Professional Wedding Photographer

Your wedding day will be one full of beautiful memories, and those memories should be trusted only to a first-rate professional wedding photographer.  When planning your wedding you agonize about finding the right dress, the perfect cake, and those just-so decorations.  The same kind of care should be taken in choosing a professional wedding photographer, too.  After all, you want all of your special memories to be preserved forever, so don’t settle for anything less than the best.

To ensure you are getting the best photographer you can, do your research.  It’s a good idea to interview prospective photographers, but where do you start?  Here are a few questions you might want to consider.

Will you be the photographer for my wedding? 

This may sound like a ridiculous question, but it is an important one.  You want to ensure that you the person you are dealing with in the interview is the same person you will be dealing with on your wedding day.  The person you are speaking with may be the owner of the company, not the photographer.  Be sure you do get to speak to the photographer, to be sure that there is a rapport between you. 

May I see your portfolio?

Any experienced professional wedding photographer worth her salt will have a portfolio of her best work available for prospective clients to see.  The photographer’s work will give you an idea not only of her skill level, but also of her style and vision.  If you envision only traditional, posed wedding photos but the photographer’s portfolio is full of candid photos and artistic license, that photographer may not be a great fit for you.  Further, a photographer should also willingly provide you with references from previous clients.  After all, you are interviewing them for a job and they should be prepared to treat it as such.

How would you describe your photography style?

Although it is of utmost importance to actually see examples of what the professional wedding photographer can do, it is also important to ask them to describe their philosophy or vision for wedding photography.  Do they try to capture many pictures of the “must haves” such as the vows, the cutting of the cake, and the first dance only, or do they also focus on the little moments that help to tell the tale?  Can they offer suggestions for shots you may not have thought to get, and are they open to your suggestions?  All of these things will help you to determine whether they are the right person for your special day.

Finally, you should get in writing an outline of all of the fees you should expect to pay for the photographer’s services.  A good professional wedding photographer will provide you with a breakdown of all fees, including setup fees, overage fees for if your wedding runs longer than expected, etc.  You do not want any surprises! 

You shouldn’t trust your precious wedding-day memories to anyone but the very best.  Finding a professional wedding photographer can seem like a tedious process, but in the end when you have a collection of beautiful photographs that have captured your priceless memories forever, you’ll be glad for all of your diligence.