Choosing a Wedding Photographer

Style

Each Photographer will have his or her own style, when choosing a Photographer you need to understand that if you choose them because they do the traditional formal type portraits, then they are unlikely to do a lot of photojournalistic type of shots, or vise versa.

Personality

Make sure that you "click" with the Photographer, a great fit with personalities will not only ensure that you have a great fun day, but it will be reflected in the photos.  Remember, this is the one vendor that will be with you for the entire day.

Packages

Ensure that you know what is in your package, if you don't understand something, ask before you sign any contracts.

Contracts

Always get a contract/agreement that clearly states what yours and the Photographers responsibilites are.  With a clear contract in "people talk" there can be no question as to what you should get for your money.

Pricing & Budget

Everyone has a budget that they have to work within, when sitting with a potential Bride & Groom I always ask them "What value do you put on your memories"  It is very easy to spend a lot of money on a wedding, tens of thousands on receptions, thousands on a dress.  One thing to consider when allocating budgets to each service - What is the one thing that lasts you forever?  What will you see everyday on your walls in your house?  Nearly every service for a wedding is for the one day only.  Your Photos will last you a lifetime, it is in your best interest to get an experienced Photographer to ensure those memories are something you want to go back to over and over again.

Why can it be so expensive?  Unfortunately the perception to people is that it's just "one days work", in reality there is a lot more work goes into Wedding Photography, from the pre-wedding meetings to post wedding editing, running around for printing etc.  Also consider this, you are not just paying for the Photographers time on the day, but also regular business costs, insurances, tax, GST, equipment upkeep, vehicle running costs etc etc.  One other thing is that weddings by nature are usually held on weekends, this limits the amount of jobs a Wedding Photographer can do to make a living.

Equipment

Why would you care about the equipment the Photographer is using?  Professional level equipment is much better at handling low light conditions than Amateur equipment.  In a lot of churches these days, you are not allowed to use flash, so the equipment needs to be able to produce quality photos in extreme conditions.  Pro gear is also less likely to break down or fail in extreme conditions.  (The image to the right was shot at night, with no flash)

Saying that, there will always be a chance that something will fail.  Professional Wedding Photographers will always have back up equipment, not just the cameras, but flash heads etc. How would you be if you hired someone who had one camera and it failed half way through the Ceremony?

"My Uncle George/Cousin Jenny Takes Photos, why don't you just use them?"

And I'm sure your Friend/Family member takes very nice photos, however can you rely on them to capture the moment, or not miss a moment?  Can you rely on their equipment to not fail?  Do they have backups?  Photoworx does not restrict anyone from taking photos in our contracts,(some Photographers do), so by all means ask them to come along with their Camera.  All we ask (as will most Photographers) is to please not shoot over our shoulders.  The reason for this is mostly because it distracts the subjects, and they end up not knowing where to look, especially Children.

We may even allow them to assist for the day, we do offer some up and coming Photographers the chance to assist/second shoot from time to time, and if you ask us I'm sure we can accomodate.