Just like every other aspect of your wedding, finding the right wedding photographer to choose will take a little work. This isn’t a place to hire willy-nilly. Instead, you need to do your research, talk to multiple photographers and feel out which one is the right wedding photographer for you. Here’s a few points to consider:
Price
As much as we don’t want to admit it, price is one of the biggest factors in choosing the right wedding photographer. While you want a good deal, consider that photography isn’t necessarily the place you want to scrimp. Remember, the cake will be eaten and the flowers will wilt, but the photographs are how you’ll remember your wedding day the rest of your life. There are a lot of costs that go into a photographer’s business, and the logical business move is to pass that onto the customer.
It’s likely that if a photographer charges a little bit more than you expected, it’s because he or she has had extra training, has higher quality equipment, offers more of their time or has an assistant or secondary photographer that will help out at the wedding. Some wedding photographers in Cologne offer really great services at affordable prices like BTC Photography.
Style
You’ll need to figure out which photography style best suits your need – whether it’s traditional, photojournalism or a blend of styles – and choose a wedding photographer that specializes in that style. Ask to see samples of their past work to get a sense of what their point of view as a photographer is.
If you’re not sure – try and choose a wedding photographer capable of switching between the distinct photography styles, so that you have relaxed family groups and spontaneous un-posed reportage shots. It takes personality to gather the correct people, chat with them in a friendly positive manner and most importantly, produce pleasing images of everyone with all with their eyes open! Look for someone with a tactful manner, a sense of humor, who can put people at their ease and help them to enjoy the day.
Comfort level
Your photographer will be privy to some very intimate moments, such as the bride getting dressed in her gown or the couple’s first moments together as newlyweds. Your photographer should make you feel comfortable and be as unobtrusive as possible.
Experience
While a novice photographer can be very talented – and much less expensive! – this is an important day. Ask to see previous weddings they have shot, and not just selected photos. Ask to see an entire wedding album, meaning the good, the bad and the ugly. This will help you see where the photographer’s strengths and weaknesses lie. Look for complete albums containing a single event and study the images closely. Are people clearly enjoying themselves and is the spirit and energy of the day evident. Look for a variety of images that tell the story of the day.
Look for linkages that have you guessing what’s over the next page. Find out who the wedding photographer is and would THAT person be available on your day. Is that person showing you the work? It is common for larger firms to send someone else so don’t be in the situation of meeting the photographer for the first time at your wedding – it won’t work! You need to have got a rapport going before the day.