You’ve been looking forward to your big day for years. Now that you and your special someone are ready to the tie the knot, you’ve begun making preparations for the perfect wedding. After deciding on a suitable caterer, booking a sought-after venue and designing aesthetically pleasing invites, you only have one important matter left to attend to: hiring a photographer. As you’re well aware, choosing a wedding photographer is not something to be taken lightly. Since this person will be entrusted with immortalizing the most important day of your life, not just any cut-rate shutterbug will do. When shopping around for the right wedding photographer, remember to take the following qualities into account.
Overwhelmingly Positive Feedback
As is the case when hiring any sort of contractor, you should search for feedback from previous clients before hiring a wedding photographer. A number of photographers’ websites feature detailed testimonial sections where satisfied clients offer accounts of how happy they were with the services provided. If you’d like to go a step further, consult popular consumer feedback websites like Angie’s List. Keep in mind that every wedding photographer – nay, every independent contractor – is going to have one or two bad reviews. However, if the positive reviews far outweigh the negative ones, chances are you’ve found a winner. Conversely, if the feedback you find is overwhelming negative, it’s generally best to look for another photographer.
Proven Affinity for Photography
Even if a certain photographer seems like your cup of tea, it’s strongly advised that you have a look at his or her portfolio before committing to do business. In some cases, this will entail meeting with a photographer and perusing their samples in person. Fortunately, more often than not, modern-day wedding photographers will post abundant samples of past work on their respective websites. For example, San Luis Obispo-based Bluephoto Wedding Photography allows web visitors to effortlessly make their way through multiple galleries of the proprietor’s previous shoots. The quality of one’s work should play a key role in the decision of whether or not to hire them.
Variety of Services
These days, taking fantastic pictures is only part of a wedding photographer’s job. Putting together albums – both print and digital – as well as commemorative DVDs should be well within the skill-set of a tech-savvy photographer. If you want your special day to live on across a variety of mediums, limit your choices to photographers who know their way around a computer and are proficient with editing software.
In many respects, the photographer has the wedding’s most important job. Mistakes made by other people are likely to be quickly forgotten, whereas subpar wedding photos will live on in perpetuity. This is why it’s important to be selective when choosing the right person for the job. Despite months – in some cases, years – of meticulous planning, your big day will be over in a matter of hours. However, the right photographer will ensure that all the memories made on that day are flawlessly preserved for generations to come.