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Planning a wedding is no small task. If you're a savvy bride, you understand that choosing vendors who you like and trust can make the difference between anxiety and stress or enjoyment and fun. This three-part series is intended to help you learn how to hire a wedding photographer so that you receive beautiful images with a stress-free experience:

• Part 1 - Wedding Photography Styles (this post) - Different styles of wedding photography and what you'll need to consider
• Part 2 - The Engagement Session - Why this seemingly optional session can be critical to your wedding day experience
• Part 3 - A Smooth Wedding Day - Recommendations on how to enjoy yourself and get great images on your wedding day
  

For the Bridal Party:
Stylized studio sessions

Part 1 - Wedding Photography Styles

After you get engaged (or maybe even before), you'll start looking for a photographer. You'll get recommendations from friends, visit a number of photographers' web sites to view their images and investigate pricing then contact a few. Perhaps lost in this process, though, are some additional important factors worth considering: style and vision, personality, and the value of hiring a professional.

Style has to do with the photographer's approach to wedding photography.  Three popular styles are traditional, photojournalism, and portrait journalism.

A traditional approach is usually (though not always) practiced by a veteran photographer and will include well-composed, classically posed images. A traditional photographer may use professional studio lights to make wedding party and family portraits at the church and will also make photographs of some of the important aspects of the day like the toast, cake cutting, and dances.  The following images exemplify a traditional wedding photography approach.

At the other extreme, the photojournalist does no directing, no posing. The photojournalist will work before the ceremony during the "getting ready" phase of the day, shoot the ceremony, then stay for much of the reception, focused on capturing candid moments.  The next several images are typical of the candid photojournalistic approach.

Portrait journalism combines aspects of both photojournalism (by photographing candid moments and details throughout the day) and traditionalism (by taking the opportunity to guide and direct the couple at times) but with an editorial or fashion sense often seen in magazines. A skilled portrait journalist offers a great degree of flexibility and an ability to create dynamic images are often very appealing to couples.

Our style is a fusion between the three, we take the best ideas from each style and capture a multitude of images. For instance, candid images are very popular right now, however you may still want a few intentionally posed portraits. Even if these are low on your priority list, parents and grandparents still love these. You'll feel more confident if your photographer is capable of making well-lit, well-composed formal images as well as the candid images for your wedding book. 

Vision is the beginning and end of photography. It's the thing that moves you to pick up the camera, and it determines what you look at and what you see when you do. It determines how you shoot and why. 

Photographers make choices about what to shoot and how to shoot it. When a photographer sees an interesting subject, he has an idea of how he wants the final image to appear--because cameras don't make photographs; photographers do. This involves decisions about composition, lens selection, light, timing, and a myriad of other details. A wedding photographer's vision should be evident as you browse through his/her portfolio. You should be able to look at the work and say, "I can tell this photographer loves what she does." Find a photographer whose sense of style appeals to you and whose sense of vision leads you to believe that he will love making your photographs for you.

Think about this: of all the vendors who will help you achieve your wedding vision, the photographer is the only one who will work with you before, during, and after the wedding. For this reason, you'll want to find a photographer with whom you're comfortable. If possible, arrange a personal meeting with the photographers on your "short list." This will give you an opportunity not only to see their work and learn about their processes, but also to help you discover whether you've got good chemistry. Your photographer will also want to meet you in order to learn about what's important to you and to discuss your own vision for your wedding day. Here are some topics you'll want to discuss:

• Your wedding style
• The photographer's style
• The photographer's experience (testimonials or referrals are good indicators)
• Size of your wedding party
• Family dynamics
• Special people or details you want photographed
• Turnaround time for the proofs and book
• The engagement and/or bridal session

Many couples are justifiably confused when they find people who charge just a few hundred dollars for a wedding while other photographers charge thousands of dollars. Heck, your friend has "a nice camera" and he said he'd be happy to take your pictures and give you all the photos on a disc--for free! Why such a drastic difference? Besides everything we've already discussed about style and vision, personality, and trust, it's helpful to distinguish between the hobbyist and the professional. It's price vs. Value
Acclaimed investor Warren Buffet has said, "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." Why does professional photography seem expensive? In short, it's expensive to run a photography business that consistently delivers outstanding results for its clients. Remember that the professional photographer is on the job not only the 8-12 hours of your wedding day but will also put in an additional 25-35 hours editing and selecting proofs, retouching, archiving your unique images, designing the wedding book, preparing images for printing, delivering files to the lab, blogging about your wedding, and more. Altogether, your one-day wedding event takes your photographer an entire workweek (perhaps more) to complete.

Find some additional thoughts on the value of professional photography).

In the next installment in this series, "The Engagement Session" we'll discuss why engagement sessions are a "must-have" part of your wedding package.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. If you found it helpful, drop me a note I'd love to hear from you. If you're interested in contacting me about a photographic project, whether a portrait, wedding, commercial job, or event, please contact me.

Location Weddings

Here are some articles that will help you in your photographer selection:

Bride's Guide to Hiring Her Wedding Photographer - Part 1 (How to Hire a Wedding Photographer)

Bride's Guide to Hiring Her Wedding Photographer - Part 2 (Why You Need an Engagement Session)

Bride's Guide to Hiring Her Wedding Photographer - Part 3 (A Smooth Wedding Day)

PPA: Top Ten Things You Need to Know to Ensure Wedding Photo Bliss

Commission SophterLight Photography to photograph your wedding (dates are limited) so please include your event date.