A good wedding photographer is like having a good accountant or good lawyer, if you have a bad one, you will certainly regret it, because that day cannot be re-photographed, and if you have a good wedding photographer, you will have cherished memories forever. What’s makes a bad wedding photographer and what makes a good one?

What Makes a Bad Wedding Photographer:

• Does not communicate well: They don’t stay in touch with you and leave you wondering if they are going to show up at all. You have enough to worry about on your Big Day without worrying about your photographer doing their job or showing up when they are supposed to.
• Does not conduct a thorough interview with the bride and groom before the photo session to find out what style or special shots the couple may want and who they want to include from the wedding party and who they don’t.
• Is inadequate as a wedding photographer. The single most important aspect of being a wedding photographer is to tell the story of that day. You would be surprised how many photographers fall short on this or simply just don’t know how to do it at all.
• Doesn’t follow up after the wedding. A simple phone call to the bride or groom (or both) a few weeks after the wedding to determine what they need for prints, editing etc. Being a photographer doesn’t stop at the last click of the shutter. There is customer service involved if you are a good photographer. However, you will find a great many photographers don’t want to be bothered with good customer service. They want to do the artsy part of being a photographer and none of the paper work or human relations.

What Makes a Good Wedding Photographer

• Communication: As with any good service company, communication is key. Finding out what the client wants and then delivering it. I do a thorough interview of the bride and groom weeks before the day of the wedding to determine what they need and want and how to best deliver it.
• Being prepared for the unexpected. As Murphy’s Law will dictate, something is always liable to pop up the day of the wedding that nobody expected. A good wedding photographer will be able to cope with unexpected events, an excellent wedding photographer will be prepared for anything that “might” happen far in advance.
• Making magic happen. An event photographer is not just there to photograph what is happening around them, they are there to create the story behind the event and predict happy accidents (magic). My clients are always more thrilled by the spontaneous shots I take than the planned ones. A good photographer will spot an opportunity to make a special moment happen.
• You get what you pay for. There are cheap wedding photographers, expensive wedding photographers and those that charge the going rate in that market. Beware the cheap ones, they are cheap because even they don’t have any confidence in their skills or they are newbies. Like I mentioned under “Bad Wedding Photographers”, your wedding day will never happen again, and botching it will create bad memories forever. Some clients wouldn’t know a good photographer from a bad one, and they will always go for the cheapest. That’s how bad photographers stay in business. Meet with 2-3 photographers if possible. Just like hiring a real estate agent, you should feel a rapport with your photographer and feel comfortable with them in such a way that you will trust them to show up when they say they will and deliver the best wedding package they can for what you are paying them. And this leads to paying for a good photographer and why. The really expensive photographers are rarely ever worth the extra money they ask for. You can find a good photographer, even a great photographer, who charges what everyone else in their market charges.
• Beware of the “extras”. There is no advantage to paying extra for an expensive photographer. Look at their portfolio, ask about their services, and compare that to other photographers you like and see if you are really gaining anything for the extra money. There may be more bells and whistles involved in their price, such as they may offer wedding books, a discount on prints, or some other extra service. That’s great if you want those things, but most of the time, a competitive photographer will offer the same services without charging “extra” for them.
• What it boils down to: So a good wedding photographer is summed up as being competitively priced, offering good to excellent customer service, knows how to tell the wedding day story and can make magic happen. Easy to find right? Not really. How do you find such a person. Interview several wedding photographers and know what questions to ask to find that gem in the industry for your One Big Day.