How to Choose Your Wedding Photographer
There is more to photography than just price. Once you have settled on what your budget can handle (and please do your research on what a professional photographer will cost…it will benefit you in the end to have a reasonable budget chosen), start with recommendations from family and friends. Use websites like Wedding Wire to see highly reviewed photographers or browse local photography blogs and see who catches your eye.
Educate yourself on what style of photography you like. Don’t get caught up looking at images and gawking over a gorgeous dress or thinking about the cool details, look at the lighting, how the image makes you feel, the composition of the image, what is in focus.
Educate yourself on wedding marketing strategies. A vendor could be voted best photographer in Minnesota by their rotary club and write a huge banner across their website saying “best wedding photographer in Minnesota!” Sometimes, the awards and titles should be admired, especially if it is by a reputable company and won year after year, but an award shouldn’t be the reason why you hire a photographer. Wedding photographers sell on emotion. We want you to connect with our images and you also have to connect with our personalities. So just keep that in mind as you’re shopping.
Educate yourself on what bells and whistles you really need. Many photography packages have a laundry list of things they offer, some are very simple and straighforward. Some are a la carte, some are strict packages, some allow for bargaining. Understand what you really want before you hear the sales pitch, and though I’m not a fan of lowballing vendors AT ALL, you can always ask in a straighforward manner if there is room to negotiate. Maybe a package you want includes and engagement session but you don’t need one…it doesn’t hurt to ask, politely and without expectation, if you can exchange it for something else.
Don’t hire a photographer because your friend hired them, or your mom is friends with them, or they’ll give you a killer deal, or you get a discount on other services, or they won the most awards, or they are a perferred vendor of your venue, or they have the highest reviews. Hire a photographer because they are easy to work with, take good quality images, fit your personality and shoot in a style you love. Connecting with your photographer is extremely important and having a base knowledge of what you can afford and what style of photography you like will help you narrow the field down to the photographers you are most likely to enjoy working with.
Don’t know where to start? You know what you want but don’t know how to look for it? Find a friend that loves photography or that has a visual style you admire and inlist them to help. Sometimes it helps to have an objective set of eyes looking as well as your own.
Full Portfolio
I think it is very important to not only see a photographer’s “best of” work on their website, but to also look at an entire wedding the photographer has shot…an entire wedding they have shot as a primary shooter, not second shooter. We love to share our work and show how we tell the story of a wedding day so we post an in-depth look of every wedding we shoot on facebook. If you have seen our work on our website and like what you see, I encourage you to read our reviews on wedding wire and to also browse through our facebook fan page to really get a feel of who we are!
Happy planning!
Photography Copyright
As nice digital cameras become easier and easier to purchase, and with the readiness for online image sharing, the fine line between professional and hobbyist becomes blurred. Along with losing weddings to “uncle Bob” photographers are also having to fiercely protect their copyright from other businesses.
There is still so much confusion about photographer copyrights, so I thought I’d address some basic issues for easy understanding.
First and foremost, I am the first to say that photographers are very lucky to have their images copy written…other industries, like fashion design, do not have any rights to their creative outlet at all. We are truly fortunate to have our industry protected the way it is.
Even if they give you a disk of your photographs, the copyright is still the photographer’s unless they sell it or sign the copyright away in a contract. So how do you work with a photographer to make sure copyright isn’t violated but you still get to use your images?
It is now pretty much standard to have a disk of images included in your wedding package. Photographers used to make their income on prints, and now they are generally giving away that income on a disk for their clients to have. This is a bitter sweet situation. Photographers lament that clients can print their beautiful images at a big box retailer (where the images won’t look as good due to inferior printing), yet we all understand that the client wants to own the memories that have been photographed. Some photographers still hold on to those negatives because it is considered a full service to have your photographer retouch and print each image for ultimate quality control. Obviously, this is the ideal for photographers, but many of us know that the disk is the main thing clients want in their wedding package.
How does this affect the client? Make sure that if you’ve purchased a disk of images for reprint, that your photographer gives you written permission to print your images. The big box retailers will not print images without written permission if the images look professional. Also make sure that the images you’ve purchased are high resolution. Some photographers will give you a disk of low resolution images for facebook postings and clients think they can make prints of these, but the prints turn out pixelated.
On facebook, make sure there is an image credit in the subject of each image. Some photographers like you to include both their name and website so potential clients can find them. And you should always double check with the photographer before posting your images. Discuss the restrictions of copyright BEFORE you sign a contract so you can be an informed consumer.
If this still doesn’t make sense, think about the photographers who have their images stolen by other newby photographers that they use as a portfolio (it happens more than I would like to know). If we didn’t have copyrights, this would be perfectly legal. Copyright also prevents a corporatation from taking a picture they haven’t paid for and blowing it up on billboards…which has happened in the past many times as well. A photographer deserves to get paid especially if another company makes money off their image.
If you buy a DVD, you can’t show it to a large group of people without paying royalties. You technically own the DVD, but the movie industry has to protect their intellectual property, you can just set up your own movie theater. The same goes with music copyright. You can’t post a YouTube video of your cat doing tricks to your favorite Gorillaz song. Think of all the music copyright issues going on right now with iTunes, it is similar rights with photographs. The biggest bee in my bonnet are photographers that use mainstream music on their websites…we are so protective of our copyright, yet violate the music industry’s? I just don’t get it. Videographers, photographers and websites need to use royalty free music unless they paid the record companies to use mainstream music…that is the simple fact of the matter.
After all this do you still want full copyright of your wedding or family pictures? You can always purchase the copyright…this is what the 1% do when they get married. Prepare to spend quite a few thousand dollars.
I hope this helps answer any questions you may have!
Flash
Ever wonder why photographers don’t like others to take pictures while they are working? Imagine if this happened right at a pivotal, beautiful moment that only took place for a split second…
Woah, getting personal…
I normally don’t post very personal things on this blog. The blog is meant to inspire, inform, and educate as well as show off some pretty pictures and amazing ideas from our fantastic brides. But this has been a tough month. A lot of shooting and editing…too much editing, back to school, a contractor running off with our money, some doctor stuff with myself, the general craziness of having three little ones AND a business AND a house that is in disrepair, all the while trying to eat healthy (well, healthier), exercise, keep clients informed, get new clients, stay current with vendors I love…yeah, just a bit busy. And I feel like I’m losing now…at the end of wedding season with a CRAZY November coming up…EEEK!
So I wanted to drop a note telling all of you readers (all 6 of you) that I appreciate the support, the kind words, the encouragement and I promise I won’t be crazy forever. And I doubly promise that I will always be mentally there and creatively on top of things when I photograph =) The plus side? We have been promised a long fall and a mild winter, and even in this recession, Studio Laguna has been blessed with amazing brides and have been working with awesome vendors. We are happy and healthy and making sure to enjoy life and not let the craziness rule our lives (for the most part).
I came across this Margaret Cho quote and just had to share. I think this is a great quote for people who are overwhelmed to step back and stop getting caught up in the craziness for a minute.
“And I have a lot of self-esteem, which is amazing, because I’m probably somebody who wouldn’t necessarily have a lot of self esteem as I am considered a minority and if you are a woman, if you are a person of color, if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, if you are a person of size, if you are person of intelligence, if you are a person of integrity, then you are considered a minority in this world. And it’s going to be really hard to find messages of self-love and support anywhere. Especially women’s and gay men’s culture. It’s all about how you have to look a certain way, or else you’re worthless. You know, when you look in the mirror and think, ‘Ugh, I’m so ugly, I’m so fat, I’m so old.’ Don’t you know that’s not your authentic self? But that is billions upon billions of dollars of advertising. Magazines, movies, billboards, all geared to make you feel shitty about yourself, so that you will take your hard earned money and spend it at the mall on some turn-around crème that doesn’t turn around shit. If you don’t have self-esteem, you will hesitate before you do anything in your life. You will hesitate to go for the job you want to go for. You will hesitate to ask for a raise. You will hesitate to call yourself an American. You will hesitate to report a rape. You will hesitate to defend yourself when you are discriminated against because of your race, your sexuality, your size, your gender. You will hesitate to vote; you will hesitate to dream. For us to have self-esteem is truly an act of revolution, and our revolution is long overdue.”
The Beauty of Photojournalistic Wedding Coverage
A few entries ago, I started talking about different styles of wedding photography and I wanted to end the series with the topic of photojournalism. The term photojournalism gets thrown around liberally, just like the word “couture”. It means something very specific yet gets applied to many areas.
I love to observe and photograph images as they are happening…natural and with no direction…where the subjects don’t know you’re there and you’re able to shoot a beautiful moment in time. But photojournalism isn’t just a lucky snapshot, it requires correct use of light to describe the mood, a beautiful composition that makes the viewer think or puts you in a specific place, a complex image that shows emotion, and taking the image at the peak of action. You are looking at the right moment, right lighting, right composition and getting emotion out of the viewer, AND shooting in a non-typical way. That is a tough assignment. It is why good photojournalists are so prized.
When you are looking for this style in your wedding photography, you want to find a photographer who’s images convey mood and emotion and shows attention to detail. I personally love this style of wedding coverage, the photographer is constantly hunting for the perfect romantic moment shared with your new husband, the moment you hug your mom, images that will mean so much and create an album full of humor, tears and beauty.
Here are a few examples of Studio Laguna’s favorite candid images, enjoy!
Do you want to become a photographer? Read this first!
This blog entry talks frankly to people who want to be a photographer…
Photographing Wedding Details
I’ll be the first to admit, I love weddings a lot. I get very excited with each new one I get to photograph. And luckily, I have a husband that I can talk shop with. I view weddings as just one more creative outlet where people can be themselves and create something meaningful and gorgeous.
Which is why I love to shoot details.
I won’t say what other wedding photographers think of details, but lets just say that I’m in the minority with this =) And I don’t say that with snark at all, it is just not on the top of many must do lists for wedding photographers. Me, I’m busting down the door at your cocktail reception so I can have a moment or two alone with your reception hall.
There are many ways to photograph details. I try to shoot floral arrangements with a florist in mind, the room with the venue in mind, the dress with the designer in mind and so forth. I want to present these details you’ve spent a year culminating in their best light.
When you’re putting together your details, think about the overall design arch of your wedding. Whether it is color, texture, theme, or genre, keep them consistent throughout and you will have a gorgeous set of images fit for a magazine. Here are a few of my favorite detail shots from some recent weddings, enjoy!
Edgy and Dramatic Wedding Photography
Time for the next daily dose of photography. Yesterday was romantic, today is edgy and/or dramatic.
Edgy and dramatic images can go in many directions. Moody colors, serious expressions, off-kilter horizons or abstract shots are all examples. Of course, the mood is in the eye of the beholder. One person’s edgy is another’s boring. All that matters, as the client, is that your visual aesthetic is met.
When we photograph with edgy and dramatic in mind we use asymmetry, lots of contrast, moody shadows, texture, and backgrounds that others might not consider. We really love the juxtaposition of a beautiful wedding dress with a grungy alley or graffitied wall, though this style is becoming more and more accepted in the wedding community.
Here are a few examples.
Traditional Photography with a Twist
So I wrote about how traditional isn’t a bad word, and now I want to show the images to back me up.
I view traditional images as…formal family portraits, posed group shots, and images where people are smiling at the camera or obviously posed. You can also look at pictures of the rings and details as traditional, something that almost every person has in their album.
We know that people don’t want to stand around for an hour getting formal pictures taken, we know that you want a picture of your rings, but probably not in a typical way, so we are constantly challenging ourselves to come up with new ways to shoot traditional photographs. The way we approach this is to get the pictures done quickly and to have fun while we’re shooting. This keeps the subjects relaxed and the smiles genuine.
So think about how you can get the traditional images you want with a more modern twist. We do with every wedding we shoot! Here are a few examples…
