WeddingLink

• Home
• Fayres
• Gallery
• Magazines
• Suppliers
• Venues

How to choose your Photographer

When you are planning the perfect wedding, make choosing your photographer one of the first priorities. Think about how much thought and expense is going into your special day. Your photographs will be the lasting record of your happiness and hard work, so why compromise? If you want peace of mind on the day, the only safe option is to entrust the job to a professional photographer: but remember they are in great demand and get booked up well in advance. You will never regret choosing the right person. Of course, you could do it on the cheap. Many do - and live to regret it. Your wedding day isn't a rehearsal. You can't have those moments again - if your pictures are a failure you are going to have to live with them. The message rings out loud and clear use a professional. But how do you know what to look for? A good rule of thumb is to try and choose a photographer who is the kind of person you would like to have at your wedding. Go for someone you know instinctively you can get on with, someone you feel would not let you down under any circumstances.

Try to establish the type of photography you are looking for. You may want a mixture of classic groups taken in colour, supported by a selection of sepia, candid, and reportage-style pictures. Or you may decide you would like some black and white with a touch of hand colouring for added interest.

Check whether your photographer is a qualified member of a professional association like "The Guild of Wedding Photographers" or "The British Institute of Professional Photography" if they are this means they have reached a certain standard with their work. Have they won any awards for their work? One of the most stringent tests for any professional wedding photographers is to become a "Craftsman of the Guild of Wedding Photographers" - there are less than 100 photographers in the UK who have achieved this status.

Does the photographer have professional indemnity insurance to cover the cost of re-shooting in the event of a disaster?

Good wedding photographers aren't "snappers" They live by their reputations and so discount all "short cut" options. The methods they employ to achieve that goal can vary enormously.

Brief your photographer fully regarding key members of your friends and family this should be done at the pre-wedding interview, one week before the wedding. Plan together with your photographer a realistic schedule for the day's photographs so that you do not keep the guests waiting for too long. What will happen if it rains? If you have chosen well, your photographer will give you advice on the best place to do indoor shots, this also applies to winter weddings at 4.00pm when there is no available day light.

If the Bride is having her hair done professionally, the present trend is to have the hair swept up on top with one or two strands left loose, if it is windy these loose strands often end up across the face. If you would like the photographer to take photographs of the Bride before she leaves home when not a hair is out of place, please leave enough time for the make up person to apply the make up before the photographer is due.

None of the contents of this web site may be reproduced in any other media or format without the prior written permission of WeddingLink Limited to whom all copyright in this web site belong and which has been lawfully conveyed. All original program code remains the intellectual property of Digitalis Design.