Photographers

[Dodger Gurl]

FI and I are going to be meeting with photographers soon - any tips??? Questions to ask, etc.???

TIA!

 

[ame]

Ask to see ALL proofs from a couple WHOLE weddings. Most photographers won''t show you that, they only show their best stuff. I made sure to look through all of them to see how many wasted shots and screwups and out of focus and heads cut off shots they made. One guy probably had half of his proofs in each wedding to be bad, and useless, so if you are paying for all these shots and really only getting half of them as useable, don''t hire that guy.

 

[Dodger Gurl]

Hey Thanks ame! That is a really good tip!!!

 

[flopkins]

One other thing is to make sure that the photog you are meeting/seeing pics of are the same guy/gal, and that''s who''s on the contract. Some places have a well known owner, and they show you all his/her pics (which are great pics) then on the wedding they send their assistant or something, and the pics aren''t as good...

Also when you''re looking at packages, make sure it''s clear what''s included, what''s not, you don''t wanna be shelling out another few hundred after the wedding to get things you know you wanted to begin with, whether it be the number of pages in an album, prints, negatives, etc...

 

[just_looking!]

Make sure that you like the style of photography or be quite definite about whether you want reportage or informal or formal or a combination of the three. Be aware that in ''reportage style'' photo''s you may not be looking at the camera and if you don''t like your profile, then many of the pictures won''t be to your liking. A good photographer will do a portrait session to get you used to the camera and to weed out the shots you hate. That way on the day you''ll have more shots that you like!

It''s also worth discussing your album at an early stage as this will dictate the type of shots you have taken on the day. If you want a contemporary ''story'' album then you''ll need to get the shots of everyone getting ready etc. These would be impossible to recreate if you switched from a formal album later.

Hope that helps!

 

[rfath]

You''ve gotten great advice so far.. my only advice would be to ask if you''d rather have a photographer that works with mostly digital or film cameras. The photographers I talked to had different approaches for each: the digital photos tended to be more my style, with the photographer being more willing to experiment with different shots and compositions.

Make sure it''s someone with whom you''re totally comfortable. Ours spent hours with us showing us different weddings that she''d shot (she went to her computer and pulled out the raw shots, not just the ones that made it to the album) and told us stories about each that made them unique. She really was a part of her weddings..

 

[skimmy]

1.Will you be shooting digital or film?

2.If digital, what kind of camera are you using?What is your back-up plan in case of loss, breakage, etc?

3.How would you describe your photography style?Are you more comfortable shooting formals or candids?

4.Is there a limit on the number/rolls of pictures taken?If so, what is the cost per extra roll?How many pictures are on a roll?How many rolls do you typically shoot for an 8hr wedding?

5.Do you provide albums?If so, what kind of album?Will we get to proof the album before finalizing?

6.Will there be an assistant?(to hold a second, synchronized, flash unit)If not, how do you eliminate shadows?How do you meter light for formals?

7.Will there be a second photographer?Will they be there the entire time?

8.What is your back-up plan in the event you are not able to attend?

9.How many useable copies of each shot are we getting?Are the proofs clean pictures (writing only on the back)?

10.Who is the owner of the negatives after the wedding?If we do not, how much are reprints?Can we purchase them?

11.If digital, can we own the RAW/NEF image files?

12.Can we have all images scanned onto a CD?

13.How do you keep yourself organized?

14.Do you have insurance?

Notes

·Using an external meter is much more reliable and less risky than using the light meter built into the camera for formals.

·For digital camera, it must be state-of-the-art and at least 12 megapixels.

** this is the list of questions/notes i am going to used when i meet with mine...keep in mind that most of these answers are personal preferences. also with digital, it works very well for color pictures but b&w pictures can tend to come out a bit flat. just mho...