The things I will tell my own daughters about choosing a wedding photographer...

Meet the potential photographers in person. Take your time and ask all of your questions.

Is this photographer experienced?

Will I want this photographer around on my wedding day? Will I "click" with this person?

Will my wedding day be special to my photographer?

Will the photographer you meet with be yours for the entire day or will someone else take the photographs for some or all of the day? Who is this other person and does this person meet your photographer criteria?

Ask to see complete sets of images from several very recent weddings. Is the quality consistently high? When were they taken? Who took the photographs?

With modern equipment almost anyone can, with a little luck, capture ten reasonable images at a wedding, then fix them on a computer, but ten images is not a wedding. Can this person actually shoot with a camera? Can they do it well for an entire wedding.

Are the images themselves good? Try to imagine the images in isolation and un mounted. Albums, frames and mounts can make mediocre images seem much better than they truly are. Great images stand on their own.

Will the work stand the test of time? How will it date in the years to come?

What preparations will the photographer carry out with you in the months, weeks and days before your wedding?

Seemingly inexpensive photography "packages" often expand after the wedding. What will the total cost be once everything is paid for?

Beware terms like "qualified professional" and ask yourself what this really means. Is the claim backed up by a solid body of work spanning many years?

Once you have chosen your photographer, work through your ideas together, take your time,

remember, this is your wedding day. -Chris McCarthy

 

Melanie Dixson and Chris McCarthy are both members of the The Advertising and Illustrative Photographers Association of New Zealand.