The Daily Mail has today published an article with what could possibly the worst wedding photographs.
Now the big question for any couple currently looking for a wedding photographer is
” How do I assure that I get a good professional Cheshire Wedding Photographer?”
Fortunately this is a relatively easy question to answer and I have produced a detailed guide for choosing your Cheshire Wedding Photographer which I email to all wedding enquiries with my Pricing Schedule.
In the mean time here are just a few things to think about when choosing a Wedding Photographer in Cheshire
1) You tend to get what you pay for – from reading the article it appears that the photographer was charging £750 for all day coverage with 2 photographers including a disc of images. This is definitely on the low side for all day coverage with the disc of images for one photographer let alone 2. Wedding magazines and websites usually recommend that 10-15% of the budget is reserved for quality photography. When you consider that the couple’s budget was £14000 they spent just over 5% on their photographer. Remember that after the food is eaten by your guests, your flowers have long since died and your honeymoon tan has faded it is the photographs which remain to help relive your perfect day.
2) Ask what backup equipment the photographer uses – in the article the photographer used the excuse that “one of their cameras broke”. This would suggest to me that the 2 photographers only had 1 camera each. Part of being a professional wedding photographer is looking at what could go wrong and planning in advance on how to minimise the impact. This is why I always carry a plethora of professional level equipment as well as a complete set of backup equipment to every wedding and all the Cheshire Wedding Photographers I use as seconds have at least 2 professional level cameras each. If you select me as your wedding photographer and choose the option to have a 2nd photographer there will be at least 5 cameras between the two of us.
3) Full time does not mean quality – So many photographers advertise the fact they are full time as an important thing, there are even “professional bodies” which are only open to full time photographers but as this article shows you can’t rely on a photographer’s full time status being a sign of quality. This is especially true in the current economic climate where the recently redundant are setting themselves up as photographers because they think that wedding photography is easy money when the truth is far from it. In my experience whether a photographer has another job or nor does it make a difference to the quality of their images or their professionalism.
4) Look at a whole wedding of images – Portfolios and demo albums are only a selection of a photographer’s favourite images they have taken across a number of weddings. The only way to get a true understanding of a Cheshire Wedding Photographer‘s ability is to look at a whole wedding of images. When couples contact me about Wedding Photography in Cheshire I insist on a meeting so that I can show them a number of whole weddings using my iPad.
5) Ask how long the photographer how much experience they have – a quick check on the LinkedIn site for the photographer in the Daily Mail article shows that the photographer in question only started the business in September 2010 and the wedding in question was in August 2011 so simple maths suggest that the photographer had less than a year of experience at the time of the wedding. I have been shooting weddings professionally for the last 4 years and have both shot weddings for my own clients and have also been a paid second photographer to a number of other Wedding Photographers in Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire.
6) Make sure the photographer has professional indemnity insurance – There is not indication in the Daily Mail article that the Photographer was insured and whilst it is not a Legal Requirement all professional photographers should have Professional Indemnity Insurance. The purpose of this is so that in the rare event that the photographer fails to meet their contract you can make a claim.
If you are currently looking for a Wedding Photographer in Cheshire and would like me to show you what I can offer and advise you on more tips on how to appraise another Cheshire Wedding Photographer so that you pick me and get the Wedding Photography you deserve please Click Here to Contact Me.
