Eidetic Photography Weddings

Here are some tips to aid you in selecting a wedding photographer to best meet your needs and match with your style, as well as some potential things to look out for along the way.

Of course, as a wedding photographer, I hope you will book your wedding with me; however, and more importantly, I hope that my style and approach to photography will match with your intentions and desires in capturing your once in a lifetime day!

So let’s start out with asking – what do you want?  This may seem like a very basic question, but many couples are not sure what they may want from their photographer.  Here are a few key questions to discuss and decide upon before starting your photographer search:

• The final product – prints, online gallery/sharing, digital negatives for reprinting, albums for you and as gifts, fine art/wall enlargements?  Some questions to ask yourself in deciding on what you may want in a final product are:  How do I want to share my wedding with friends/family/co-workers?  Do I want just prints?  Do I want an album, and if so, do I just want a basic album or elegant heirloom album?  Do I want portraits for the wall of my home or office?  Do I want to give photographs to certain people, and if so, as individual prints or framed gifts or small albums?

• The style – Are you looking for classic/traditional, contemporary/modern, photojournalism, alternative/cutting-edge, artistic, etc?  Many photographers will use these one to two word descriptions to give you an idea of their style; however, the best way to learn more about a photographer’s style is by taking a look at their work.  Do you like what you see?

• Coverage – How many hours of photography (coverage) do you want on your wedding day?  This can be anything from simple portraits to all-access, all-access capturing of the moments of the entire day.  Typically, photographers will break their time spent into the following categories, which may help you in deciding the amount of coverage right for you:  (1) Bride and groom getting ready, location and background shots, decorations, details, etc.; (2) Ceremony; (3) Portraits and group photos, wedding party photos, family/friends; (4) Couple immediately after the ceremony, receiving line, leaving the church, etc.; (5) Reception – bridal party entrance, toasts, cutting the cake, etc.; (6) Candid photos throughout the day.

• Personality – Besides your new husband or wife, you will most likely spend more time with your photographer on your wedding day than with any other person.  So it is important that you feel comfortable with him or her!

• Reliability and Professionalism – To avoid being left without a photographer a month or weeks before your special day, consider some of these questions while deciding on your potential photographer’s reliability: (1) Can she or he boast of a proven track record that makes you feel that they are committed to the job?  (2) Is this photographer insured and have other such marks of “professionalism”?  (3) Does your photographer have and use backup equipment?

• Your budget – Wedding photography prices can vary greatly according to region and even within a specific location; therefore, it is imperative that you check into a couple of places to compare and gather a baseline.

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