As I write this I have just discovered that another good friend of mine has been ‘ripped off’ by a so called professional photographer.  Why am I pissed off?  Simple, because every time this happens the effect is felt throughout the whole industry.  I have been a professional photographer for over ten years now and I do not know all there is about photography.  It has taken years to build a reputation, a style and a direction.  There is no short cuts for this,

There have always been con men and women, that is nothing new, but the recent progress in photography has made this a breeding ground for minimum risk chancers.  It is easy to set up a website, operate for a few weeks and then vanish.

Everyone is aware of the massive increase in photographers available and offering you their skills. This is both good and bad.  Good because it has removed much of the elitist attitudes and competition is always good.  Bad because most clients know little or nothing about the industry and how it should operate to be able to make an informed choice.

The papers are always telling stories of a bride and groom duped into giving away their hard earned money and being heart broken when the resulting images are not at all what they expected.

So how can I help?

I am going to give prospective clients 5 tips to reduce the risk.

1.  Do your research.  Visit the photographers website (no website should set alarms going), check their galleries.  Is their work of a quality you would be happy with?  Are the images of a similar style?  Are they creative images?  Visit their Blog (most have them now), do their blog entries match their website in quality and style?  Look for endorsements but don’t trust them out of hand, anyone can write a few words.  Be more trusting of personal recommendations although this is not always possible.

2.  Speak to the photographer and meet them before any booking.  Check the quality of their work on their walls, again, does it match the website for quality and style?  Ask to see any other imagery that they have done that is not on their website or blog.  Always ask to see a complete wedding if that is what you want to hire your photographer for.  That could be either a digital display or a copy of the wedding album.  Be cautious if they refuse, why would they?  

3.  Make sure the photographer has insurance.  This should mean that you are protected to some degree.  If your wedding photographs are ruined then this insurance will cover for this.

4.  Get an contract.  This should be an agreement like an email identifying what you should expect may suffice in many cases.  I have had instances as a photographer where a client has said to me ‘but I thought I was going to get A, B and C’, the contract is there to protect the photographer as well as the client.  Make sure you read and understand what is written.

5.  Be cautious with up front payments.  Most photographers will charge you some kind of sitting fee, this is to be expected.  Make sure you know what you are getting for that.   You should however expect to pay up front for a wedding (this is standard practice) so seeing as much evidence of the photographers work as possible is a must. 

These simple suggestions will not remove the risk completely, but may minimise it.  Photography is subjective and in any dispute, if the images are well composed and exposed correctly, you might find any judgement does not go in your favour.  Make sure you actually like the work you have been shown.

A photographers web site should only contain images that they have taken themselves or within a larger company, although there have been instances where photographers put stock imagery on their page, so their website has professional imagery.

These points are not an exhaustive list but a mere five suggestions that will help minimise your risk.