picking a photographer

[KeyAndFill]

In my area, just like many others, the Faux crowd is thick.  However, there seems to be another issue, maybe it has been caused by the rise of the fauxtog, but it seems that some legitimate photographers are beginning not to trust each other or are being rude to their fellow shutterbugs. I will  attempt to give suggestions to some of the fauxs that seem to really care about the craft, but we all know how that goes.

Here is what I’m dealing with now.  There is a photographer in my area making her way through this crazy world.  She began as a mom-tog but has really become a fairly good photographer, we will refer to her as Sally.   I feel that her professionalism is lacking.  I have for many years photographer our local youth soccer organization.  You know the standard routine, individual portrait in soccer uniform and team picture.    So Sally’s daughter plays in this league, she walks around the soccer field with her canon 5D and 500mm lens.  Two things worth mentioning.  Parents can stand right next to the field, there is no fence, just painted lines.  I can shoot with a 150 and get great action shots.  90% of games and/or practices are in the evenings.  Sally does not mount her very large lens, she chooses to hand hold it.  I guess shooting with a high ISO you can get a fast enough shutter speed to compensate for camera shake, but I wouldn’t chance it.    Ok, back to my story.  I noticed Sally creeping up behind me this last week trying to see my lcd screen after I would shoot portrait.  If you want to see it i’ll show it to you, I’m confident in my work.  When I would turn to speak to her she would walk away.  Rather odd I felt.  But this happened several times.

So I’m getting married next year, the fiance has put the photographer hunt in my court.  That is all I am responsible for.  I’ve spoke with several people, I’m getting some price lists, etc.  This morning she sends me an email, she contacted Sally for some info.  She has mentioned sally before and because of the vintage look she puts on her photos and lack of professionalism I have always said no.  She would like for me to consider Sally again.  I don’t doubt that Sally knows how to use a camera, I know that she has shot weddings before, they are not terrible pictures.  I’ve seen some of her work, it is always tack sharp.  Do I suck it up and make momma happy, or continue my search among peers that I know and trust?

[cass335]

If there is any day in your life you want to be picky about your photographer…it is definitely your wedding day! If you don’t care for her pick someone else.

” I know that she has shot weddings before, they are not terrible pictures”

If you don’t look at someone’s wedding porfolio and say “WOW!” then you should move on.

We have a local wedding association and they are a great resource for finding anything you could need. You should see if you have one locally that could help you out in finding the perfect photog for your wedding.

[nairbynairb]

I’d recommend going with another photographer.

 

Just like Cass said, if she doesn’t make you go “WOW” then why would you even bother?

[nesgran]

Not to mention that you will be worried the whole day about how the pictures are going to turn out.

Pissing off the other half is fine if you are right, especially on something important. Let’s put it this way, would you go to a doctor that you have concerns about his professionalism and you have habits you don’t like personally? I wouldn’t.

Ten years down the line the OH will have forgotten that you didn’t want to go with Sally but will look in the wedding album and say “Wow, these are amazing pictures of a special day!”

 

 

 

 

 

[JLiu]

Photos last forever. Due diligence is an absolute for an event with no re-dos.

[Gerbles]

Absolutely do NOT hire her for your wedding. You already have reservations about her skill and professionalism and she sounds like a total flake. There are so many other wedding photographers out there that deserve work more than she does. Is she even a legitimate wedding photographer, or is she mainly a family portrait photographer?

Bottom line- you want to have total confidence in your wedding photographer because it is a once in a lifetime event. You also don’t want to be stressed on your wedding day wondering if she is struggling with lighting, has the proper equipment, is missing important shots, etc.. Don’t worry about hurting Sally’s feelings because it isn’t about her and your fiance needs to realize it is important that BOTH of you are happy with the choice of photographer. When I got married several years ago, I remember allotting a pretty big portion of our wedding budget for the photographer, and I am so glad I did- especially when looking at our photos.

[kbee]

Bit of a necro – I had a photographer friend come and shoot my wedding. She was not a wedding photog, but more of a product and studio photog. I really liked her portfolio, so I knew she could do well. But being good at one thing doesn’t make you a pro at weddings. Weddings are entirely different beasts and I have insane respect for any photographer who can pull off a beautiful wedding shoot.

Don’t misunderstand, the photos she did for us at the bargain price we paid for were great and I truly treasure them. Composed well, no bad tilts, some pretty portraits – they captured my wedding day beautifully. But they’re nothing like the dedicated wedding photographers I’ve seen since, with the full kit and kaboodle you see – preparing, table settings, bouquet, cake, rings, dress, heels, make-up etc etc. All those artsy fartsy photos you see in wedding profiles. My husband and I spent hours and money on hand-crafting invites (I designed and we printed and decorated our own), table settings, customised guest boxes and treats. The ring he got me was custom made, and I had his custom ordered as well. I have only one or two photos of those little details we worked hard for.

So despite all their technical correctness, they don’t have the same coverage, variety and spirit that a wedding photog would have.

Long story short: if you ever, EVER, have any doubt, just say no. Your wedding cannot be redone if you’re unhappy. I never got any video of my husband and I dancing, even when we spent weeks with a choreographer to learn the steps to our wedding song. To this day it makes me beyond upset because we will never get that moment back, I will never look like that and the moment is gone.

Pay what you need to pay to ensure your day is captured properly. Regret is hard to swallow. If I could go back and shift money out of somewhere else and had the local photog shoot my wedding (lord, he’s amazing), I would do it in a heartbeat. Remember: my wedding photographer didn’t take “terrible pictures” either, but I still regret not having a true wedding tog behind the camera.

In 20 years time, your fiance won’t be worried about what togs she passed up for her wedding. She’s going to look at your wedding photos and love (or conversely despise) them. And those memories trump a disagreement over a meh tog.

[cameraclicker]

Perhaps “Sally” is a bit shy but still curious about what other photographers are achieving.

Everyone hopes they only have one pass at their wedding photos.  Your wedding photographer is confidante, planner, organizer, director, and of course, photographer.  You want one you are totally comfortable with.

Once you have picked your photographer, you have to discuss what you want.  If some shots are important to you, you have to let your photographer know, otherwise you get the standard set.  Let the photographer know what your mother and mother-in-law want too.  Assign someone from each side of the new family to locate family and friends and get them in front of the photographer at the right time.

Many of the great photos are pre-planned.  A great example of that is here:  http://www.chfi.com/2012/05/24/wedding-photo-in-the-middle-yonge-dundas-intersection/ .  Everyone in town was talking about the photo.  Toronto is fourth largest city in North America.  Yonge Street is the main street and Dundas is a very busy intersection, with a unique traffic light sequence.  It has an all-ways walk signal that stops all the cars so pedestrians can cross diagonally.

[sarah5string]

Completely echo others on here. Photography is one of the most important aspects of any wedding day and you need to be 100% confident in your photographer to A) cope under pressure B) know what they’re doing and C) give you photos that will look back on in years to come and still go WOW when you see them.

Go with your gut instinct.

[Author]

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