I have narrowed (I think) down my photographers to 2 and couldn't be more torn over them so I was looking for some advice on how to choose. The first photographer doesn't work with an assistant, will provide us with 250 of the best pictures on CD, about 500 online and then we can purchase an album for an additional 500 (this, however is a basic album with just 4x6s mounted). The total for him would come to less than $2,000. The second photographer comes to more than double that price, works with an assistant, would provide a coffee table book and a CD with 100-150 images. These are both for 3 hours of coverage. Here is my dilemma:
1) 100-150 images sounds low to me for 3 hours of coverage for the second photographer
2) I like the album of the second photographer better, but could I just go with the digital negatives I would own to someone to get an album done if we used the first photographer?
I appreciate any help/advice I can get. I am starting to lose sleep over this decision!
(This post was
edited by TWQadmin on Dec 28, 2007, 10:06 AM)
1) Hire only the photographer who will release ALL the images to you for printing in your own coffee table photo book or having prints made at Wal-Mart or a professional photo lab. There are several good companies out there that will allow you to design your layout and then print and bind your book. Or if you need design services, will design your book for you, but only if you OWN your negatives. You may decide down the road that you want 16x20 prints of 100 of your favorite photos. Unless you own the negatives, you won't be able to print. We encourage clients to either pay for or request their photographer to provide them with the RAW file images that were taken. This allows you to later edit the images using the software that can be downloaded from the camera manufacturer's website. With RAW file format, you can then edit the lighting, properly correct the color and basically create your own FANTASTIC images!
2) Many photographers shoot 500 to 2,000 photos during their session. What ends up happening is they pick the best of their pictures to present to you, which is understandable. They don't want "bad" pictures being seen, and have those associated with their photography. So, 150 to 300 images are usually what the bride gets.
Most shoot jpg format which is an image compression format, which averages out the colors to reduce the file size, which can result in poorer quality prints and one that we do not recommend. Request the photos be shot in RAW file format, so they can be edited properly. Then request the photographer to provide the images in uncompressed TIF files, the best for doing prints. This means that you might get several CDs or a couple of DVDs because the files will be larger and take up more space on the CD. RAW in digital photography is similar to what film negatives are to 35 mm film. RAW files when taken with a camera are very large in file size, often taking up several megs on the memory card. Check to see if your photographer is using 2 gig or 4 gig memory cards in his/her camera. Sometimes, fewer images are shot because the photographer does not have enough memory cards for their camera. Hire one that has extras!!
3) One or Two photographers.... hmmm. You take a good chance that with just one photographer other photo opportunities will not be taken. Also, technical difficulties can arise and if you only have one photographer/camera at the location and something happens, you can't reschedule your wedding day. We always encourage the brides to have "backup" just in case. One agency overbooked their photographer, and one of our brides had her wedding with NO professional photographer in attendance. She had paid a $1,500 deposit to ensure he would be there. Three of her friends had taken candid shots during the wedding, and thankfully they did that, otherwise she would have had no pictures.
4) Price does not always indicate quality. If you still have some time before the wedding, consider hiring two separate photographers who can do the job at a lower cost, and just provide you with the negatives to print or create your own album or coffee table photo book. We know of several photographers who just provide the negatives and that is it, because they don't want the hassle of going through prints or making albums.
5) Depending on where you are getting married, if it is a destination wedding, quite often the photographers will release the images to you in the package price. Copen Cabana DJ Audio Visual Production providing Custom Wedding Coffee Table Photo Book with DVD Services http://www.knowareland.com
mauibride108
May 19, 2007, 4:25 PM
Post #3 of 3
(782 views)
Re: [The Video Pros] Photographer Choice
[In reply to]
Thank you so much for your thorough answer- I really appreciate it!
How to choose my wedding photographer
