WPCNR'S THE REAL DEAL By The Wedding Jeannie. Jeannie Uyanik. October 19, 2007: The old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words is never truer than at an important event.  Often, it’s the only tangible memory that you will have from a wedding or party that reminds you of how it all came together.  

Rule number one, it’s important to find a photographer that you love and really trust.  You are not only with them all day, the post production process is as important as the shooting and this can take months to a year.  At a wedding, there is no one with whom you will spend more time than your photographer so make sure that your personalities click. 

When beginning the photography search process, there are a few simple guidelines that are important to follow.  In initiating a search, photographers’ websites are a great resource in helping to determine if someone’s style is right for you.  However, it’s important not to rely solely on a website in making a decision to nix or hire a photographer.  Websites are not always representative of the full range of a photographer’s talents, so if you have heard great things about someone whose work you have also seen, but hate their site, give them a chance in person.  It’s an hour of your time and could prove useful. 

If however you decide to meet with photographers solely on the basis of recommendations from friends, tread carefully and do your own due diligence.  Everyone has different criteria and priorities and don’t feel embarrassed if your best friend’s photographer is not the one for you.  It’s essential to make independent decisions about a photographer’s work, personality and the post production process. 

Digital or Film?

A common question that we hear relates to the medium that a photographer uses – digital or film.  While there are pros and cons for each (although fewer and fewer negatives for digital as technology continues to evolve) we highly recommend that you select a photographer based on his or her work and not solely on the method that they use to capture the day.  Don’t choose not to meet with a photographer because they shoot digital or film – simply be well versed in what you like about one or the other and see if those techniques or shots can be replicated by the photographer of choice. 

It is however important to understand the type of equipment that your photographer is using.  From a digital perspective, important questions to consider are the type of camera that is being used, the method of backing up or storing photos throughout the night and after the event, and what if any corrections are made to the photos (some photographers automatically retouch all the images that they submit to the couples, others will go through this process only for album photos). 

B/W vs. Color Ratio of Shots

For film, it’s important to determine what the ratio of black to white photos will be, how much film will be included in the package (and in turn pictures), what the process of printing is after the wedding and if digital conversion is possible, automatically done, or a process that would need to be outsourced. 

During initial meetings, ascertain what capabilities your photographer or their studio has in album preparation.  Some photographers will digitally design or manually prepare both the parent and couple album; others outsource the process and some prefer not to be involved at all.  It’s essential to understand the photographer limitations, skill set and product offerings. 

If a photographer only offers traditional leather bound albums and you only want a coffee table book – learn this up front.  This will allow you to weigh your options and potential costs before committing to a contract.  Album preparation can be expensive – especially when doing digitally designed books with pages numbering more than 40.  If you wait to have these discussions after the hiring process, a couple might find that they would have proceeded along a different route.

The Cost.

Pricing varies for photographers at different levels and with different packages.  Compare apples to apples and make sure that you really understand what each includes (8 hours versus 10 hours, negatives versus no negatives, albums versus print credits, digital proofs versus hard copy ones).  Couples are often surprised by how expensive photography can be – but if you consider that this is the one thing that you really take away from the event, the costs are always worthwhile if you have done your research well. 

Rights to Negatives

A common point of discussion where price can be an issue is that regarding negatives.  Copyrights for the photos always remain in the hands of the photographer, but these days, many will provide their negatives (or high resolution images in the case of digital photography) in a package or for a fee.  We feel that it’s very important to secure rights to the negatives simply so that you have access to your images at will.  That having been said though, we always recommend that you go through your photographer for prints or albums even if the negatives are yours.  They know the photos better than anyone and will take care to make sure that the quality of the prints matches those of the shots.  Album production is tedious and difficult, so we never recommend that a couple go it alone unless of course a photographer just is not willing to partake in the post production process (which should enter into consideration when making a decision). 

Finally, find a photographer that you know will work well with you and your guests and your other vendors (especially a videographer, which we will get to in next week’s column).  He or she is there for every single important moment and will be the most critical person in catching those images for posterity. 

In turn though, bad photographers are the ones who can irritate everyone the most; standing in front of the entire ceremony to shoot; pushing the bridal party around in an aggressive manner, not communicating with the maitre d at the venue so that no moment is missed – from the escort card table to cake cutting. 

Your photographer is a key player at your wedding or event, so don’t rush the process and don’t take it lightly. 

 
Note: Got a question or a comment for The Wedding Jeannie? Ms. Uyanik will answer your questions. Simply e-mail her at weddinggenie@candgweddings.com