Frequent Ask Questions

About Selecting a Photographer for your Wedding

What there really advantages of hiring a professional photographer?

The first thing to consider hiring a professional wedding photographer is that he or she has just the right equipment and lights for photographing your wedding. This makes a big difference with the pictures your friend or uncle can take. By having years of experience and photography knowledge a professional photographer also knows how to capture all the moments of your wedding day with the best results in images, details, feelings and color. You have to think that in the cost of photography, the photographer's fee is only part of your investment: It is not a good idea to waste time on your wedding day with a photographer who won't produce results you love!

How to find the right photographer?

Looking for wedding magazines or visiting wedding photography web sites are the most common ways to start making a list. Finding a wedding photographer is not difficult because there are so many. Once you have a list of photographers, email them or start to call them to set up appointments. Take your time in finding someone you like, but do it early. The best photographers tend to be booked months or sometimes a year in advance.

What is important to know about the photographer?

If you like the photographer on the phone, make an appointment and go to visit his/her studio. Make sure you meet and talk with the photographer who would be doing your wedding. Your decision should be based on the photographer’s work and not in the work of a group or large wedding photography studio with multiple photographers.

Make a list of questions that you want to ask. You can ask about the style, the pricing, the hourly fees or packages, the extra costs or location costs, the various developing techniques and the type and quality of the equipment that will be used. Ask a lot of questions to be sure you know what kind of person you are hiring.

Consider that personality plays a big part in a photographer’s work. When you visit a wedding photographer, look for his or her attitude about your wedding and how attentive he or she is to you.
Another extremely important thing to consider is the creativity, style and beauty of the photographer's work. You can look carefully at the quality of the photographer’s photographs and the albums. When you look at the images and pictures you have to pay attention to posing, lighting and different techniques.

It is important to look at a complete wedding, not only some samples of different weddings. Insist on this. It will give you a very good idea of the photographer's artistry, talent, creativity, style and technical knowledge.
Ask the photographer for references. Going by a portfolio is not enough. Call up the references and ask them questions about the photographer’s behavior, punctuality and professionalism.

Look for someone who is a member of the professional organizations, like Association of Wedding Photojournalists (WPJA) or American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). Members of these kinds of organizations have made a commitment to the highest standards of business and professional ethics, and usually participate in the conferences and educational programs that these organizations provide.

Once you have decided on a photographer based on the style and experience, discuss prices, packages, deposits, extra costs and so on.

How much does wedding photography cost?

Most people say that a wedding photography may go from $2,000 to $10,000 or more. You can see what fits best your needs. Usually the photographers offer “a la carta prices” or several kinds of packages.
It is clever to keep your budget in mind when selecting a photographer but it is more important look in detail and evaluate the quality, style and professionalism of the photographer. Your first consideration is to determine how important your wedding photos are to you, and what your expectations are. The opportunity to have great images of your wedding is truly an investment; something which provides value over a long period of time. The best wedding photography isn’t expensive; it’s priceless!
How much time do I need to hire the photographer for my wedding?

One important thing to evaluate is to be photographed before and after the wedding or not. You can have beautiful images of bride and the groom getting ready, and the photographer can capture at that time the "when he first sees she" moment.

Most photographers offer a range of packages to suit different needs, ranging from ceremony only to full day coverage. They can also include assistant or not, a second photographer, prints, albums, and other extra items interesting to think about.

What about the "wedding photojournalist" style?

Nowadays, the wedding photography can be divided into two categories: the traditional style posed photos, and the photojournalistic candid.
The traditional style is basically mostly posed images (or “structured” ones) and they are planned out ahead of time. That means typically that there is an element of control on the part of the photographer, although it doesn’t mean that the pictures need to look posed, stiff or boring. These photos are those that capture the important people in the wedding day: bride and groom and their family, the wedding party and the special friends. At that time the photographer takes special attention to to lighting, backgrounds, and good poses.

The photojournalistic style is completely non-posed, and without interference on the part of the photographer. It is basically non obtrusive and capture the emotions and true moments during the wedding day. The photographer concentrates not only on the bride and groom, but also on their friends, what's happening in the corners, along the edges. Those images "document" the happenings of the wedding day as they actually happened.

Most couples these days prefer a combination of journalistic and traditional wedding photography. They look for a photographer that can capture the true emotion and spirit of the celebration as well as portraits that deserve to be framed. Some photographers define themselves as photojournalists but most of their images shown are posed portraits. Look at lots of samples of their work, especially complete albums, to make sure you wind up with the wedding mages you desire.

Eddie Arrossi Photographer Washington DC, Baltimore, Annapolis, Maryland and Virginia