The Three CRUCIAL Things To Consider When Selecting Your Professional Wedding Photographer
Choosing your wedding photographer is one of the most important decisions you'll make in planning your wedding. Choose right, and you’ll have both a wonderful experience, and wonderful memories. Choose wrong, and it could be a disaster.
I meet a lot of people in the wedding photography business. You’d be surprised just how many tell us their one regret about their wedding was not putting enough emphasis on the photographs.
Frequently, they’re in my studio for some other reason, see what they could have had, and then make some kind of comment like “Oh, I wish we'd known about you when we got married." Or “I wish we’d realized just how important our wedding pictures would have been to us, but we decided to go cheap, and they just didn’t turn out”. In essence, the “settled” when they should have recognized the importance these memories have after the wedding. But there’s no going back. No do-overs. You’ve got ONE CHANCE.
People will laugh about a less than great cake. Or tell funny stories about how the flowers weren't quite the way they wanted.
But if the wedding pihotos aren't to your liking, or you had a very bad experience with your less than professional photographer, you're reminded every time you look at them.
It’s not necessarily easy to know who to choose. And yes, there's lots to consider, and the choices can be very confusing. But I think there's three major points to consider when making the choice. Consider these correctly, and the rest will be a piece of cake
The first is perhaps the most obvious, but at the same time the most confusing.
And it deserves some discussion, because if you make a wrong decision here, you'll never love what you get.
And that's the element of style. Do you ABSOLUTELY LOVE what this person creates. Does it feel like you? Could you see yourself in the wedding photographs you're viewing?
You can't judge this from a few of his or her "best" photographs hanging on the wall. Or from a few carefully selected prints in an album.
You really need to see an entire wedding -or two-or three.
See how they photograph from beginning to end. Take a look at the entire set of images created for several weddings. Don't allow cherry picking.
As you look at the photographs, do you feel like you were there? Can you feel what this couple was feeling.
Do they tell a great story of the day? Do they flow together from beginning to end?
Do they feel natural, or do they look stiff and stilted, When looking at the "formals" do the people look as if they're enjoying themselves? Or do they look uncomfortable?
Are they artistically created. Are they technically well done?
Some wedding photographers are romantic in their style; others are contemporary and edgy.
Some create beautiful directed photographs, others only photograph what they see.
The best wedding photographers do a combination of both; beautiful, natural, directed photographs, and the storytelling photojournalistic.
Regardless of style or approach, make sure that it's a GREAT fit for you. Don't settle for "OK" when you deserve "SPECTACULAR"
If you haven't already done so, click on our Wedding Photography Galleries link, and take a look at some of the complete album presentations we've created. At the very lease, these will give you an idea of our style.
But we strongly encourage you to put us to the same test. Call us to schedule a no-obligation consultation. We'll show you an entire wedding, beginning to end, and let you judge for yourself whether our style is for you. If it is, GREAT. Then we're a match on the first point. If it's not, then that's fine too. It's vitally important for both of us that we be a good match for each other,
The second is probably the least obvious and maybe the most overlooked, but probably the most important.
Nobody spends more time with you on your wedding day than your wedding photographer. Not your bridesmaids, not your parents, Maybe not even your groom (or bride).
We're there with you from beginning to end. Start to finish. Curlers to Limousine
Not only that, but you give us a substantial portion of the most important day of your life. Place it directly in our hands. Trusting us to know you well enough to create wonderful directed photographs of the two of you, your bridal party and your families.
It's pretty darned important that we have a great relationship. That the two of you feel very comfortable with us. That you trust us, and have confidence in our professionalism and our ability to do the job well. And throughout the entire process to have a great time!
Would you believe there are actually studios around who have a stable of photographers? And you might not even know who's going to be photographing your wedding until they show up? UNBELIEVABLE.
It you and your photographer are a bad match, then no matter how good your photographs are, you'll never love them. All you'll remember when you look at them is the bad experience you had, or the uncomfortable feeling you had every time they were with you.
It may sound funny at first thought, but our philosophy has always been that we only photograph weddings for friends. We want there to be a wonderful, comfortable relationship between the two of you and our team. We want you to look forward to the time we'll be spending with you - a couple of friends who came to your wedding to celebrate with you, and at the same time do something wonderful.
No matter who you meet with or who you choose, make sure that they're a very good match. You'll know if it is. And you'll know it if it's not.
And above all, make sure you actually meet and spend time with the person who will photograph your wedding, not some sales person or studio owner. You deserve a personal approach.
And the third is too frequently the driving factor, when it should be the least important of the three.
Let's face it. Budgets are important. We all understand that. But this is the most important day of your life. A day that you, your family, and ultimate your children and beyond will celebrate. A day from which will spring a lifetime of memories.
If you were having eye surgery, would you look for the CHEAPEST surgeon. Or, like me, would you want to have the VERY BEST? Knowing full well that a less than perfect job might leave you blinded for the rest of your life.
Well, the same applies here. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You can't go back and do it over again. A few extra dollars up front is much better than a lifetime of regrets
Consider this. Let's say your wedding day is 10 hours long (about the longest we've ever been a part of).
Your wedding dress will cost you between $75 and $300 per hour you wear it. Your flowers will probably cost between $60 and $150 per hour you use them. The venue will be around $200 per hour. And if you have 150 guests at $20 per guest, the caterer will be about $300 per hour, spread out over the 10 hours of your wedding day, which I admit is a silly way to measure it, but you get the point.
Now don't get me wrong. These are all very important parts of your wedding. But all these are used ONCE. Never again will you wear the dress, enjoy the flowers, eat the food or have use of the venue.
But your photographs give you lifetime of value. So, if you're married 50 years, good photographs are somewhere around 22 CENTS a DAY. Without them, your wedding day starts to become faded memories.
But great photographs will bring back all those feelings, all those memories every time you look at them.
Just the other day, I noticed Valerie (our retoauch artist) very intently watching something on her computer. Chin resting on her hands, totally wrapped up in what she was watching. Turns out, she was watching the multimedia presentation of her wedding. Totally caught up in it. All the fpeople, all the details, all the moments of her wedding day, and most importantly, all those feelings bubbling to the surface as if it had been yesterday. Yet her wedding was 5 years ago.
One of my very favorite sights is to watch a bride and groom and frequently parents all sitting in our presentation area, tears rolling down their faces as they watch their wedding photographs flow by in their presentations. Talk about touching their hearts!!
That's the magic great wedding photographs can bring.
Can you say the same about the flowers or the food at your wedding? How about the chair covers? Think 20 years from now, anyone will remember that you even had them???
It's all about setting priorities - knowing what's most important when you set your budget.
It's not at all unusual for our couples to tell us we were the biggest single budget item in their wedding. But of course for these couples, the photographs were the most important consideration. These are the couples who understand the value of these memories, and recognize that they can't go back later and have the photographs created.
Cost is not generally the primary consideration for our couples. Our clients are generally looking for quality, and a great experience. If price is your most important consideration, then we're probably not for you. You can most certainly find lots of cheaper alternatives.
But remember, in this business you most generally get what you pay for.
And make sure you understand how the packages are structured. What sometimes looks like a cheap alternative might turn out to be just as expensive as something good by the time you add everything that you get included with our packages. And that’s where the regrets set in – “I coulda had a V-8” (for those of you who remember that commercial)
If you're still reading at this point, then you're probably interested in learning more. Make sure you've visited our galleries, then download our pricelist so you’ll have an idea of where we might fit into your budget.
I’d personally like to invite you to give us a call (503-588-0902) so we can chat about your wedding. Or better yet, set up an appointment for a consultation so we can sit down together and you can tell me all about your plans.
Then I’ll show you what we do and how we do it and you can decide for yourself how well we fit. We only photograph about 15 weddings a year, and have no problem filling our schedule. And that means that we choose our couples as carefully as they choose us. I want there to be a wonderful match, in all three categories, as much as you do. So no pressure, no hype.
Just friends talking about something very special to all of us – your wedding.
Price List in PDF Format
Ok, I admit it. We don't always get the information on the website updated as changes are made to the real price list. So, this is provided for reference only. But, as any good lawyer would tell you, the actual prices are those contained in the price package you receive when you come in for your consultation.