With this article you will learn the basics in choosing a real artist as the wedding photographer for your special day. Choosing a wedding photographer can be a real nightmare for many people. It is no easy task by all means. People often think of this as a very casual thing to be done on a weekend between a cold beer and a glass of wine, but reality is very different. Photography is probably no more than a hobby for you and you wonder where to start from. I remember a girl bursting into tears after I had confirmed that her search for a photographer had ended.
Brides to be are often under extreme pressure and some of them feel they have to learn all about photography in order to choose a wedding photographer for their big day. Even though to learn photography would probably help a lot you in choosing a photographer, this is not absolutely necessary. Remember that it's going to be a beautiful day and that you are supposed to have fun and to enjoy the whole process and why not, yes, even the preparations! Don't get too stressed over this.
Photography is like anything else, you have to know how passionate a person is about it. Even butchers need passion to do their job properly: anyone can slice, but few people can do it with passion. How do you see if a person is passionate about what they do? Look at the results and most of all, look at what other people have to say about him or her. Anyone can act passionate, but the only thing that will reveal the truth are the results that everyone can see.
One important thing to look for is Photography Styles. A Professional Photographer can work using several different styles, but there will be one style among them all that he/she will use predominantly, simply because that is what they enjoy using the most. That is the style you want from that particular photographer. If you don't like that style, then you should go to another photographer that will naturally use the style you want. Identify this when you look at wedding photographers, or just ask them what is their favorite style... in most cases they will be more than happy to tell you... most people will go proud of their passion.
Do not ask wedding photographers to do something they don't normally do, just as you wouldn't ask a baker to fix your car. We all know they are professionals and they can do what you want them to do, but is that what he or she wants to do from the bottom of the heart? Will they do it at their best if they are not motivated? This is not something a photographer can consciously control all the time... they are human beings after all and they respond to feelings.
The wedding cost issue is undoubtedly very important for many people. I remember a wedding that I shot in Italy where a casually dressed musician fell asleep during the wedding ceremony and was obviously not ready to start playing again when the time arrived. The bride later told me that this band was selected because it was the cheapest they could find; she realized the disastrous consequences when it was too late. Many people will not forget... was it worth it?
My advice is NOT to select a wedding photographer based on the price. If you do that you are simply following a classic recipe for a wedding disaster. Don't make it your wedding disaster. The thing is that with photography you won't know how good or bad the photographer was until a month after your wedding to say the least.
A proper wedding photographer is an artist first of all and real artists are not cheap. Nowadays anyone can take pictures; digital cameras allow virtually anyone to take technically perfect pictures with their eyes closed or with the camera held behind their backs. You want an artist to create your wedding memories that will stay with you for the rest of your life. You don't want someone that just presses the button to do click. Composition and timing are the two most important elements in wedding photography, not the technical knowledge. Thousands of people are ultra qualified and they can produce technically perfect images; are they all artists? Very likely not.
So, how do you get started? First of all you need to look at photographers' websites; see what emotional responses you have when looking at their images. Once you've found the wedding photographer you like, search for his/her name over the internet and see what comes out. Do separate searches on the three most popular search engines, as they will give you different results. If he/she is an artist, the search result will show that in the form of Art Galleries, Art Exhibitions etc. This is a very good way to find out who you are really dealing with... on some occasions you will be surprised to see what comes out... By the way: if nothing comes out, be alarmed.
One more thing worth doing is to ask what studies has a photographer done. Many wedding photographers have never been to a photography school, let alone a photography college or photography university. Have they been to law school? Or have they been to the Academy of Art? It is a very important thing to find out, yet virtually no one asks. You will be surprised at how many wedding photographers come from plumbing or carpentry... and you let them be in charge of the most important day of your life! By all means I don't mean for you to demand to see a diploma - I would be surprised if you found a photographer willing to go that far to get a job... it would be like asking a lawyer to see his degree before hiring him. Just ask and use your common sense; very often body language speaks for itself. Photographers that have been to an expensive university or to the academy of art, will be proud of it and will be pleased to answer any questions. If someone tries to change topic or not talk about it, then you can clearly sense that something is wrong.
What about copyright issues? This is something many people are very confused about. Copyright issues are at the base of many discussions. An image is copyrighted the very moment it is created, even though there are no text reminders attached to it. Every photograph is Copyright of the author for his lifetime plus 50 to 100 years after his death, depending on the legislating country.
"But it's my face... how can that be Copyright of the photographer?" Yes, it is your face, but it is the Photographer's way of seeing your face, therefore his/her copyright. As such, you will need to pay for the use of that image AND obtain written authorization that will specify the allowed use for that particular image.
I understand that choosing a wedding photographer can seam to be difficult now, but after you will have examined some websites and done a few internet searches, you will have much clearer ideas and most of all, you will have the confidence to choose wisely.
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