Austin: (512)784-7110   Georgetown: (512)868-0095

Choosing a Photographer

• Pro versus Amateur
• Make sure you like the Photographer
• Meet the Shooter
• Verify what album materials will be used
• Ask about special requests
• Find out if the Photographer uses an Assistant
• Ask about backup equipment
• The proofs and negatives
• References
• Distance
• Medium format / 35mm
• The advantages to using a larger negative are

Pro versus Amateur

Professional photographers are not cheap; amateur photographers are not professional.  That's the whole crux of the issue. If you can afford it, and especially if the pictures are truly important to you, use a professional. The pictures will be better. There's less chance of breakdown. And there's much more to producing beautiful wedding portraits than merely knowing how to operate a camera.

Make sure you like the Photographer

You will be spending a lot of time with your photographer (not only will you be spending your wedding day with this person, but there will be several planning  and portrait sessions leading up to the wedding day).  Make sure that your photographer is someone who will contribute to the enjoyment of your wedding experience.

Meet the Shooter

The person with whom you are interviewing may not be the person who will actually shoot your wedding. You should ask specifically, "are you the person who will do the actual shooting of our wedding?" Make sure you meet the actual shooter, and that you get to spend enough time with that person to be sure that you like them and can work comfortably with them.

While talking with the person who would do the actual shooting, you should ask , specifically, "were these samples shot by you?

Verify what album materials will be used

Some studios offer a variety of albums, from less expensive to ultra expensive. You want to be clear about which samples correspond to the album included with your package, and what would it cost to upgrade to other albums.

Ask about special requests

Asking about special requests is a good way to discover how flexible the photographer is, and how well you will  get along. Try asking about "Before the ceremony" instead of "Alter return" pictures. Ask about having some pictures done in black and white. Or ask about taking a nice set of romantic portraits at a local park in the area.

Find out if the Photographer uses an Assistant

This issue isn't as straightforward as it might seem. An assistant can be a mixed blessing. One of the reasons why many fine professional wedding photographers don't use an assistant is because they don't want the quality of the results to be impacted by the quality of whatever assistant they manage to find. The possible answers to the question of using an assistant are:

• Always uses an assistant, and the assistant is always the same person
• never uses an assistant, and has learned to get excellent results doing it alone
• Always uses an assistant, and the assistant is not always the same person
• Occasionally uses an assistant (or offers to use an assistant for your wedding)

Ask about backup equipment

There are an incredible number of things that can go wrong during a shoot.. The mechanics of camera bodies and lenses can jam or break or just quit working properly; electronic metering systems can go haywire; radio systems can quit working; any of several connecting systems can break; batteries can die; screws can come loose..                                                                                                                    

It is very important that your wedding photographer have a thorough understanding of their equipment and is prepared to handle any-and all breakdown situations that might occur.

You probably don't want to actually ask all the following questions, but we've included them to give you an idea of what the issues are, and to allow you, if you choose, to go somewhat further than ; simply asking, " do you bring backup equipment?"

• How many camera bodies will be brought?
• How many lenses will be brought and how do they relate to each other.
• Which lens is used for the majority of the shooting, and what will the photographer do if it fails?
• How many flashes will be brought?
• How many flash battery packs will be brought, and how many are normally needed?
• If radio systems are used, how many will be brought and how many are normally needed?
• How many cables are brought?
• How many light meters are brought?
• How much film will be brought and how much is normally needed?
• What sort of preventative maintenance does the photographer use?
• What else , other than backup equipment and preventative maintenance, does the photographer use or do reliability and consistency of results?

The proofs and negatives

If you want the proofs, and especially if you want the negatives, be sure that you discuss this  during your initial consultation consultation, and be sure it's in the contract. Most studios absolutely will not give you or sell you the negatives, period.

References

If someone referred you to the photographer, then that's great and generally quite useful.  Having the photographer provide you with references, is generally not useful and just wastes your time spent checking out references. The reason is that any professional can produce three or so names of brides and grooms that absolutely lover their work -- and those are the names the photographer will give you. You won't be given the names of people who mostly liked their work, and certainly not the names of people who didn't like their work at all!  You might want to ask for references (with wedding dates), but they're generally not worth the time to actually call.

Distance

Distance isn't a problem for most brides and grooms, but it is for some. Maybe the bride is going in school in Washington but getting married in Texas. Maybe the couple will be moving to California immediately after the honeymoon. Maybe the bride and groom aren't moving, but they want to get married in their hometown, back in New England. For various reasons like these, distance can become a problem when working with your photographer.

Generally speaking, it's a necessity that the photographer be located relatively close to the wedding location, if for no other reason, than avoiding the cost of paying the photographers travel expenses.

The real quandary usually occurs when the distances involved are smaller, but still significant, as when the bride and groom live close to where the wedding will occur, but will be moving a couple of hundred miles or so away after the wedding. Then the question becomes whether to use a photographer located close to the wedding, or one located close to where the bride and groom will be living.

 There's a whole lot of interaction between the photographer and the bride and groom during album design and ordering, and it just goes so much smoother if you can meet face-to-face. In situations where distances make getting together impractical, it may be necessary to use the postal service or UPS, e-mail, fax, telephone.. Or any number of resources available to complete your wedding packages. You will generally be required to pay additional shipping and handling charges for these services.

Digital versus film

The Photography industry has undergone tremendous changes since digital technology has come to be accepted as a legitimate option for wedding photographers. The information below addresses information comparing Medium format film cameras to 35 mm. This information will soon be updated to include digital imaging.

In photography, a reference to the cameras "size" is information that relates to the size of the negative it produces. There are three basic "sizes" of cameras (negatives):

• 35 mm or smaller (APS,110.)  These cameras include most cameras used by amateurs for their everyday snapshots.  The average consumer would can buy films for these cameras at a  grocery store or a drug store, and would probably have developed at a one hour lab.
• Medium Format :  This will include cameras that produce a negative from 6x4.5 centimeters, up to 6X9 centimeters. Films for these cameras are usually only available at professional markets and are usually developed at a pro lab.
• Large Format:  These cameras produce negatives that are the size of 4X5 , or even an 8X10 print. Prints from these cameras are very expensive to produce and are seldom used for general purposes.

The advantages to using a larger negative are :

• Clarity of the final print:   A small print from a 35 mm negative may look very nice, that, for the untrained eye, would usually be acceptable as a final print.  The problems happen when enlargements are made from the same negative.  In digital, it's called "low resolution", in photography, it's called "grainy", but the results are the same, the picture just isn't as sharp.
• Cropping: Many of the fine prints you see in wedding albums are "cropped in", meaning to take a small subset of the negative and print only that part of it to exclude unwanted surrounding detail. This is all but impossible with a 35 mm negative where you are limited to printing only the entire frame.
• Artwork: Some of your wedding prints, and especially any that you will want significantly enlarged, may need some corrective artwork. Some artwork is done on final prints, but some is better done directly to the negative. Generally speaking, "negative retouching" is not possible on 35 mm negatives.

Austin: (512)784-7110   Georgetown: (512)868-0095

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