Wedding planning goes a lot like this: Big decisions first and small decisions later on.
You’ll book the big things first and all the little things later leading up to your wedding (i.e. like the color of the napkins or where to put the cake in the reception space). After you pick your venue and date, one of the next things you will book is your photographer! First, however, you’ll have to decide how important photography is to you and your budget. Although I’m a photographer and it might seem like I am a little biased, I really believe in what I do! Once your wedding day is over and you’ve eaten your cake, you walk away from your day with your new husband and your wedding photos. Your wedding photos are the only tangible way you’ll be able to look back and remember your big day. You’ll show them to your kids, grandkids, and eventually they will be passed on for generations to come if taken care of!
Your wedding album is your first family heirloom, so naturally, the person who takes the photos is a very important decision.
Every time you get on instagram it appears as if a new photographer has come into existence. So how do you tell them a part from one another and which one should be yours?
The first decision you’ll have to make is your style preference. Do you like the darker images or lighter images? You do prefer the documentary approach, a mix, or posed images? After you’ve decided which style of photographer you prefer, there are two main questions that will help you pick your photographer:
- Do you make a personal connection with them?
- If you book them as your photographer will your love your photos in 50+ years?
- How easy will it be to access your photos in 50+ years? (i.e. do they offer prints and albums?
Do you make a personal connection with them?
It’s important to pick a photographer that you’re comfortable with. I tell my brides that it’s my goal to feel like a bridesmaid with a camera. Unlike any other wedding vendor, your photographer will be with you the majority of your day. So if you don’t enjoy them as a person, you’ll be able to tell in your photos and you’ll most likely not enjoy the process. So make sure that you enjoy them as a person! It makes the process completely more enjoyable. You’ll get amazing photos and have fun in the process.
Will your love your images in 50+ years?
Photography is an investment. Often times if a photographer has higher pricing, then they are more experienced. The more experienced a photographer is, the higher quality their images are. You want the photographer with the higher quality images. I tell my brides that I want them to be able to look at their photos decades after their wedding and still think their wedding photos are stunning. You’re investing in a product that should last beyond a lifetime. Your wedding photos need to stand the test the time. Pick a photographer that will provide you photos that will stand the test of time.
How easy will it be to access your photos in 50+ years? Do they offer prints and albums?)
The heartbeat behind my photography is longevity.
For years, my family kept all of our family photos on our computer. Until one day, the computer crashed and all of our photos were lost. We took the computer to several stores to try to get the photos restored, but they were gone. As a result, I have no photos of myself from a large chunk of my childhood.
My goal is to prevent you losing your photos are a result of a computer crash or technological failure. Let’s face it, computers fail all the time. Even more, we won’t be able to use USB’s in about 10 years. That means you won’t be able to access your photos if you only have them on a storage device like a USB. I used to deliver my photos in CD’s and now most computers don’t even come with a CD player.
So what are we to do? Print.
If you walk away from your wedding with prints and a wedding album, you’re more likely to appreciate your photos because you’re able to hold them in your hands and remember what your day felt like. You’re also twice as more likely to look at them more often. And lastly, you won’t have to worry about transferring your photos to a new storage system every 10 years or worry about you losing your files because your computer crashed.
Make sure your photographer offers you printed products.
I know wedding photography is an investment and I’m always honored when a bride picks me to be her photographer. I hope this has been helpful for you in your decision making process!
If you’re interested in me being your photographer, I’m always one email away: averyearlphotography@gmail.com
