The #1 Mistake Brides Make When Choosing a Wedding Photographer

So, you’re newly engaged and beginning the process of planning your wedding day. Where do you start?! Most likely, by determining your budget. Depending on what you want and how many guests will be in attendance, you should be able to do a quick search for per person cost to get a rough estimate. According to Google’s Knowledge Graph, these three vendors are selected first: the venue, the photographer, and the florist. The cost on these will vary tremendously, and while we are not a venue or a florist, we can provide insight on why costs among photographers vary, why price should not be your primary focus, and also give you direction for how to hire appropriately. Please understand that ‘appropriately’ does not mean by price comparison only.

I spend a lot of time on wedding boards and rarely see someone requesting a photographer based on skill, equipment, or actual experience shooting weddings, but instead by cost and/or by shot style. A seasoned, experienced photographer can capture any style and will probably have many styles available to view in a portfolio. In addition, many of the styles are post-production methods (techniques arrived at through editing). A skilled photographer may or may not do their own editing, but most likely has an editor they work with to make sure the client gets the quality and style they want. If you approach this only from a cost perspective, you may decide that it seems logical to hire the least expensive vendor. I regularly see photographers ranked by cost as to their skill/experience level (though no mention of quality equipment), and here is what has been accepted as the standard: “$600 - $1,800 range (beginner); $2,000 - $3,500 (average); $3,800 - $4,500 and up“ (high-end). These categories seem quite arbitrary to me as there is no indication of what is included in that price. Usually, this is meant to deliver one photographer for a full day of coverage (6 - 8 hours typically). A beginner may still be learning their way around a camera, and additionally, may not have any editing skills, or very limited editing skills. If you don’t think this is important, wait until you get your pictures delivered. An example: It's your wedding day, this is a one-time event so it is imperative to get the shots. Perhaps the beginner has low-quality equipment that will make all of your pictures come out grainy as they do not yet understand what is needed to get beautiful shots (in all different kinds of lighting). Even good editing software cannot save poor quality photos. And, when it comes to editing, especially quality editing, this is very time-consuming (again, think $$$). Some inexpensive photo packages may offer 400+ edited photos, but what quality and how much editing is included? Perhaps only one picture will be edited which then becomes a template for copy/paste for the rest of the photos! Experienced photographers invest in quality equipment, in their continuing education, and don’t get stuck in a shooting rut, continually doing the same thing that makes them most comfortable but doesn’t necessarily serve the client.

There is also the subject of composition. This can be quite a lengthy discussion, but since a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll just use a few photo examples. (Side note: These photos are not the property of My Stellar Wedding and have been randomly selected from photographer wedding galleries to use as examples and are not intended for purposes other than this).

What a beautiful setting! However, it does look like there is a pumpkin in a place that is now quite humorous! Unless the couple specifically asked for this as a candid shot, consider the mountains in the background, and using that as the center for the background set-up, the arch could be moved slightly to the right, then remove the pumpkin decoration for the shot. Simple little details that an experienced wedding photographer will note quickly. This is one of the main differences with experienced wedding photographers: They know how to compose shots quickly because weddings move fast! If you think that you will be able to determine how good your photographer shots of your wedding will be based on your engagement shots (if you are using the same photographer for this), you are going to assume erroneously! Engagement shots are completely stylized, and there is no pressure for anything else during this shoot except to get great engagement shots! Weddings move quickly with hundreds of moving parts also in play at the same time. In other words, these two photo shoots pose completely different requirements, skill sets, and experience levels.

We love elements photos! It’s all about the details, right? So, let’s see those details – if the main focus is the shoe detail in this photo, mission accomplished! It might have been more appealing to cover the name/sizing details on the sole of the shoe, unless the shoes are a famous designer brand that the bride wants displayed, or they are actually the cute little ‘Mrs.’ signs brides oftentimes use. This is just an example of how tiny details can make or break a shot.

Lovely colors! Beautiful setting! A toast to the bride and groom at magic hour! Too bad we can’t actually see the bride’s face!

 A spring-time engagement shoot surrounded by blooming cherry trees, how romantic! It looks like there was a photoshop mishap with an up-close of a cherry bloom, even though the tree is in the background and is not in focus. Unless she is holding a blossom spray between her teeth, it appears that this guy is about to be cherry-blossom-petal-pelted by the blossom being propelled out of her mouth.

Love the pose, the setting, the emotion, but not the bride giving us the ‘bird’ behind the grooms’ head. The shot would also be more dramatic with the entire gown displayed on the stairs, and more of the church showing as well.

Key points: The experienced wedding photographer with a sharp eye for detail and composition will make all the difference in how your wedding memories are captured. However, even a photographer with years spent shooting weddings does not guarantee that the client will actually gain from this experience. You’ve heard the saying – “Practice makes perfect,” right?  This is only true if it’s perfect practice! Be sure to check for complete galleries with plenty of great pictures, not just a few. Recorded reviews from past clients are also helpful, as these are factual and not a simple written review that could be posted by someone who wasn’t even an actual client!