Questions when selecting Wedding Photographers

J

justlooking

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Can you help.. I'm sure I saw on the forum somewhere a list of the sort of questions to think about when looking for a wedding photographer or am I imagining it? :thinking:

My daughter got engaged recently and although I can't afford to pay for as much towards the wedding I have said I will pay for the photographer.

Oh also other than looking in the yellow pages where is the best place to find the names of photgraphers in the Hertfordshire/Bedforshire area ?

Is there a list on the forum somewhere of forumite wedding photgraphers that I could consult?

Thanks in advance.

June
 
Not sure where the list of questions is but the obvious Hertfordshire wedding photographer is Hacker, but I'm sure a lot more will pop their hands up and make themselves known to you :)
 
justlooking said:
Can you help.. I'm sure I saw on the forum somewhere a list of the sort of questions to think about when looking for a wedding photographer or am I imagining it? :thinking:

My daughter got engaged recently and although I can't afford to pay for as much towards the wedding I have said I will pay for the photographer.

Oh also other than looking in the yellow pages where is the best place to find the names of photgraphers in the Hertfordshire/Bedforshire area ?

Is there a list on the forum somewhere of forumite wedding photgraphers that I could consult?

Thanks in advance.

June
Click to expand...
Yellow pages has been useless for us, so we didn't renew. In other words dont rely on Yellow pages to find the best. Personal recommendation from a bride or groom who has had the album and images, is by far the best way. Second-hand recommendations are generally loaded or biased

Be warned. Many venues have a "preferred photographer" they recommend. this recommendation is usually on the basis of received benefits

Questions to ask / best approach

1. back up plan for illness / bad weather etc
2. what backup equipment is used
3. view whole weddings, and finished albums from the same weddings (not the selected best)
4. ask yourself - can you really really get on with this person. you will potentially be with them whilst getting ready till night time
5. ask to see insurances
6. discuss release of images, and issues such as copyright
7. decide what style you are looking for and short list to fit
 
justlooking said:
Can you help.. I'm sure I saw on the forum somewhere a list of the sort of questions to think about when looking for a wedding photographer or am I imagining it? :thinking:

My daughter got engaged recently and although I can't afford to pay for as much towards the wedding I have said I will pay for the photographer.

Oh also other than looking in the yellow pages where is the best place to find the names of photgraphers in the Hertfordshire/Bedforshire area ?

Is there a list on the forum somewhere of forumite wedding photgraphers that I could consult?

Thanks in advance.

June
Click to expand...


other than Richard's advice above I'd just add one other thing, alot of the day is spent with the Photographer, how well do you get on with them - I always reckon the would you go for a pint with them is a good test
 
Hi June, there are a few things you should look out for when booking a wedding photographer and obviously the most obvious one is do you like the images they produce. Everyone's style and taste is different and even the images offered by multi award winning photographers does not appeal to everyone.

It also helps if you can meet the photographer to make sure you get on with him/her, this relationship is very important as the photographer will be there for the majority of the day and you need to ensure there is not a personality clash. It will also give you an idea of their personality - are they quietly confident, a timid mouse or do they give the impression of being a sergeant-major type who barks orders at everyone? :D

When meeting the photographer make sure any albums you see are from a single wedding and not made up of images from multiple weddings. The reason for requesting 'real' albums is this will show you they can document the whole day and hopefully demonstrate consistency across the range of shots you would expect them to capture.

I hope this helps and feel free to contact me if you want any more advice (my details are on my website) - it won't be a sales pitch just a friendly chat!
 
susie said:
Not sure where the list of questions is but the obvious Hertfordshire wedding photographer is Hacker, but I'm sure a lot more will pop their hands up and make themselves known to you :)
Click to expand...

Thank you Susie!

:thumbs:
 
Tell me about your style of photography
Tell me about the products you deliver after the wedding
Tell me about your qualifications and experience of photographing weddings
Describe to me what a typical wedding day is like for you
Describe to me what you do when things go wrong
Explain what you do in the lead up to our wedding
Explain to me what you do after our wedding.
Show me some of your wedding albums - if they don't have many sample albums, ask to see some electronic versions. Ask to have access to an on-line gallery of a whole wedding.

You'll find alsorts of suggestions of questions, but most of them are irrelevant.

Also, go along to see photographers knowing
what products you want after the wedding
what style of images you like
what is important to you
what emphasis you like for the day (reportage, traditional, fashion-led, combination)
what budget you expect to spend - in the majority of cases, the better photographers start at around £1,250ish, and you can expect to pay upwards of £2k if you want certain things included (in fact, you can expect to pay upwards of £4k for some photographers)
whether you are prepared to pay for printing rights on images (you will not get copyright from a professional)
whether you are prepared to trust the photographer - professionals will know what images to capture for you, and don't need a list of what you want.

Hope that helps, and as for choosing, many pro's don't bother with Yellow pages except if its part of the MPA or BIPP ad.
 
You could hire a cowboy like me! £500 for a disc of lots of Hi-res images which you can print yourself at Asda or Boots.:p:lol:
 
Thanks for taking the time to reply all. I will be making up a list from all your replies...any photographer I contact will wonder what's hit him/her !!

Colin thank you - I will be in contact via your web site in the near future.
 
Just an update for all of you that supplied questions !!

You will be glad to know that Hacker (Colin) passed with flying colours :D
 
tbh
did we ever doubt it?!?
 
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