A Google search for “Wedding Photographer” turns up millions of hits! How do you find the best wedding photographer with all these options?
The good news is there are lots of great photographers in the Fox Valley area of Wisconsin. The odds are you will find one of them. The bad news is that even the best photographer may not the right one for your wedding! So what things should you look for to find the best wedding photographer? Here are some of my suggestions.
What makes a photographer the best for you?
A great photographer provides a great experience
Your wedding day is a once in a lifetime experience and your photographer will be a big part of that experience. They will be there throughout your day. You may well spend more time with the photographer than with the person you are marrying!
Look for a photographer who you will be comfortable with for the the entire day. Their personality should complement your personality.
A great wedding photographer loves people
Sure, weddings are about love but maybe they are more about hope. Two people stand in front of their family and friends and make a serious commitment to one another. That is a hopeful bet on the future and is one of the most honorable of human traits. A successful wedding photographer loves people, and loves people who are in that love and hope.
Every bride is beautiful! A great photographer thrills at the though of catching that beauty
Every groom is handsome! A great photographer is excited to catch that strength.
Every wedding is two people starting a “once upon a time” that ends with “happily ever after” and my joy is to tell that story!
A great photographer is a professional
The last thing to look for is professionalism. I don’t mean someone who makes their living as a photographer. What I mean is someone who approaches your wedding as a professional.
Professional is a set of attitudes and beliefs that lead to successful outcomes. Examples include:
- They are committed to being on time – and by one time I mean early! And by early, I mean they could get a flat tire on the way and still show up early!
- They dress appropriately for your wedding – they put on their “uniform”
- They are mentally sharp and sober!
- They are mission oriented and roll with anything that happens – see “prepared” above
- They do photography because they love people.
A great photographer has great equipment – and knows how to use it
It is an amazing time to be a photographer because great equipment has never been so affordable. The camera your Uncle Bob carries around is probably more capable than the best camera 10 or 15 years ago. Cell phone cameras are amazing and I use mine all the time.
So why is equipment so important? Weddings are fast paced and extremely challenging and require the best equipment for success. Churches and reception halls are poorly lit. Lenses that handle low light well are very expensive – think 2 or 3 new iPhones expensive!
It might rain so your camera better be water proof! Good flashes that recycle quickly (and don’t melt down!) are expensive.
The other factor is does your photographer know how to use their equipment? The first kiss may last only a few seconds – a professional will know exactly how to set their camera to capture that once in a life time moment.
A great photographer has a backup plan
I have only one fear during a wedding – what will I do if I lose the pictures?
The truth is weddings are fast paced and sometimes chaotic! Things go wrong (and that can be a good thing). Stories like this, this or this are why I use the ultimate back up and picture security strategy.
I have never and (if I can help it) will never have to tell a bride I lost her photos!
So ask your photographer what is their backup plan? How will they handle broken or malfunctioning equipment? Do they backup the pictures? When and how? Here is my “over the top” plan:
- I bring 3 cameras, 7 lenses and 4 flashes to every wedding. I could easily shoot the entire wedding with only one camera and lens so I have triple backups!
- Every camera has dual memory card slots so every picture is saved to 2 cards
- I use big memory cards that never the camera during the wedding – no chance of lost cards.
- When I leave the wedding I tuck one set of backup cards into my sock (yes my sock) before I leave! I might be mugged and have my cameras taken but no one is going to steal the memory cards in my sock.
- Before I go to sleep I copy your pictures to both my main computer and a backup drive. The backup drive and my “sock” copy of the memory card go out to a separate building for storage – even if my house burns down I will still have copies of your pictures!
A great photographer is respectful to your guests
I see articles all the time on how wedding photographers should handle “difficult” wedding guests. I’ve never had a problem and enjoy interacting with your family and friends. Your guests should have a memorable experience just like the wedding couple.
A great photographer is part of your wedding team
Your day is made possible by a big team and the photographer should be part of that team. The team includes a Pastor or Officiant, a wedding planner, the venue managers, the band or DJ and even the wait staff and bartenders.
A great photographer is prepared for anything
During one memorable wedding I bandaged a nasty cut on a groomsman, taped up a bridesmaid’s broken shoe, safety pinned the groom’s pants, toweled up a spill on the floor, ran to Walmart for an audio cord for the DJ and helped carry a sick person to their car – I also took some wonderful pictures! If I am there to provide a great experience I have to be ready to drop the camera and help out in other ways. My wedding bag has a sewing kit, a mirror, a brush, breath mints, eyeglass wipes, energy bars, a towel, tools and lots of other stuff.
And a big roll of gaff tape!
As Red Green used to say “If you can’t be handsome at least you can be handy.”
