For this week’s Tid-Bit, I decided to go with a factor that I first debated even listing, however after looking through some photographers websites and seeing a large handful of photographers at the bridal expos last week, I believe quality is just as important if not more important than any other factor when choosing a wedding photographer. What is quality? I know it might seem like a duh question, but what do I really mean when I say quality? What I mean is everything about the picture, edits, angles, focus, colors, even the black/whites (because a true black/white picture is more than changing it to grayscale in photoshop).
What did you see at the expos or on website? It’s always funny seeing what some photographers have up at the expos. I’ve been told by a few of well-grounded six-figure (or more) photographers that you should present what you want to sell. So this year at the expo I had albums and LARGE canvas wraps. Why? Because that’s what I want to sell. With that in mind, out of the 11 or so photographers at each show I was in this year, maybe three other photographers had large prints presented. Keeping that same mindset of “present what you want to sell” I did see a large portion of them displaying 4x6s!! Another thing I saw was some even displayed pictures of babies and seniors… At a bridal expo. In no way am I saying these photographers are not good at what they do, or that they are doing expos wrong. What I am saying is all based around quality; Why are they only showing 4x6s? Are their pictures too out of focus or the quality not good enough to be printed large? Why are they showing pictures of babies and seniors? Have they not shot a wedding before? Maybe they have shot a wedding, and none of the pictures turned out well, ask them to see their previous work.
I mentioned all this in my 20 Questions for Your Photographer blog post when it comes to seeing a photographer’s previous work. A photographer’s website can often times be very deceiving, simply because some might spend more time into edits for the pictures on their website than they do for their clients. So when you go to the website the pictures look AMAZING, however that won’t be the same quality of work you will receive, and if you ask to see an album of their previous work, most photographers will be more than happy to show you. Ask to see it on their computer even, then you can see ALL the types of edits they have. This way, you are aware of the exact quality of work you will receive. 🙂
Lastly, expanding on that last thought, because sometimes it might not be a photographer’s website, it might be the computer screen. I’m sure we’ve all had this experience; maybe you order a shirt, shoes, furniture from a website and when you receive if, the colors are nothing like what you saw on their website. All monitors and screens are different in how they display colors, so this issue might come into play when looking at photographers’ websites. It’s always very beneficial to meet with the photographers you are interested in, that way you can see some prints up close in their true colors. I’m sure other photographers will appreciate you wanting to meet with them too, rather than basing a decision solely from a website. 🙂
Good luck in choosing a wedding photographer. Remember to always ask any questions you might have. Ask to see previous work, or even a complete wedding set of pictures. And always remember to just breathe, wedding planning can be very stressful and as a wedding vendor we are here to help ease that stress. Have a great Thursday!!