HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHER TO DOCUMENT YOUR WEDDING
With so many photographers to choose from on the internet, you may feel overwhelmed by the task of picking the best photographer for what you want. Searching the right way for a wedding photojournalist can mean the difference between ending up with photos you cherish and photos you prefer to keep hidden.
START BY DISCOVERING WHAT YOU WANT
Many couples find even this difficult. Fortunately the best way of finding out what you want is also the best way of finding the perfect photographer to deliver what you want. Look at portfolios, lots of portfolios. For now, don’t worry about price range or if the photographer lives near you. You just want to see what’s out there. So fire up Google and search the globe. Photographer websites will have sections called “portfolio” or “my work” that will be loaded with photos. Find the subcategory called “weddings” and start having fun. Forget about the clichés of what you should like or what a wedding photograph should be. Just feel which images please you. Enjoy it the way you enjoy flipping through a magazine filled with photographs. Don’t feel guilty about laughing at the photos that were not intended to make you laugh. It’s part of the weeding-out process that you will have to perform when choosing photographers from the great mass. Enjoy enough of these different portfolios, and you will soon begin to notice patterns of different styles. Likewise, you will develop a sense of what style you are when it comes to photographs you want taken of you. Bookmark your favorites.
WEED OUT THE CANDIDATES
Now that you’ve looked at portfolios from around the globe in order to discover your style, it’s time to consider price range and location. Compare the portfolios you’ve marked, to portfolios of photographers near where you will get married. Find the ones that match your style and then you can start looking at what they charge to reduce the number of candidates to those within your budget. If you simply have to have that photographer from New York, London, Paris, or Munich that you had marked in your favorites when you were discovering your style, send them an e-mail to ask them what the added cost would be to travel to your wedding. Photographers who travel a lot may have surprisingly low travel costs thanks to frequent flier miles or discount travel packages. You may just be able to have your favorite photographer in the world.
OTHER FACTORS TO HELP YOU CHOOSE FROM THE FINAL CANDIDATES
(To be continued . . .)