A budget is the most logical starting point. According to icons in the industry, photographic needs will use 10 to 20 percent of the total budget. This figure varies according to how much importance you attribute to work quality. The average Canadian wedding rang up at 20K in 2007, so this translates into 2K to 4K for photography. If you think about it, once your wedding day passes, only the memories remain and that's what great photographers are expected to do: capture the uniqueness and sentiment of the event! I can assure you that even though this goal sounds simple, in fact, it is deceivingly complex and increasingly so, as above average results are pursued.

One particular aspect of wedding photography that has become increasingly noticeable and alarming to me, is the quantity of images being offered by photographers. I must caution you on this "optical illusion". Just because digital photography allows for endless captures without incurring film costs, it doesn't mean that image quantity is going to make up for lack of ability. Shooting aimlessly is not a sign of value! Choosing from large numbers of mediocre shots is simply an ill fated approach! In some cases, the numbers being advertised are so mind boggling, that it resembles videography. It's also a tell tale sign for trouble on many fronts, one of which is processing! When such ridiculous numbers are involved, don't count on much effort and time to be put towards this important aspect of the job! Besides the obvious technical and artistic expertise, the key ingredients for producing  engaging images are anticipation, unusual observational skills and a discriminate eye. Just like a trained sharp shooter, one good shot gets the job done, period!

Recently, feedback from a missed opportunity gave me food for thought and in fact, contributed in part to the article you've just read....so here it is:

In October 07, one of my wife's acquaintances got married. She knew that I was in the business and initially wanted me to cover her wedding, but felt that I was over her photo budget. She hired a local photographer (who will remain nameless) for $1200, giving her 8 hrs coverage and guaranteeing her 1200 shots on DVD. She was disappointed with the results, because in her opinion, not one was worth enlarging! She was further upset because he didn't shoot specific images she had asked for ahead of time. I would venture to blame that on the fact that he worked without an assistant (my wife saw him in action - I wasn't there). He couldn't have spent much time processing his work, because the wedding was held from Friday afternoon into the late evening and the images were finished and posted on his website by early Sunday morning! After taking a closer look at his work, I must side with the bride, it was poor workmanship all around and I was especially surprised that a 15yr veteran (his claim) would still use such harsh lighting techniques! However, the fact remains: she initially bought the deal, suggesting to me that, buddy's bulk of talent obviously lies in sales, not photography or ethics for that matter!

The other half of this story is that my wife, attended the wedding solo as a guest and had previously asked the bride's permission to bring along some of our equipment in order to gain experience. She shot roughly 200 shots, mostly candids and many I thought to be worthy of praise. One in particular, really stood out! A young girl in a puffy white dress was resting her head on a table and it caught my wife's eye! She quickly captured the moment without posing her. I think you'll agree, the end result (shown above) is priceless! When the bride saw the results from my wife's effort, she asked her for many enlargements from her batch! Unequivocally, this proves that

Quality is still king - not quantity!

Another issue common to all weddings is guests/family bringing photo/video equipment to a wedding and getting out of their seats to shoot the ceremony. In my experience, this puts them in the way of important shots and I do not allow it. This requires that the officiant make the necessary announcement, prior to the ceremony. The idea of having the professional photographer change angles and lose the shot in the process to accommodate the amateur photographer's choice of position is simply absurd!

The second area of potential problems takes place in the aisle of the church. The smartest way to handle this is to write a note on your wedding program, asking guests to refrain from stepping into the church's aisle to photograph you while you walk by, because it seriously defeats the purpose of hiring a professional! You can reassure them by promising to make available plenty of free and much higher quality images after the wedding! Finished images can be emailed to any guest! Your request stands the best chance of acceptance. I've had people put their tripods in the aisle and in some cases, even give me a dirty look, when politely asked not to. In rarer cases, my request was ignored! I've also missed the timing on some shots because of people sneaking up behind me, while I'm blindly backing up or worse yet, moving directly into the path between my lens and the subject! Think about it, who  stands to lose the most in these situations? The guest, the photographer or you? The answer is all three! Take a look at the "Path of Glory" and imagine if guests had stepped into the aisle or parked their tripods there in order to get THEIR prized shot!   

   Quality vs quantity -  everyone should understand and respect your wishes!

Your selection process for choosing a photographer requires astuteness. This isn't a place to cut corners and the longer you wait to start looking, the less choices you’ll have, so start as soon as you have a set date. This is specially important if your wedding date falls during the busy season. 

The compilation of an artist's work should convey a consistent engaging response from you. Your attraction to the photographer's style and technique is what will set in motion the entire process. A portfolio should primarily reflect consistency in the quality of the artist's work. Considerable weight should be given to personality. The interview should help you evaluate the chemistry as well as any potential compatibility issues.  

Avoid compromising on the choice of photographer because of price. You're better off hiring him/her for less time and get the results you really want vs being sold on gimmicks. A lot of average or mediocre images will never make up for fewer engaging ones! Besides, no one can go back to re-do any shots so, the more reason to be as sure about your choice of photographer as you are about your choice of spouse.....the images will out live all of us!

Good luck and thank you for your valuable time!

All the very best in 2008!

Joe 

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