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Weddings are serious, but just how do you find your photographer? (a clients guide)

January 7, 2019
Advice, From the Archive, Support, Wedding
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As an experienced photographer, I often take my craft for granted.  I forget that it has taken decades to get to where I am.  I don’t pretend to be the best photographer out there.  The truth is that because photography is subjective (everyone likes different styles, looks, processes), my style will not suit every client.

As a client, you have more power than you ever had in the past.  There are literally thousands of photographers out there, but that does not mean every one will be a good match for you.

Your wedding is important, it will probably be one of the most important days in your life, so it’s in your interest to make sure you get all the details right.

So How do you choose?  Do you know much about photography?  Now, first of all excuse the brazen use of our imagery on this post 😉

Well there are a few things you can do, some of them obvious, and some not so much.

Well the first thing you can do is work on recommendations, your family and friends may have been married recently.  Look at their album, their photographs, do you like them?  That’s a great start… but are they still available for your big day?  The more popular photographers will be booking almost two years in advance, so there is no time to waste…

Talk to your (possible) photographer and meet them, rapport is so important.  You will likely be stressed on the big day, you need to feel comfortable with your photographer.  This is especially important if your photographer is capturing your preparations with your closest friends, do you trust them to be respectful?  You wouldn’t want to feel like some pervert was stalking you in your smalls…

Next, make sure that the person you meet, is actually your photographer..  seems like a little thing but larger firms will have sales people visit you, and your photographer on the day will be a complete stranger.  It does happen… It happened to me… Of course I had no clue back then lol.  Oh and I hated the photographs.

Be realistic about price, if it’s cheap, then there is possibly a reason for that.  The average for a wedding photography package is about £1,500 although these days you can push for an awful lot at that price.  That said, you can get some good deals if you are happy to take a chance.

When you meet your photographer, try to look at one of their recent weddings in full.  You will be surprised how easy it can be to make a slideshow with 20 images that make them look really good.  Some photographers may even use photos that they have taken at training days with professional models and coaching on poses etc.  Don’t be fooled.  If you see a full wedding, although you may not be interested in the photos of Auntie Mable drunk on the dance floor, you will at least get an idea of the consistency of the photographer.  This is the best tip and reduces your risk of hiring someone who fails you.  Oh and it has been known for photographers to buy stock imagery to show themselves off.

Contract. contract, contract.  Make sure you get a contract.  It will help both parties.  You will have it written down what to expect.  Some photographers will make sure you get one, some will be a little more reluctant.  Always ask yourself why…

Make sure the photographer has insurance.  Sometimes the unexpected can happen.  The photographer’s car breaks down and they are 200 miles away… Insurance will help put your mind at rest a little.  Will their insurance come good?  It’s certainly worth asking a few questions…

So now you have read this, hire me… 😉

No, seriously, this is an important subject, one I have been wanting to write for some time.  I hate, literally hate to read about those couples who get duped for their wedding by a photographer who is little more than a conman.  They exist.  All you can do is minimise your chances of falling foul.

So now, you can hire me… 😉

Hooray…

Disclaimer:  No clients were harmed in the making of this post.. If you want to know more, please feel free to message us.

The ‘SCURGE’ of photography and a client education

October 18, 2013
Opinion, Portraits
2 Comments

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.

Is the photographic industry dead or dying?

March 5, 2012
Opinion
2 Comments

I am a professional photographer, that simply means I get paid to take photographs. This is my livelihood and not just a fun pass time (I know how lucky I am to enjoy what I do for a living). I am aware of the things that are said and done on the internet and the speed with which this industry is changing.

As anyone in this industry its hard to be truly objective about its development as anything I will say could be seen as sour grapes. On a positive note, digital photography has made photography accessible to anyone, which is a good thing, right? This means that the numbers of people with a ‘decent’ camera, clicking away has gone exponential. Even IPhone’s are regarded as excellent at gathering the image. You even have Pro’s shooting weddings with one!

Now I am not a photography snob (at least I don’t think I am), photography is not about your kit or equipment, its all about seeing the potential of an image before you take it and using your skill to capture it, however I do worry about perception with the public (clients) and more and more with people within the industry. Weddings are now being shot by Pro’s with the iphone 4, which is great for iphone and I am sure that a skilled operator does it justice. The problem is that every man and his dog has an iphone though and the perception ‘could’ be that anyone can now do a professional job with one. Not true. There will however be an issue with costs as you can get one of these cameras free on a contract and other photographers have over ten thousand pounds worth of kit, both pitching for the same wedding, there will be a massive range of costs, so where will this lead. Not having an iphone (for now), I really don’t know just how adept they are, my understanding is that you get app’s to re-work the images. This to me is like using a filter in Photoshop to give your images a ‘look’. In essence you use a filter to make ‘ordinary’ images stand out. This is only my opinion.

Where does that leave the industry? Well only time will tell, but one thing that gives me a degree of hope is that more and more clients are beginning to seek references from a photographer prior to booking, could this be down to the client now understanding that its the person that makes the image and not the camera? Is this knowledge borne from the experience of having a ‘good’ camera and wondering why they can not get the quality of image they expected by pointing it and shooting? Could this finally be the bubble of an over saturated market about to burst and the beginning of the rediscovery and homage to the skill of the photographer?

This is not intended to be an elitist subject, because these developments have brought some very talented people into an industry that was largely inaccessible before, but a statement about how an unregulated industry is seen by many as being in the dying twitches. Could we be seeing the dawn of a new era? Discuss.Â