Myths, Legends and Frequently Asked Questions
Trying to find the right photographer for your wedding you may find yourself seeking advice from other vendors, past brides and people in the wedding industry.
At the moment with an influx of very amateur photographers jumping head first into weddings without the proper experience and education yet super cheap packages has left vendors and trying to help brides, often with good intentions but misguided and under-educated advice. As it’s not their field of knowledge. I am getting some very bizarre questions from brides at the moment - So I am going to run a few series of ML&FAQ to help work out what’s fact, what’s a myth and answer some much needed questions.
Only use a photographer who has had experience photographing your venue before.
Ok, this is definitely a myth!!!! If you have chosen a novice photographer, then you may prefer the photographer to have worked in the venue before as they won’t have developed the skills to cope with too many changes. However any professional photographer will be able to capture your day at any location, with or without previously photographing there before. There are so many apps now where we can see the location in a 3D model, where the sun sets, any location advantage points and work out what areas would make great photos for the time of day. The risk in using photographers who only do weddings at a handful of venues is cookie cutter images - they may not have the skills to keep being creative, leaving your images very boring and the same as every other couple they photograph and possibly a school photo look about it. And more at risk is if anything does change or delayed on the day the photographer won’t know what to do. For me, if I have photographed frequently at a venue or at popular spots I will set myself different challenges every time, looking for different ways to photograph it so it doesn’t look like every other photo. What you should look for in a portfolio is a photographer who can photograph in a variety of situations and locations - full sun, cloudy days, dusk, indoors, outdoors, city, country. AND!!!!! Always look for the photographer who has the “Pro Photography WA” logo on their website.
How Many Photos Do You Provide?
This seems to be a hot topic on the internet chat groups of late. I am shocked to hear that some photographers are only providing 50 photos for a full days coverage which seems to be happening with novice photographers who are photographing weddings for their first time. Or only including 100 photos, then if you want more you have to purchase the extra through the website portal. There are also big companies that hire photographers that have photo limits - once the photographer reaches 500 photos they are to stop photographing. How many photos provided is very individual to each photographer and the dynamics of a wedding.Other factors include if the photographer is providing any other services on the day like using a roll of film, content video, video reels etc. How much time is lost in travel. How many “activities” or “poses” are done. If anything happens to stop photography - travel and set up, storms, couple having some quiet time out from photography, eating time etc. Generally in candid situations where there is a lot of activity photographers can get 100 photos per hour or more, however in a more formal setting where more time is spent on getting posing and lighting you will find that number a lot less.
What you should be focused on is the quality of coverage over the final numbers of photos received. Look at the photographers sample album or online gallery to make sure the weddings are fully covered with variety.
Photo Turn Around Times?
Ok I am going to say it… any photographer boasting or offering under a week turn around times… RUN!!! Sorry, but it needs to be said. This is your wedding, photos should be taken in an artistic way, not one setting a slap a cheap preset on and hit done. My turn around time on sporting events are quick, but…. here is the catch…. I am also photographing generally in the same setting, under the same or close to the same lighting conditions, and it’s very “school photo” or cookie cutter style. I usually do all my decision making “in camera” and not much thinking choice in post processing needs to be done. I might photograph a few hero photos, but generally it’s all very similar settings and I can rock out 100-200 photos per hour with only minor tweaks. However when I am photographing a wedding every single location has a different story, a different mood, a different presence - The light is changing every moment, inside, outside, shadows, fast, slow. Some photos are photographed in a way especially for post. In post final decisions are made with each photo, and some needing more massaging to turn it from ordinary to extrodinary. Some photos might need a few revisions, sleep on it until the next day to look upon with fresh eyes or outside peer review to get it just right. A big company may have employed additional staff including editors and retouchers, and use AI software to help speed up editing process. This is especially helpful when photographing in cookie cutter style. But AI won’t work with artist camera techniques and creative editing. A small company or solo photographer that has a busy schedule may take 6-8 weeks and even up to 12 weeks in peek season turn around time.
You need video
Really? At the end of the day this is a personal choice, and don’t let a vendor or friend sway you. Most couples only watch it a couple of times and never again. By the time the go to watch it a decade later the technology it’s recorded on is no longer playable on a device. However, that said some people are video lovers, and this is their favourite memory of the wedding.
You need a content creater
Absolutely not. Ok this is a huge trend by people who have running social media accounts… but here is the catch - if you share your content early, then you can’t have your wedding published in a magazine or the newspaper. Content creators aren’t not qualified, trained or skilled, verified and often are not running a legal business.
You may be surprised to find your photographer is already creating a BTS content, or there are videographers who have a highlights package. Or you can set up a QR code app and have guests upload all their phone photos and video to your online album.
If you do have any more questions about wedding photography, send me an email and I will try and answer it.
