Decisions, Decisions!

I meet with a lot of couples in their quest to find the perfect vendors for their wedding. After explaining my services, I often ask couples, “Have you met with any other photographers?” This often gets me some strange looks – why would I be suggesting someone go to what is actually my competition? Why wouldn’t I love for them to just sign a contract right there, right now?

This is my answer. I think it is very important for the bride and groom to feel completely comfortable with the person doing their wedding photography. How many wedding pictures have you looked at that the bride and groom look miserable? How many friends have you talked to who exclaim, “Yeah, we really didn’t like our photographer.” It is my firm belief that no matter how much you try to smile and act like you’re enjoying yourself, if you don’t feel perfectly comfortable with the person on the other side of the camera, it will always show through in the finished product. I think it is really important for the bride and groom to meet the actual person who will be doing the photography on their wedding day. A lot of photography companies hire multiple photographers, and assign one to your wedding at random. Often, the bride and groom will have not even met the person they are going to be spending a large portion of their time with on one of the most important days of their lives.

When a bride and groom hire me for their photography needs, I make it a point to encourage them to go home, and discuss how they felt around me. Were they comfortable? Did I make them laugh? In other words, am I someone they like enough to have me in their back pocket all day?

This leads me to another point. I had an e-mail inquiry the other day about shooting engagement pictures for a couple. I told them that they should check with their main wedding photographer to see if the engagement pictures are included in the wedding package. It is my opinion that any photographer should offer an engagement session as part of the overall wedding service. Engagement pictures are important for several reasons. Aside from the most obvious reason, documenting your lives prior to your marriage, they give you and your photographer an opportunity to get to know each other better. It gives you time to get used to being posed. It gives you an understanding of how your photographer will interact with you on your wedding day. Additionally, you’ll have concrete examples of the kind of work the photographer does with YOU as the main focus of the picture.

An engagement session also helps your photographer to learn how they need to interact in order to make your time together as productive as possible. There is no doubt, as I’ve learned from shooting so many couples, that although the concept is the same (composing the frame, dealing with lighting, posing… and all the other aspects of making a beautiful picture) every single couple is different, and how the photographer works changes with each session. After seeing which pictures you choose to print, it also gives your photographer the opportunity to learn about the styles of poses you prefer.

In other words, choose a photographer you could see yourself being friends with. This way, all your hard work to plan your perfect day will shine through as your photographer captures your true emotion, love, and joy of the day – in images to cherish for years to come.

Check back soon for discussion on pros and cons of copyright release…