Wedding Photographer

The wedding photographer issue, when planning your wedding, is one of the most critical elements you will need to consider. In his or her hands is held the record of this most momentous occasion of your lifetime, for better or worse.

Not only should you require at least two to three references from your potential wedding photographer and follow-up by calling them if you do not already know them, but you should be able to view a portfolio of the work for yourself.

While you are at the wedding photographer’s studio, discuss and/or draft a proposal with them. They may have pre-formatted packages if they are part of a professional organization, or they may not. In any case, they may not include all that you want, and you may need to work a deal for additional options.

You should then compare rates to other reputable wedding photographers before signing any contract. You should take the precaution of having a clause of your own that allows for a generous settlement should the photographer fail to show up, be late, or if the pictures are unacceptable.

This should also include an agreed upon length of time it will take the wedding photographer’s studio to produce the proofs, as well as the amount of time until you have the final pictures. Agree as to whether the package includes an album and if so, exactly what it will look like. If you don’t like the design of the album, but everything else is acceptable, you can agree to supply an album that you prefer.

Leaving anything ‘up to fate’, can result in months of aggravation and possible long-term disappointment. This is one day that will never be repeated, and your wedding photographer’s hand-work will be the only visual record you will ever have of the happiest day of your life. You will want to treasure it always.

It is a good idea as well, to agree in writing how many takes of each pose or shot the contract will allow. This is to ensure that if someone does not photograph well, you will have a choice. With a group, each take could have at least one thing that detracts from the overall quality of the picture.

A package that includes the usual formal poses of the bride and groom, the bride, the wedding party, the families, etc., as well as an arrangement for the wedding photographer to attend the reception and take informal shots, is probably the ultimate, if you can afford it.

At the wedding reception, the wedding photographer might take pictures of the first dance of the newly married, couple, the dance with the bride and her father, the groom and his mother, etc. You will want pictures of the cake and of the bride and groom cutting the cake. You may also want to have pictures of the guests dancing, or other elements of the reception, depending on your budget.