Tips for choosing wedding photogs

[jesshen]

Hi, this is kind of from the other point of view. I had been asked to be main photographer for dear friends' wedding, I am not pro. I have now convinced them to look into getting a pro to do their wedding, instead of me (though I'd like to be their candid photographer). They can't afford much, they gave me a price of $1500 as what they could afford, and the wedding is in May.

My question is, I'd like to help them shop around for a pro near Scottsbluff, NE and there are only a few in that area (from what I can see on the internet); what tips can I give them, for choosing a photographer beyond the bottom line of price? Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Jessica

[egordon99]

Are the pictures any good? ;)

Seriously, ask for lots of samples, AND references. How long have they been shooting? Make sure they're not some newbie who just bought an "expensive" camera (Rebel and kit lens :lol: ) and thinks they can tackle a once-in-a-lifetime event such as a wedding.

Hi, this is kind of from the other point of view. I had been asked to be main photographer for dear friends' wedding, I am not pro. I have now convinced them to look into getting a pro to do their wedding, instead of me (though I'd like to be their candid photographer). They can't afford much, they gave me a price of $1500 as what they could afford, and the wedding is in May.

My question is, I'd like to help them shop around for a pro near Scottsbluff, NE and there are only a few in that area (from what I can see on the internet); what tips can I give them, for choosing a photographer beyond the bottom line of price? Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Jessica

[bnlearle]

Are the pictures any good? ;)

Seriously, ask for lots of samples, AND references. How long have they been shooting? Make sure they're not some newbie who just bought an "expensive" camera (Rebel and kit lens :lol: ) and thinks they can tackle a once-in-a-lifetime event such as a wedding.

References are completely overrated, IMO. You're talking to people who potentially are happy with their photos because a) they don't care about beautiful, artistic photography and b) they love how cheap their photographer is. FULL weddings are what's important. Full weddings are exactly that. Several RECENT weddings where you can see 60-100 images from single weddings. See four (or so) of these (from 2008) from a photographer and you'll have a way better idea of what you can expect from this photographer.

To be completely honest, unless you get lucky and find someone who is on their way to the top - but just isn't there pricewise yet - your friends will get what they are willing to pay for. I'd spend more time convincing them to budget out other things (assuming photography is a priority to them) like a florist, videographer, planner, big catered dinner, etc... I've known many couples (who believe that photography was the most important thing to budget for) who end up spending over half their budget on wedding photography to get the photographer they really wanted. I don't know one of them who regrets it. Then there are those who don't care as much about photography and shouldn't bother worrying about their photographer anymore than just having their cousin/uncle/friend shoot it. It all comes down to the couples' priorities.

Remember, this advice is assuming that photography is a TOP priority of theirs. If it's not than there's no advice other than see who has the best photos in your area for around $1500. But if it is a top priority and they can move their budget from $1500 to more like $2500-$3000 by taking some things out, they will have much more luck at finding a great photographer ;)

Bobby

[jesshen]

Thanks Bobby, that actually was very helpful. These friends are very intelligent, and artistic and they do care a lot about the photography; they're just poor college students right now. I will pass on to them the gist of what you have said. If they were clueless people who really didn't know any better, I would volunteer my own services because it wouldn't matter. But I think it does matter to them, and I want what's the best for them. It's good to know what the going rates are these days without having to contact every single photographer singly.

Thanks,
Jessica

[randplaty]

wow, there really are no wedding photographers in scottsbluff. I did a search and couldn't really find anybody decent. Even searched in cheyenne and denver and there's nobody decent for under 2000. Pretty crazy.

Is there a market out there? If you get pretty good and if there's a market you could clean up. But then again Scottsbluff seems like a really small town.

[viet]

References don't mean much, ask to see at least two samples of complete weddings from the beginning to the end.

This will definitely show their consistency for their work. Most professional-pretend-to-be can only show you the best shots out of their thousands of pictures of several weddings together.

Hope this helps.

Hi, this is kind of from the other point of view. I had been asked to be main photographer for dear friends' wedding, I am not pro. I have now convinced them to look into getting a pro to do their wedding, instead of me (though I'd like to be their candid photographer). They can't afford much, they gave me a price of $1500 as what they could afford, and the wedding is in May.

My question is, I'd like to help them shop around for a pro near Scottsbluff, NE and there are only a few in that area (from what I can see on the internet); what tips can I give them, for choosing a photographer beyond the bottom line of price? Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Jessica

[stathunter]

References don't mean much, ask to see at least two samples of complete weddings from the beginning to the end.



I have been in the wedding business for a while--- I have never given a client a look at an entire set of wedding photos--- for me it would be too many for someone to review--- I typically give clients about 500 images now. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

[zagiace]

I show 2 full weddings and a book with many sample images.
If the prospective photographer has decent work they should consider how they get along with the photographer. They will be spending a lot of time with them.
Here are other things to consider:
What is the style of photography they like? Journalistic/ traditional?
In lower end weddings often studios will send less experienced photographers in training. Make sure they interview the actual photographer shooting their event.
How many events will that photographer shoot that day? Again, lower budget photographers may book additional events for that same day.

[bnlearle]

I have been in the wedding business for a while--- I have never given a client a look at an entire set of wedding photos--- for me it would be too many for someone to review--- I typically give clients about 500 images now. Anyone else have thoughts on this?
I think what was meant by "full wedding" was an entire wedding series (not all 500-1000 images) instead of just a collage of all the photographers best images over his series of weddings.

I show full weddings of nearly every wedding I shoot. I think this gives my clients confidence in my ability to reproduce for them what they've seen (and obviously like if they're booking me) from my work.

I make a showit slide (http://www.showitfast.com/#/showit-web/) of every wedding and post it up on my blog. This consists of (generally) 100 of my favorite images from each wedding (here's an example (http://bobbyearle.blogspot.com/2008/09/hana-james-full-post.html) of what I mean by full weddings).

Bobby

[viet]

I have been in the wedding business for a while--- I have never given a client a look at an entire set of wedding photos--- for me it would be too many for someone to review--- I typically give clients about 500 images now. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

I should have made it clearer. By complete wedding samples, I meant anywhere from 50-100 images to tell the whole story of the wedding from the beginning to the end, not the thousands of pictures that one can take nowadays.

[jesshen]

I show 2 full weddings and a book with many sample images.
If the prospective photographer has decent work they should consider how they get along with the photographer. They will be spending a lot of time with them.
Here are other things to consider:
What is the style of photography they like? Journalistic/ traditional?
In lower end weddings often studios will send less experienced photographers in training. Make sure they interview the actual photographer shooting their event.
How many events will that photographer shoot that day? Again, lower budget photographers may book additional events for that same day.

This is very helpful zagiace, I will pass this on-- thanks, and thanks to the others who also replied. Randplaty, there really is a serious shortage of photographers in the Scottsbluff area, I hope my friends won't be too disappointed in the selection there. I am not local to there, I'll be travelling from WA state as these are close friends.

Jessica

[woodfrogs]

Maybe WPPI or WedFog would have professionals in your area?
They have search tools on their websites.