michele bowman ~ Windsor Ontario Wedding Photographer, London, Chatham Southwestern Ontario & Destination Weddings

146

the art of choosing a wedding photographer

04.14.10

it's been a few years since i got married and planned a wedding, and in all honesty, we didn't have a professional wedding photographer.

believe it or not, we asked a cop from our church to take our photos, because we heard he would do a great job.

ummmmmmm....... not so much.

that was a long time ago, but it's a shame that my photos kinda suck.

i still love my hubby though, so it's all good.

these days, with the digital age and the fact that there are so many photographers in most urban areas, i can imagine that it must be tough for couples to know how to choose the right photographer for them.

i feel badly for couples, because there is just so much to choose from, so many photographers that are trying to get clients, and so many websites to go through!!!

if you are recently engaged and have fallen upon my site, i just want to tell you that i can only imagine your pain.

it's like when i go to a restaurant and i'm handed a menu that is 15 pages long. how the heck am i supposed to choose what i want to eat?

too many choices!!!!!

how do you decide what you like, what you want, what's the best route to go?

so, you've Googled "windsor ontario wedding photographer " and you see that there are quite a few photographers in this area. what the heck?

you sift through the endless amount of websites and blogs, trying to narrow it down to maybe 5 or 6 photographers that you plan to meet with over coffee. great.

now, you've seen the photos, but you have about 30-60 minutes with this person, one on one, to see if you click and if they are the photographer for you.

tough decision.

recently, i read a post on another photographer's blog (Grant Perry), where he wrote something very similar to this list and i thought it was a super helpful idea. i decided to so something similar for my clients, since i want to make sure that clients hire the right person for them.

here are a few ideas for making it easier to chose who's the right fit for you (whether it be me or another photographer).

please don't mind the different font. i wrote this in Word and then cut and pasted it here.

1~ Relationship

the absolute, absolute, absolute most important aspect to you getting the results you desire from your wedding photography, is that you fall in love with your wedding photographer! you just need to click as personalities and as people.

also, a wedding photographer worth hiring doesn't just take pictures.

a fabulous wedding photographer should be an artist uses their camera to capture the art of your wedding day, not just any photographer or a good friend with a Rebel XTI. each and every wedding is filled with such emotion and so many passion filled moments, and your photographer is there to capture each moment as art. the art of the story and the art of the moment is what makes your wedding photos truly wonderful and unique. they are about you.

a photographer's images should, with one glance, create an emotion for the viewer . can you envision yourself in the photos that you're looking through?

anyone can take a picture, but you need to chose a photographer that you know will be able to capture your story, in a way that speaks to you

2~ Passion

so, you've booked a meeting at Starbucks with 10 different photographers. now what?

when you're sitting across the table from photographer #5, how do they make you feel on the inside? are you getting excited about your wedding day as they talk about how they might be involved? when they talk about their art and their product, do they get all excited for you, your dreams and your plans, or do you feel that they are they just selling something? what adjective comes to your mind to describe them if you were asked 5 minutes after you left the appointment?

if you leave the meeting and can turn to your fiance and say 'wow, that photographer has passion for their art!", then put them on your short-list and consider that a good meeting.

a great wedding photographer shouldn't be in this line of work , just to make a few bucks, but they need to be truly passionate about telling your story through their images, they need to truly care about you as people, and they need to be passionate about their art. PASSION!!!

3~ Fun?

sure, wedding days are full of timelines and schedules, smiles and hugs, but they are also supposed to be FUN!!!

when you sit down to meet with a potential wedding photographer, do you think that you might be able to have fun with this person all day long?

i guess it comes down to the relationship thing again, and whether or not you can just be yourselves and have fun with the person that will be working closely with you for up to 12 hours or so.

if you don't know what the heck i'm talking about and if you don't plan on having any fun on your big day, then you can just ignore everything i just wrote about the subject.

just kidding.....

you KNOW you want to have FUN! who wouldn't?

that's all i have to say, for now anyways.

oh, and a blog post is never complete without a photo

another one from Rob & Leslie's Willestead Manor wedding, here in WIndsor

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Comments

Nick Everitt:

Great article, really good advice for couples looking for their wedding photographer and I love the image that you have included, thats an awesome first dance shot!

(04.21.10)

Philip Hawkins:

Good advice. I give similar advice over here in Scotland from time to time as selecting the right wedding photographer can be a daunting process to many couples. Excellent image choice, too...timeless!

(04.26.10)