19 Disastrous Mistakes to Avoid
When Hiring a Wedding Photographer

© 2011 Van H. White, www.VansPhotos.com

1. Don’t underestimate the importance of your wedding photography.

Photography is probably the most important expenditure for the wedding. Think carefully about it: photography is not an expense; rather, it is an investment! Why? That is because it is not for the day’s enjoyment, but its value grows with time.

The food has been consumed, the flowers have wilted, and the rental items have been returned, the band has gone away, the decorations have been trashed, your friends and family have all gone home and you are alone. Even the beautiful venue falls into disrepair. It is sad, isn’t it? What is it that remains from your wedding day, the most special day of your life?

All that remains are your memories and your photographs. Unfortunately, your memories fade with time, and most of them will be totally forgotten. Fortunately, they can be revived and even become more wonderful by the beautiful images captured by your professional photographer.

Hopefully, your photographer will have captured the beauty, emotions, caring people, pensive moments, that even you missed in all of your busyness. Now, you can relive your wedding day and its experience its meaning by perusing your wedding album. You will never again be so beautiful. Your wedding album is irreplaceable. In fact, it is a treasure. It was the most important expenditure during your wedding. It was an investment.

2. Don’t hire a photographer that is not a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP).

This answers two questions. First, how do you know if a photographer really knows his stuff? Second, how do you know if he puts it into practice for actual clients?

Anyone can buy a nice camera and the next Saturday claim to be a wedding photographer. Did you know that only one percent of the professionals are certified (and none of the amateurs are)? Would you use a lawyer that has not passed the bar exam? Would you trust an accountant that has not passed the CPA? Most professional photographers are afraid of sitting for the difficult, written CPP test and having their images scrutinized by a panel of expert judges.

3. Don’t hire a photographer without an artist’s eye.

He must have an artist’s eye to know what makes a good composition. He must know what the subject is and how to separate it from the background! He must know how to use selective focus and other subject-reinforcing techniques. He must foresee the effect of using various focal length lenses and f-stops and choose the proper ones. He must know when to shoot from ground level and when to get up high on his ladder. He must know when to be up close with his wide angle lens and when to be at a distance with his telephoto lens and when to use his fisheye or macro lenses for amazing effects.

He must know how much of the scene to get in the image. He must discern when to use natural light and when to engage his strobe and how to aim that strobe and diffusers to avoid harsh lighting. He must be able to get good images of the subject in front of a window and not have them turn out too dark. Backlit images are some of the most effective ones, but they don’t just happen without skill. You need a photographer with an artist's eye.

4. Don’t hire a photographer without the necessary equipment. 

Great images do not just happen by somebody picking up their consumer-level camera and pushing a button. In order to consistently capture beautiful images, your photographer must first have excellent equipment with a broad selection of quality lenses with great optics. Second, he must be technically adept so as to make proper use of it. Does he have and use radio-controlled remote strobe lighting to create striking images?

Does he have fast lenses (very expensive), instantaneously focusing cameras, quick recovery strobes in order to catch these moments that otherwise will be lost forever and forgotten?

5. Don't hire a photographer that doesn't know how to make you look beautiful.

An experienced photographer knows how to analyze your face and body. He can recommend flattering clothing, pose you, light you, and prompt a good expression to create great images. You do want to look good, don't you?

6. Don’t hire a photographer who can't make a quality album.

Too often you see a cheap coffee table book made by dragging images into templates. It looks like everybody elses. There is no custom design. It does not tell the story beautifully. Plus, those books are not the quality you want for a lifetime of enjoyment.

7. Don’t hire a photographer without seeing his images from a sample wedding.

It is amazing how many brides select a photographer because they look at a series of stunningly beautiful images he has produced and stop there. Why is this bad? It is because even a poor photographer will probably get a couple of great images from each wedding. When he pulls those together to make a demo presentation, it will look impressive. However, the discerning bride will ask to see a set of images from just one sample wedding. Find out how many stunningly beautiful images occurred in that one wedding! That is realistic of what you can expect. Your proofs will NOT look like his best works; rather they will look like his average works.

8. Don’t hire a photographer who is just doing a job.

A photographer that is just doing his job is merely interested in snapping the required pictures and checking them off his list. He is looking forward to his next break and quitting time. You will suffer. Rather, you want a professional who is passionate about the meaning of the day and capturing both you and the perfect moments in the most beautiful way. He is not taking pictures; he is creating art. The average photographer misses the beauty and certainly cannot make a great image of it.

9. Don’t hire an amateur photographer who will miss the important moments.

The mother’s tear; the bride’s endearing gaze upon her white knight; the hugs; the occasional wild antics; the tender kiss of the elderly couple; the romantic looks; the sunset; the prayer; the pensive moment; the burst of laughter; the baby’s sweet sleep; the children playing; the teenage pranks; the fellowship of friends; the beauty of smiles are ALL precious memories that will probably be lost forever without a masterful photographer who can stop time with his shutter.

And these moments are happening all over the room at the same time! The photographer has to move very quickly and always be ready by continually scanning his surroundings and also anticipate the events about to occur. Most consumers have had the frustration of pressing the button and by the time the picture is actually exposed a moment later, it is too late.

10. Don’t hire a photographer who thinks he is more important than you are.

The photographer must have the people skills to be able to work with your family and friends effectively and yet not get in the way or be obtrusive. He should not demand too much attention from the bridal party and, thus, become a nuisance. Unfortunately, some photographers are obnoxious or even jerks. They will ruin your special day. Also, he must not be so shy that he misses being at the right place to capture important moments.

A friend of mine told me about a wedding he attended where the photographer took flash pictures all during the ceremony, even though it was against the church rules. Not only that, he got up very close, practically in between the minister and the couple. My friend said the audience was extremely distracted and disgusted at this unprofessional behavior that ruined totally ruined the sacredness of the ceremony. I know that every time the couple looks at those resulting pictures, they will recall how embarrassed they were at the moment. They will not enjoy the possible beauty of those images.

11. Don't underestimate the benefit of hiring a full time professional.

A full time professional has the time to not only get lots of experience, but also stay up-to-date on new wedding trends through reading, workshops and seminars/conventions. Plus, he is committed to serving his clients to keeping his good name.

12. Don’t choose someone who simply gives you a CD and walks away.

When a photographer promises you a huge number of finished images, that indicates either they do not properly retouch them, or else they use an automated computer program. Quality image retouching requires both personal skill and time. Examples are removing skin blemishes, etc. It cannot be automated and expect the same results.

13. Don’t use a photographer who cannot provide desirable special effects.

He should be able to provide combinations of black and white and color in an image, to blur out, darken, or remove distracting backgrounds, to change the white balance to achieve just the right feeling of warmth without the fake orange tint, to adjust the exposure to bring out the desired amount of detail in the shadow areas of an image without blowing out the highlights, and to make low key and high key effects. He should be able to remove undesirable bulges and wrinkles when required and remove red-eye and remove eyeglass glare. He should be able to produce a professional level slide show of the images for you set to appropriate music.

14. Don’t hire a photographer who misses the important details.

Make sure your photographer knows that you are wearing heirloom earrings from your grandmother and that special antique goblets will be used for the toast. Will he be able to shoot the antique lace? He should be able to get quality images incorporating them.

15. Don't depend upon a friend or relative to take pictures.

Even though they love you and are generous, they do not have the experience and commitment to the task and usually don't have the assortment of lenses needed for low light. Also, they can't make the beautiful album that you will want. Further, it is not fair to impose upon your wedding guests, when they ought to be a guest. He probably doesn't have other professional friends who he can call upon for emergencies.

16. Don’t hire a photographer that is not proven.

Has your photographer won significant photography awards? Has he been published? Has he had exhibitions of his photography? Who are his past clients?

17. Make sure your photographer keeps backup copies of your priceless images.

What if your photographer’s computer crashed or gets stolen? What if his studio has a fire? Will your pictures be lost forever? Does he keep off site backups?

18. Don’t hire one photographer and get another!

Many brides are disappointed when they signed up for photography from a company and the photographer that was sent was unknown to them. The bride has never seen his work, and he does not understand her desires.

19. Don’t hire a photographer that looks like he just came from his son’s ball game.

Make sure your photographer is dressed like a guest at your event. This is probably a suit, but may be a tuxedo.

SUMMARY:

Wedding photography is the only investment from your many wedding expenditures. Don’t short-change yourself. Scrimp on other things. You will want to have images that make you look beautiful and bring back the memories for a lifetime of enjoyment. Those images should be displayed in a professionally designed album for preservation.

(If money is your main criteria, I know some folks that recently bought a camera and want to practice on somebody's wedding.)