Choosing your wedding photographer & videography is a difficult task!

Just about every bridal magazine has an article about it. The wedding photographers and videographers play a major role in the wedding day. They are the only vendors who are with you through most of the day and their work is one of the only tangible memories you keep.

Step 1: See Their Work.

When considering the photographer and videographer, the first thing you should do is hop on over to their website and check out their portfolio. What are you looking for?

• VIEW: Be sure that you are seeing at least 2 complete wedding albums, not just the photographer’s favorite 30 images from  multiple weddings. We photographers take hundreds of photos at every wedding and it is imperative that we narrow it down to the best photos that fit our brand. Unfortunately, this makes your job more difficult because even someone with little or no experience can manage to get 30 decent images from an entire wedding day. Closely view an entire gallery so you have a better idea of what to expect from your own wedding.
• INSPECT: Inspect the quality of the images. Are indoor photos a pleasing color tone? Are the skin tones flattering or are they kind of green? How is the light on the subjects face? Is the focus sharp? Are the angles of the photos flattering? Do the poses look awkward? Is the contrast in the editing to your liking?
• PHOTOS: What did they capture? When viewing the gallery pay attention to how many photos there are (having a good selection is important). Did the photographer focus more on the candid moments, fancy poses, details, or something else? How did the overall story of the wedding day make you feel? Does that seem to match the personality couple and culture of the wedding? Did he get all the shots I would want? Are the candid photos of people smiling/laughing/crying or are they a bunch of ‘deer in the headlight’ looks? Did the photographer lean towards photographing one side of the family more than the other?
• QUESTIONS: Ask the potential photographer how many hours they were hired to cover the weddings of the galleries you’re viewing. Were two photographers covering the wedding or just one? The answer to these questions will help you gage how much time you will need to get a similar size gallery. If compared with other photographers it can help you know how quick they work, how much downtime the photographers take, etc.
• STYLE: This one is pretty simple. Do you like the photos? Do you like the photographer’s editing style? The types of photos he/she takes? Techniques/angles he/she uses?  Some photographers are just there to get the necessary shots, everything else is extra work. Some photographers, like us, approach the day with a creative photojournalistic style, every moment is an opportunity to get a creatively captured shot. (No, we don’t sit down much.)  Do they include any artwork style photos, photos you could see someone hanging a 20×30 of on their living room wall?

Step 2: View their contract and ask them about their policies.

• Ask what happens in different scenarios. You need to be confident that they have enough experience to handle possible stressful situations at your wedding. 
• Ask what their turn around times are for their photos. One year is WAY too long! Ask what their payment deadlines are. Ask what is the longest and shortest turn around time they have had yet. 
• What is their COVID-19 Policy?
• Ask How many photos they give, what their editing policy is, and what their printing/print right/ ordering policy is. We don’t limit the number of photos we take/give because they are your memories. We have been hired to document and deliver them, and yes we edit every single one. We now give a full print release with all of our Wedding Packages.
• Ask how they deliver the photos. CDs and DVDs can break, be scratched, or get lost. And you can’t upload a CD/DVD to your phone or iPad. Our clients receive their photos via a password protected online gallery. Nicely organized in an easy to view online gallery that doubles as a back up without taking up space on your computer. You can easily share images on any social media platform, comment on the ones you would like in your album, purchase prints, make edit requests, download individual images to mobile devices, download the entire gallery to your computers, and much more. Can you tell we love our online galleries? They really streamline the process. We deliver the links and passwords and instructions for your galleries at your reveal session. A reveal session is where we have you over to our cozy, cute, little farm house to view our favorite photos from your wedding day. We go over any questions you have about ordering, show you how to work your gallery, and reminisce while drinking your beverage of choice and eating a homemade treat. Can you tell, we also love hosting?

Step 3: Get to know their character.

• Start with their reviews and social media. Make sure past brides and grooms were happy with not only the photos and films, but also the way the artists carried themselves and took care of the clients.
• Are they good with kids? Most weddings have at least one kid in the bridal party. Having creatives that are experienced with children helps the day to run smoothly.
• Set up a meeting. Make it more than a phone meeting, even if that just means a zoom call. There is a great deal of connection built when you can see the persons face as you have a meeting. This is where you find out if your personalities mesh. Are they fun? Do they make you feel at ease?

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