Having some free time between editing we thought it was about time we began our series of articles aimed at helping couples beginning their preparations for the big day. Future posts will include information on the filming side of things but first we thought we’d begin with one of the first big decisions-choosing your wedding photographer.
Why should we be able to advise on this? Well…we’ve worked with every type of photographer you can imagine, from the official photographer for the House of Commons who shot David Cameron’s baby photographs to the Bride & Grooms family friend who barely knew which end of the camera to point at the bride. As you may have guessed, the first piece of advice is -
Hire a Professional!
Everybody has to start somewhere but why use your wedding as the testing ground. There are many photographers who have an excellent grasp of taking the picture but have no idea on the organisation of a wedding shoot (this also applies to photographers charging a few thousand pounds which we will come to later!). In the past we have had to organise the formal wedding photographs for inexperienced family friends, something we don’t even do for our own filming, and the bride and groom have been well aware of the mistake they have made by not hiring a professional photographer. Unless you are totally confident in their ability please don’t risk your most important day on a well meaning ametur.
Is the photographer time efficient?
Do you want to be an hour late for your meal? Do you still want to be being dragged away for photographs at 10.00pm at night? Do you want your guests hanging around for 15 minutes between each shot?
We’ve experienced all this and more and these were photographers charging £2000+. A wedding photographer needs to be a people person, they need to be efficient, firm but polite and above all have a clear understanding that the day does not revolve around them and their portfolio but around the bride and groom and the smooth running of their wedding day. We are very careful who we recommend and not every photographer is right for every couple. There are many that we could recommend based on their final images but if they are detrimental to the wedding day or just plainly bad at organisation of the shoot we wont – full stop.
Don’t just be led by the portfolio-if the photographer is reserved and standoffish with you, you should have a fair idea of how they will be with your wedding guests-awards and accreditation means nothing if it takes 15 minutes to set up each shot when every moment of your wedding day is precious.
How much should you pay?
Paying top price for a wedding photographer doesn’t always mean you have the perfect wedding day as you will have learnt above. Neither does paying very little or relying on family friends. So what should you pay for your photographer?
The simple answer is pay what they are worth. Occasionally we have couples asking for a discount for one reason or another. This is quite understandable as wedding budgets are tight but if a company supplies a high quality service at a realistic price they will not need to offer discounts or incentives, they will get the booking whether it is you who books them or the next person-they will be booked for that date regardless. Haggling undermines the time and effort of the provider and most companies like ourselves will just supply these enquiries with the contact details of cheaper companies, it’s never a loss for the provider involved because they will get the date booked anyway.
If you are impressed with the quality of their portfolio meet the photographer, ask them how they work, how long they expect the formal photographs to take and get a feel for how they will work with your guests-the fact that they can take quality photographs should already be a given so the next most important thing is will they be the right personality for you and this is something only you can decide.
Our recommendations
We’ve worked with so many photographers you would think this would be a long list but it’s not. For our top recommendations for each aspect of wedding photography we would like to suggest:
KandI Imaging:
www.photographerlancashire.co.uk
As a couple who can get the best wedding shots whilst taking up a minimum amount of time on your day, Karen & Ian are second to none. Some amazingly creative group shots produced quicker than a lot of photographers take to pose a cake cutting and a warm and friendly attitude that relaxes all involved. As mentioned before we’ve worked with many photographers and KandI do not charge enough for the service they provide-get in quick is our advise.
Lisa Aldersley:
www.la-photography.co.uk
The best reportage photographer in the North West in our opinion. Booked up usually 2 years in advance but it’s always worth a try. Keeping up with her wedding blog is like visiting a new art gallery every week. Highly recommended.
Steve Walkden:
www.expressphoto.co.uk
Efficient, conscientious and a great photographer, Steve’s experience really showed through with the work we’ve done with him. Highly recommended again.
