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CHOOSING YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Some tips from Image-I-Nation Photography on choosing your Wedding Photographer

Selecting A Good Photographer For Your Wedding Pictures

First things first - you'll need to decide what style of photography you prefer since wedding photographers styles vary. You'll have two basic choices; the Classic Style - groups of your friends and family and set up shots of the bride and groom in various locations or the Journalistic Style (also known as photojournalism) which captures your day with images that are mainly candid, not posed and show the atmosphere and mood of the day. This photojournalistic style is growing more and more popular with brides today.

Ideally you'll want to find a photographer who can capture both styles.

When choosing your wedding photographer make sure you systematically interview them as if they were going to be employed by you/your company. Since you will be paying them a substantial amount of money be absolutely certain they are the right person for the job and that they can cope with all your requirements and special instructions for the day.

The best way of finding your perfect wedding photographer is through recommendation by friends/family members. Photographers already used and proven to be excellent make your life easier. You can view your friend's albums and get a good idea if you like their style straight away without having to go through the arduous task of interviewing, although you'll still want to interview since personality and compatibility between the bridal couple and the wedding photographer is key. If you can get more than one recommendation, that's even better - especially if the same photographer's name comes from different sources.

Most professional wedding photographers will want to meet with you to discuss your wedding plans in fine detail and make sure they have all your details they need to custom design your wedding photography package.

Wedding Photographers' Tip: Be Sure you "click" with your photographer!

You're going to be spending your entire wedding day (and a whole lot of cash!), with the photographer you choose so ask yourself, "do we get on with this wedding photographer? What's your first impression you get when you meet for your initial meeting.or even your first phone call?

It's very important to feel at ease with this person and have an element of trust in them so you can relax and enjoy your day. You'll want to be assured that they'll do as you ask and then.just leave the rest to the photographer to take memorable images you'll always cherish.

You want them to be authoritative yet not totally take over. You can risk having them spoil your whole day if you get a bossy rude photographer who takes charge of your whole day, snaps and gets aggressive with your guests. A professional photographer will be able to get what they need without being rude and overbearing.

Planning a wedding can be a very stressful and time consuming task, but planning properly is essential for a wedding day that will run smoothly. Make a list before the interview, letting the photographer know exactly which pictures you're after and who you want in those pictures. Especially in the case of a large wedding; make sure your photographer knows exactly who they must get in a shot. If you fail to do this you run the risk of omitting an important family member or friend. You can't repeat the day or the photos so make these arrangements ahead of time and be sure that your photographer knows the important characters in the event!

The most helpful person/people to your photographer is the Best Man and Usher(s). A lot of people don't seem to realise just how important they can be. Brief your Usher correctly so they can help your photographer by pointing out the key people, help with arranging group shots and shouting out to people who may need rounding up.

If you follow these steps you will be able to enjoy your wedding day, leaving your photographer to his or her own devices and to capture wedding images that you'll cherish forever.

Final Tip: If you fail to plan you plan to fail!

Question to Ask Your Wedding Photographer

How long have you been photographing weddings?

You need to ensure that you're not the photographer's 'guinea pig' wedding and they have some substantial wedding experience under their belt. 

We have been shooting weddings since 2006

 

Can you show me more than one whole wedding from start to finish?

Most photographers show you the selection of their best images. These are fine but you need to make sure their work is consistent all the way through your day. Once you're happy with what you've seen after viewing a few of their weddings you can rest assured they're true professionals and not just doing the odd wedding here and there to make a bit of cash on the side!

Also check if images you have seen are from photographer training days in a controlled environment (weddings are fast paced and what you see from a training day is not a true reflection of a photographers ability)

Click HERE to view our wedding previews

 

Are you going to be the actual photographer at my wedding?

Some large photography companies rely on work from a group of various photographers. Make sure that the photographer you interviewed is the photographer that will be at your wedding. You don't want to go through the ordeal of interviewing and building up a relationship with your chosen photographer only to find out on the day it's someone completely different!

Kev is available when any wedding photography is booked with Image-I-Nation Photography

Can I ring one of your wedded couples for a reference?

It's all very well your photographer showing wonderful images of a previous wedding but a very important point to note is how the photographer got on with the couple. Were they put at ease, was the photographer rude at any time, were they made to feel special, were their demands met in full or did the photographer forget to get a vital image?

Sure just let us know from our galleries HERE and we will ask anybody you want if its ok

 

How long do you expect to be with us on the day of our wedding?

What time will you arrive? When will you end your shooting? Is there an extra charge if the wedding runs a little overtime?

We always shoot a full day as standard, normally 3 hours before the ceremony till around 9.30 to 10pm ish (if we are totally having fun and rocking the dance floor it may be longer) We have NO hidden extras

 

What are your charges for varying packages?

How much would a tailor-made package cost? How much deposit do you require? When will we receive our album?

It all depends on what you require? £200 secures us for your wedding. As soon as you let us know your album images you want to use we add you to our schedule and will get a preview of the pages to you asap

 

Can you show us your selection of albums? Can you put all of our images into a hard backed story book style album?

(This is the latest Wedding Album phenomenon which enables the photographer to put all your images into a hand bound stylish book with a variety of covers) also known as a Coffee table Style Wedding Photo Book.

View our album previews HERE

Click HERE to view a recent BLOG post with tips on how to choose YOUR Wedding Photographer in Yorkshire

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