Advice: Choosing a wedding photographer
I often hear horror stories from friends of their wedding photographer causing all sorts of problems before, on and after the wedding day. Some of the most common complaints I hear:
- It’s been six months and I haven’t even seen my photos yet! (it’s scary how often I hear this)
- The photographers I met with weren’t the people who showed up on the day – and I wasn’t told this was going to happen
- They said they do not give away or sell their high resolution files / negatives under any circumstances, but after 1 year they sent me a letter offering to sell the negatives to me for $500
- They forced groups to pose together that didn’t make sense to us – for example they made my parents pose in a photo but they’ve been separated for years and wouldn’t necessarily want that photo taken
- The quality of the final photos was nowhere near as good as what they showed me when I went to see them
- They were late to the wedding
- It started raining so there were no nice photos of the two of us
- It’s been less than a year and our album is already falling apart
- I got hit with all sorts of charges after the wedding that I wasn’t told about (travel costs, extra album pages, album design/retouching, extra hours etc.)
Of course it upsets me when I hear these kinds of complaints because the last thing we wedding photographers want is the industry to be regarded as “dodgy” or unethical. In light of these issues I’ve compiled a list of questions that you as a couple should ask when meeting with potential wedding photographers.
- Is the actual photographer you met going to cover your events, or will they send one of their staff?
- Is there one photographer or two?
- What kind of guarantees do they offer on albums and prints?
- How do they handle bad weather conditions? (Ask to see examples of their rainy day work)
- What do their albums look like? Do they do any artistic work on the photos that go into the album or are they “straight out of the camera”?
- Are there any other costs, e.g. travel, special effects on albums, extra album pages, editing for the album, night shots?
- Is the photographer recognised by any industry associations? (In Australia your photographer should be a member of the AIPP which ensures a level of ethical, professional service)
You should walk away feeling confident that your photographer has answered all these questions to your satisfaction.
What wedding horror stories have you heard?