Getting married or have a friend who is?
Last month’s contest giving away a mini portrait contest was a success and I have decided to run a contest every couple of months. This time the prize is a free engagement portrait session. Even if you are not engaged, feel free to enter and give the prize away to a friend or family member.
To be entered into this contest, just add a comment in response to this question. What is the most important thing you are looking for when considering a wedding photographer? Is it budget, experience, style, personality, or something else? If you are already married, or have attended lots of weddings, what did you like most or least about the photographer (s)? Please no mentioning of photographer’s names in your responses.
I’ll start off the conversation with my experience. When we got married, we had a very small wedding, and did not want a photographer for the reception. We were lucky enough to find a great professional willing to give us 2-3 hours of his time. He shot with medium format film camera (this was several years ago) and did an amazing job. I’m not one that likes being in front of the camera but he made me feel comfortable, was unobtrusive and enjoyable to be around. I choose him for his flexibility but in the end can not imagine having been happier with the results.
The winner will be announced on Saturday September 27th, 2008.
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What I’m looking for: Besides the normal posing pictures I was want to the photography to show me everything I missed (or that zoomed past me) on our big day. I want to see all of my family and friends having fun in honor of my marriage to Brian.
What I look for in a photographer is style and personality. Experience is not even that high on my list, as long as they have photos to show their style and if its something I like Id definitely consider them whether they have done 500 photo shoots or 5. Oh, and personality is HUGE! I want someone who i can get along with and have fun with and most importantly, feel COMFORTABLE with! As for weddings I have been to, I love the pictures that are taken when the bride and groom are first seeing each other and I usually dont like a lot of the shots that many photographers take from an aerial view with a posed wedding party, they always seem cheesy to me! Anyway hope I didnt blab too much
The most important thing I’m looking for is style. I don’t like a lot of formal posed photos or those really awful candids that your uncle takes. I want someone who can capture the feeling of the moment. Experience is nice, but style really seals the deal for me. I really like a natural photojournalism style that can tell the story of the evening. I’ll be lucky if I can remember my name that day and am relying on the photographer to remind me what happened, as well as capture all the little moments that I didn’t catch.
What i’m looking for in a photographer, Is some one who is willing to work with me and my family, And who is going to find those amazing shots that i want but could never be planned. My wedding is a big thing for me and so are photos. So i want the best. It the one thing i look forwards to seeing after the wedding, even for weddings i just attended. Price is also a big thing for us because we don’t have all the money in the world, but at the same time photos are worth it all to me.
My wedding to my partner will be fairly non-traditional and we would look for creativity and candidness in the photos. The photographer needs to capture the feeling and essence of the day without requiring staged or phony setups. My partner is an artist and would look for those artistic qualities in the photos – setup, balance, and style.
What we are looking in a photographer is someone that will make us feel comfortable the day of our wedding, and will capture all the moments that we won’t be able to see for ourselves. We also want the posed pictures, but we would love to see how our families and friends enjoyed the wedding. Pictures are probably one of the most important area for our wedding. They will be great memories forever!
I feel when finding a wedding photographer, it is very important to feel a connection to that person. It should be someone who will sit down with you and find out what the couple actually wants, not just what they want. Someone who is open to new ideas and strives to do their best. Someone who actually does take the good pictures and follows the couple/family around but it not in the way all the time. I would want someone there through out the whole ceremony, reception and before the wedding.
I feel the right wedding photographer for me is someone who is going to capture all the happy in sad moments of my big day
I’m actually getting married in a week and a half now, September 28h. Had I known prior to our choosing a photographer that you were starting, who knows… When choosing our photographer we were really interested in style and personality. The budget, of course was a big one for us, but I would say we were more interested in finding someone who’s style fit us. It helps when you can not only see the photographers photos online, but also to meet up with them to see a photo album as well. Like I said overall style and personality are huge.
As a newly engaged couple, we have not yet started ‘photographer shopping’ however, when we do, I know that quality will trump any budgetary concerns we may have. Essentially, we will be seeking a passionate, creative, yet approachable photographer who is somehow able to sum up the extremely happy occasion for us to enjoy for the rest of our lives…and hopefully they’ll have fun doing it.
Technically speaking, I would like the photographer to be willing to do some post-processing work (eliminate a pimple, or whatever)but also to possess the skill to walk a fine line and not over-do it with overly saturated colors, or unrealistic looking shots.
It will (hopefully) be a very joyous day, surrounded by family and friends, and it is important that the photographer is able to capture the mood and energy of the occasion.
What great timing! My fiancee and I just got engaged 5 days ago. Although we haven’t started any major planning, we have talked about engagement photos. I think it’s such a fun way to show off your engagement to friends and family.
What i look for in a photographer is the expereince and the quality of the pictures. I also want the photographer to take pictures that arnt posed for and take pictures of things that i might not have seen that day. I would just like a ton of pictures of my special day. Im a bigger girl so i would also like to feel comfortable in my pictures and not have the photographer make me loko bad. I just want my day to be memorable i am getting married June 13 2009
A natural, creative artist will help record the day full of events in an accurate manor. I’m looking for a person who can capture the day at every level which is full of anticipation, excitement & loving memories. The day only happens once, so finding the right person is essential for us!
We are getting married next year and I have looked around at several photographer’s sites. I have found that the most important aspect for us is finding someone who has the ability to catch unsuspecting moments at their finest. My sister hired an amatuer photographer for her wedding and I absolutely loved the results. The photos turned out beautiful – catching the emotion of the moment. Nothing was posed or setup. And none of the photos felt like they were trying to hard to be artsy or creative. They were the perfect candid shots. Fortunately she was able to have this photographer at her bachelorette party, with the bridal party as they prepped for the event, the wedding, and the reception.
Of course you have to consider the price to keep within the budget, but the most important should be if the person or company you choose can get the pictures that you will really want to remember your special day. There is no sense in spending a ton of money on a photographer that will not capture each and every moment. The pictures last a lifetime and should be a great way to remember such a beautiful day!