but there are other things to consider when shooting a wedding. Let’s get into it.

  Let’s consider the equipment first. Your photographer should be using a professional full frame camera with dual card slots. Full frame for the low light capabilities that should be used to capture images in low light with less noise and grain. Dual card slots for redundant files. Imagine your photographer has only one card slot and the card becomes corrupted, resulting in a loss of all images of your wedding day! Lens…., well professional fast aperture lens are a must for low light and nice bokeh. A computer capable to edit the images with redundant hard drives to preserve the images after copying from the cameras media card. Keep in mind when you see the cost of a wedding photographer, they have huge equipment costs, the labor during the event, the editing time, the software and hardware costs, storage costs, the deliverable, taxes, etc. All these things add up very quickly. How about a backup camera in the case one camera fails during an event? We have had this happen and we had a backup camera to save the day. Does your photographer have a calibrated computer monitor to ensure the images on the screen are what you will see when printing? These things are very important to ask your photographer.

   How about lighting? We hear this a lot, “I’m a natural light photographer”. Well, there is nothing wrong with that, we shoot natural light as well. It has its place in photography, as photography is very subjective. What we usually see is, when someone says they are a natural light photographer, it means they don’t own a flash/strobe, or don’t know how to use flash. Granted this is not always the case, just generally speaking from what we hear and see. We have witnessed natural light photographers who would have not gotten quality images, maybe missed moments altogether, if not for the fact that a videographer with a video light happened to be present. So being able to light your subject and your scene properly is very important for wedding events where the light is usually very low. Take the event lighting into consideration and whether your photographer can provide their own lighting and equipment if required for low light or bright sunny days.

  You should expect to sign a contractual agreement with your photographer. Let’s face it, you are spending a lot of money and you need in writing what you both expect. This includes the time frame, the cost, the deliverables, prints, digital only, consultations, licenses, permits, retainers, payment schedules, resolution of images, coordination, and the list goes on and on.

  Then there are packages. We don’t not offer general packages online. Think of all the different variables that can be included for a wedding. The location or locations, permits, licenses, access, timeline, number of photographers required to cover the event, lighting required, assistants that may be required, along with many other items that may affect the costs. This means there is no way to be competitive with a general package that would have to be very high to cover any unforeseen items. So a customized package for your specific needs should give you a better price rather than a very high package price or even worse, a low package price that may not include what you require. Your photographer should be able to provide you with a cost to fit your needs and be confident with their cost. 

   Now let’s discuss prints. We did a test with 4 different consumer based printing labs. The result was that the same image was dramtically different in appearance, color, and exposure. Prints should be printed by a professional lab, by the photographer if you are paying for prints. Now we have albums. What size albums, how many photographs, signature album? As a photographer, we would not want the client to take a photograph that we have spent time editing the correct exposure, correct colors, tones, styling, etc. and allow the client to print this image, to be displayed on an easel, at the wedding event, that was printed at a consumer based printing lab. Who knows how the photograph will turn out? The client may think it is great, but the client may also not have the knowledge or experience to judge if the print is good or bad. After all, this is a huge advertisement for the photographer as it is on display for all to see at the event, and you should want the best image available for your bridal portrait to display. If you are paying for prints, who does your photographer use for printing and what is their reputation as a printing lab?

   How about style? We can offer natural light photography, flash photography, night photography, low light photography, light and airy photography, dramtic photography, journalist photography, environmental photography, and more. Photography is subjective. One may prefer more dramitic images, while another may prefer light and airy images. Light and airy are easier for a photographer to capture. Dramatic  images are more difficult because of the added lighting, time, and equipment required. 

   Pay attention to the eyes of a subject in a portrait. If the eyes look like black buttons, then there was not enough light on the subject and the photographer should have added light to fill in those dark areas. You wil see these all over social media. Whether this be turning the subject into some natural light, or adding fill flash. Typically you will see these black button eyes from natural light photographers who don’t use the available light to their advantage or didn’t have the available light required. We personally love to see the glimmer of light in the subjects eyes. It brings the image to life in our subjective opinion. Look for the sky in images. Is the sky completely white and very bright or is it a pretty blue for daytime shoots? If it’s white, either it was a cloudy day or the photographer didn’t use additional light to expose for the sky and subject at the same time, which is more difficult to do. It also requires more equipment like strobes, reflecters, and maybe an assistant to get those blue skies on a bright sunny day. This may add additional costs and time as well. Light and airy, bright white skies only requires a photographer and a camera.

   Resolution of the images. When you zoom in on an image on your mobile device or computer, does the image get blurry and pixelated? If so, then the resolution may be very low. This can be the result of either deliberately exporting smaller image sizes or the camera used has a very low image resolution. If you decide to blow up an image to display on an easel or for a large frame, you need to be sure the photographer provides a high resolution image for you or the image may appear blurry or pixelated. Consumer cameras are usually lower resolution and do not provide clean, low grain images in low light.

   Experience. Has your photographer performed their services for weddings in the past? When was their last wedding? How do they deal with some of the unforeseen circumstances mentioned above? Are they polite? Will they give you a pleasant experience? The last thing you want on your wedding day is a photographer with a bad attitude. They should be able to adapt to changes at a moments notice. If your photographer can’t answer the things mentioned above or is unpleasant during the consult or phone conversation, you may want to move on and find someone else. Does your photographer have a real business and a real website? Do they have a business license? What type of payments do they accept? If photographing in the city you are required to have a permit and/or a business license if you are being compensated for services. 

   EPV hopes this helps answer some questions when hiring a photographer. We hope by writing this you will understand that we do have the equipment, skills, experience, and professionalism to offer you a quality service at a great price. If you have any other questions or would like us to provide services for you wedding, please contact us to discuss further.