Q: What are the advantages of hiring a professional Photographer?
A professional photographer will be timely - arriving at your wedding promptly, and getting the results to you on time. A professional has just the right equipment for photographing your wedding. Having attended many weddings, an experienced wedding photographer will be at ease at your wedding. A professional uses a color laboratory that is in the business of meeting high professional standards of print quality. And, a professional is used to working with individuals, couples, and groups to make the formal photography go smoothly. When you think about the cost of photography, remember that the photographer's fee is only part of your investment: You, your parents, your extended family and your friends will be investing time with the photographer during your wedding. Don't waste time on your wedding day with a photographer who won't produce results you love!
Q: Shouldn't I be asking "What do I get & what's it cost?"
Even shopping for shoes or furniture you wouldn't ask that question until you find the style and quality you like. After you have looked through a photographer's portfolio - seeing candids, formals and illustrative pictures, you will know if this photographer has the technique, style and spirit to be the eyes through which you and your children will see your wedding day. Of course, you should determine if the photographer is within your budget, give or take a little, but what you really want from photography is memories and feeling. Look for an established and reliable photographer whose work moves you, whose technical quality is tops. If you find a photographer who makes you happy, you never will regret your investment, whatever the dollar cost. When we have invested in items that will be with us for the rest of our lives, our satisfaction has been highest when we have paid that extra bit for the best quality.
Q: So, how much does wedding photography cost?
Prices range from $950 to $10,000, and even more! Photographs (and maybe video) will be your only permanent record of the day. You want good photographs (or you would not have read so far), so be prepared to spend a minimum of $1,500. Reprints will be $15 to $45 each. Expect better photographers to charge the higher rates. In other words, it is reasonable for an unexperienced photographer to charge you as little as $10 for a print. And, it is reasonable for an excellent photographer to charge you $40 for a print of the same size. That is because you are getting better service and a better product from the experienced professional. If you are looking for a bargain and shop via phone for pricing, you are following a recipe for poor to mediocre photography. My research indicates that photography runs between nine and fifteen percent of the total wedding budget. When couples value photography highly and are on a limited budget, they will spend up to 30% of their wedding budget on photography.
Most brides initially underestimate the cost of photography by 50% - in other words, you will probably spend at least twice as much as you budgeted, unless you have advice from a wedding coordinator who is familiar with prices in your area.
Q: We want to spend no more than $1,500, but all the good photographers start at $2,000 and up. Why is it so expensive?
Because photography is not a commodity. Because some people can see the difference between poor photography and good photography, and they are willing to pay for it. Because to make a living at photography, the artist must gross an average of $3,000 to $6,000 per wedding. Because if the not-good-enough-yet photographers charged more than $1,500 he/she would never get a chance to practice at a real wedding. Because a professional photographer knows that his/her expenses and overhead, even with digital photography, even with the smallest package, are $1,500 to $2,000 per wedding.
After the Wedding Day is over, the Photographer’s work is only just beginning. He/she now has approximately 10-20 hours of production time (maybe more depending on the number of photos taken & if special effects were requested or if video was taken as well).
Q: We're having a small wedding, with thirty people, and only wanted to spend $1,500 on pictures. What can we do?
The first thing to do if you want a professional photographer under these circumstances is to be flexible. A true wedding professional only can only work so many weekends a year, and reasonably expects one or two large weddings per weekend from May through October, or year round in tropical climates. If he/she reserves a prime Saturday or Sunday in October for you, then larger weddings will have to be turned away. If your budget is small, you will be choosing from the second and third tiers of wedding photographers. If you plan your wedding in the evening or especially early in the day, you might find a photographer who can fit you in after or before another event, and thus be able to work with your budget. Unfortunately, when you are limiting yourself to a smaller photo budget you can expect lower quality photographs.
Q: How much time will the photographer spend at my wedding?
That is really up to you. You can have the photographer meet you where you are getting dressed, and keep taking pictures until you leave the reception. Or you may just want a few hours of photography, with a few formal photographs and some pictures of the ceremony. (If you choose a high quality professional, the price difference between short and full coverage will be small.) Typical coverage starts two or three hours before the ceremony and ends after the bouquet, garter and cake.
Q: What are proofs?
Fifty years ago, photographers presented clients with proof pictures printed on special paper; images would last for a few weeks and then fade. Then for a few decades proofs were made with the same paper and chemistry as the finished prints, but without retouching, cropping or precise color and density correction. Now proofs are usually in digital form - on a website, CD, DVD, or a projection in the photographer's studio. Because some customers can scan photographs, printed proofs are a problem for the professional.
Typically, now, you initially view the images on a computer or television screen. You then order from the screen and have photographic prints in your hand a few weeks later. Digital printing can be done on an inkjet or color laser, but the latest photographic papers from Kodak and Fuji have a life-span of over 100 years. Many inkjet prints will fade decades sooner that photographic prints.
From the photographer's point of view, proofs are becoming a liability. Dishonest clients are scanning the proofs and making prints. Just as DVD manufacturers have made it difficult to copy their product, photographers will move towards proof presentations that protect the photographers' copyright. Online proofing is a great solution.
Q: What about getting an album?
Some photographers offer "Packages," each package having a set number of hours, images, and certain number of final pictures in an album. It might be better to get a package that includes an album that the photographer will assemble completely, because most of us never get around to putting our pictures in albums if we have to do it ourselves. Consider ordering parents' albums too. If your parents vision is less than perfect, they would really appreciate getting an album with large photographs so that the faces are easy to see!
Q: Who chooses the pictures that go in the album?
After looking at all the proof images, the bride and groom usually decide what goes in the album. The photographer may let you specify the sequence and size of the pictures, so that the album really shows the wedding the way you want to see it, with important images enlarged, and related candids grouped together. Some photographers will suggest a layout for your album or design the album with you, using proofs or computer images to show you what the final album will look like. You will benefit from the photographer's eye and feel for the wedding. You will probably let your parents decide what pictures go in their album.
Q: What about black and white photography?
Digital capture in color leaves open the option of having the final print in sepia, black and white, or color. You or your photographer can decide when the images are printed or put into an album what looks best for each image.
Q: What technical details in sample photographs should I watch out for?
Look for a variety in subject size - a mix of distant, medium and close-up pictures. Even with groups, lighting and posing should be interesting. The well posed bridal portrait should minimize the subjects' flaws (weight problem, blemishes, etc.) and express who the subject is and how he/she/they feel. The dramatic and scenic wedding image, like the red convertable on the show-room floor, attracts everyone's attention, but most brides and their families, like most car buyers, want what suits them personally. You want pictures that tell the story simply, with immediate impact, and as if the photographer was not even there. It's like fixing your hair or applying make-up so that it looks natural.
Q: My mom likes soft focus pictures, but I want sharp photos?
That is why the God of photography invented digital! The photographer can produce several versions of the same image: soft, sharp, color, sepia, black and white, or with special effects and filters. Ideally, the photographer you like also limits or expands his/her arsenal of special effects to match your taste.
Q: What is the difference between film and digital?
Like any other tool, the results depend on the skill of the craftsmen as well as the quality of the tool. Having a power drill did not make one a carpenter. But, taking classes and attending seminars on all aspects of photography, and keeping up with current trends makes a photographer better, with film or digital
Film allows more room for operator error in terms of exposure and lighting. Digital is more technically demanding. Many of my brides are scared of digital because they have seen such bad results - either their own or other photographers' work. You should expect digital to look as good as or better than film.
Owning digital cameras that produce acceptable results has given many brides the idea that anyone with a digital camera can photograph a wedding. Think first. Your wedding images will be best if the photographer has covered dozens or hundreds of weddings, has experience with indoor and outdoor artificial lighting, attends workshops in portrait and wedding photography, and who works to improve his/her wedding photography even after twenty years of experience. Novice wedding photographers produce stereotyped, disconnected, i.e., obviously posed and stilted, images. The non-wedding-photographer, even with perfect PhotoShop skills, cannot fix bad lighting or make phony expressions look real.
Q: What sort of balance between posed shots and candids should I get?
This is also a matter of taste, combined with necessity. Great wedding photography can be done with no formal posed pictures at all (wedding photo journalism). But, there may be many people and combinations of guests that will never be captured unless the photographer deliberately gathers them in one spot for a picture. (Whether the picture looks posed or natural depends on the photographer.) When planning with your photographer, draw up a list of "must get" photos, such as college roommates, kids from your old neighborhood, a four generation picture, and so on. If you want a large catalog of specified pictures, then expect your photographer to spend more time doing those, and less time doing candids and wedding photojournalism.
The Shot List can get in the way of the photographer doing his/her style of photography. A professional should get every obvious family grouping that the family tree suggests. If you need to remind the photographer, "Get a picture of the bride and her mom," then you have the wrong photographer at your wedding!
Q: Should we do the formals before or after the ceremony?
Some couples think it is bad luck to see each other before the ceremony. If following this tradition is important to you, all of the photos of the bride and groom together will be done afterwards, but solo shots can be done before. However, getting all the formals done at the beginning has several advantages: Flowers, clothing and make-up are fresh, and you can carefully budget time for formals. (And, if your ceremony ends after dark, the only time for natural light pictures of the two of you will be before the ceremony!) Couples who feel formal photos are important will set aside one, two, or even three hours for formals, which finish up about half an hour before the ceremony begins. If you do formals immediately after the ceremony, guests have to wait before they can greet you, and members of the bridal party will have pose for pictures rather than mingle. About half of the weddings I photograph have all the formals taken before the ceremony. Sometimes the bride and groom are not sure of what their preference is until just weeks before the wedding.
And, there are photographers who produce an entire album's worth of images without ever going to the reception - they just need the time and locations, then can be on their way as you head off into your reception.
Q: What can I do to keep the photographer from running my wedding day?
It is essential that you talk with your photographer in that last week before your wedding. Go over your time line for the day. Find out how long the photographs you have requested are going to take; If it is too long, cut out some of the posed pictures. If you have dozens of posed shots on your photo list, expect your photographer to be persistent in getting them. Or tell your photographer the way you have scheduled the day, and that he/she is to follow your schedule. A posed photo of cutting the cake takes ten seconds, and the rest of the cake shots should be candid.
Q: Suppose I want more copies in two years?
Get the high-resolution digital files - which will either be included or available for an extra fee. Since currently no electronic medium will last your lifetime, you will need to update the media on which you store your images. I have found it takes a professional color lab to produce great color prints from digital files, so owning the files does not guarantee that you are going to get the best wedding images at the best price. However, if you own the images you can use them on a website, email them, and make acceptable prints.
Q: Shouldn't my photographer have a back-up in case he/she is sick on my wedding day?
That would be ideal, but consider the plight of the backup photographer who has to turn down weddings just in case she/he is needed for yours? Professionals are part of a network of photographers, and do have many people they can call in emergency. No doubt as your wedding approaches you will have many far more significant worries. Let your photographer manage this problem.
Q: What about having two photographers?
Some studios offer two-photographer coverage - where both professionals are taking pictures. One concentrates on the formals, the other on wedding photo journalism. The advantage of having two photographers is that the event gets captured from more than one perspective. Imagine the walk down the aisle taken from both the front and the side, or perhaps a second shot from the balcony. Also, during the wedding, there is more than just the ceremony going on - the emotions and reactions of guests are often lost with only one photographer. As well, during the formal shoot, things will go much more smoothly with the second photographer organizing and grouping everyone and attending to the details of the shot (making sure clothes hang properly, etc).
Q: Some photographers ask that no one else take pictures during the formal photography. Is that reasonable?
Yes. If the photographer is trying to work quickly through a series of formal pictures, a snap-shooter might slow the process. A problem arises when there are several cameras aimed at a formal group - the subjects will be looking at different lenses. The diverted attention will ruin the professional's picture. Or, if the professional is using a light-sensing trigger device ("slave") on a second flash, other flashes will trigger this flash, ruining the pictures [that you are paying for] and wasting battery power. There are many other reasons why a professional might ask others to refrain from picture taking during formals. On the other hand, many guests find snapping a few pictures a pleasant part of attending weddings, so it should not be a big deal for your professional to be relaxed and let people snap away when formals are over. Ideally, guests should show respect for the bridal party and photographer and put down their cameras during the formal photos.
Q: I want to make copies of my photos. Does my photographer really own the copyright of his/her pictures? Do I still have to pay the photographer if I make the copies myself at a copy shop?
Yes and yes. Images produced by a professional photographer are copyrighted the moment they are created. Federal law prohibits copying or reproducing copyrighted material without permission from the owner of the copyright, i.e., the photographer. If you copy or scan your photos, the photographer should be paid just as if you were buying reprints. If you or your videographer transfer the proofs to videotape, the photographer should be paid just as if you were buying reprints. When I really appreciate something I purchase, like a fabulous meal, an antique, a good pair of shoes, or even medical care, I do not mind paying a premium for getting the highest quality. Look for the photographer who will provide you the satisfaction of paying for a job well done. It should be noted once again, that only a professional printing lab will do justice to your prints - memories to be enjoyed for generations to come.