Picking a Photographer

Photo from http://wedding-blog.gigmasters.com

There are about a billion wedding photographers out there in the web-sphere, so it's really hard to know who to chose or how to chose them.  I definitely want my wedding photos to be a bit different.  I'm not into the typical wedding photography style--full of soft light and silhouettes.  I want something that reflects me and my fiance--something with character, something fun, and maybe something with a sense of humor.

After a lot of research, I narrowed my playing field down to a handful of potential candidates:

I found One Love Photo on StyleMePretty.  I love love love the vintage feel of their shots.  The pictures on their blog and website are all framed really well, so you know that the entire frame was taken into consideration during the actual shooting.  Another thing I loved about these photos was the personality and emotion that came through on film (digital film anyways). 

FocusPhotoInc is my personal choice for a wedding photographer.  They were recommended through a friend of a friend, who had an amazing experience with these photographers during her wedding.  The ladies at FocusPhoto take amazing shots that are super saturated and well framed.  The pictures on their website and blog are really fun and expressive.

And for a bit more traditional photography with a hint of vintage feel, look at Michael Segal.

Since I'm not a photographer and have never had a wedding, once I was in the potential candidate phase, I found out that there are some really important questions to ask your photographers.  I never realized there were so many details to ask in your initial research and quote aggregation.

1)  Find out exactly what is and is not included in their package prices: number of hours, number of photographers and assistants, albums, prints, digital negatives, engagement shoot, online album, digital photo editing/image enhancement, expenses (accommodations, food, etc.), and rights to reprint. 

2)  Check the photographers' photos for both indoor and outdoor events.  The super saturated brightness of my frontrunner's outdoor shots was completely non-existent when I looked at her indoor shots, and since my wedding is inside in winter....

3)  Give the photographer a tentative timeline to help you figure out how many hours they'll need to shoot everything.

4)  Ask to see all the shots from at least one entire wedding.  I think this gave me the best idea about the consistency of the photographer's shots, their attention to framing and emotion, how they shoot the "party pictures," and if they have a familiarity with the types of shots you might want. 

5)  Ask about the photographer's familiarity with the type of wedding you're having and the venue.  For religious ceremonies, find out the photographer's familiarity with that type of service and/or wedding traditions.