Recently I noticed a debate on Twitter about whether investing in a good wedding photographer was worthwhile? Many argued that the heavy outlay usually involved could have be spent elsewhere.
That is certainly one train of thought when you are planning your wedding, you want everything on the day to be perfect and when budgets are tight it is easy to think that a family friend who is a keen photographer could do just as good a job.
The reality of it is you don’t realise what you have got until it is all over. Your day only happens once and you wont be able to go back and redo the photographs. You can be left with set of terrible shots, which you may not be able to even create a wedding album with.
Our advice is always use a reputable photographer, where you have seen many examples of their work. Often new companies offer special deals, but remember if it seems to be to good to be true, then very often it is.
Here are some tips provided by wedding photographer Ciaran O’neill Photography for brides and grooms.
- Don’t take chances. You can’t retake the photographs so make sure you get a qualified professional photographer who is a member of a professional organisation PPANI, MPA or BIPP.
- Look at lots of photographs by the photographer. Make sure you see complete albums and not just the best shot from lots of weddings.
- Look at how the bride’s dress is arranged. You want a photographer who knows how to do this quickly and properly. You will spend a lot a money on you dress. You want it to look stunning.
- Look at the family shots. Inexperienced photographers will often fail to organize groups properly resulting in awkward and unsightly arrangements.
- Leave enough time. As a general rule you need to leave roughly 4 hours from the start of the ceremony to the start of the meal plus driving time. This may seem excessive but it is better to have a little extra time to spend with your guests instead of having to rush and maybe miss out on some photographs.
- Have a Plan B. If you are planning an outdoor location for your photographs consider the possibility of bad weather.
- Consider the time of year. If you are getting married during the winter months remember it might be dark as early at 3.00 pm. A wedding at 1.00 pm or 2.00 pm may mean little or no outdoor photography.
- Insist your hairdresser and makeup artist finish with you first before they start the bridesmaids etc. They will want to leave you until last but this will mean you are not ready for photographs until the last minute. This causes two problems. Firstly your photographer may have to leave for the church without any photographs of you ready. Secondly, if someone has to be photographed candidly without makeup let it be the bridesmaids and not you!
Happy Planning
