How to select a professional Wedding Photographer by leading Nottingham Wedding Photographers Steve & Sarah Mills...
Your wedding day should be one of the most memorable events of your life. Choosing a date for your wedding is just the start of a great deal of planning that will go into making sure that your big day is perfect. Most brides will spend days agonising over their choice of wedding venues, bridal dress, reception venue… and the list goes on! Choosing a professional wedding photographer to capture the precious moments of your special day is another crucial decision. When the day is over, only the photographs will be remain to remind you of that wonderful day. A really good set of wedding images will capture every moment of the day and remind you of those precious moments forever.
Choosing a wedding photographer…
Wedding photography is one of the most demanding areas of professional photography. We need to craft beautiful images as quickly as possible using only the available locations, light and weather we have at the time – this is where our skills and experience comes in. As leading Wedding Photographers in Nottingham and Derby, Steve & Sarah Mills Wedding Photography have all the creative and technical skills needed to produce great images in every situation – all backed up by years of experience and training.
Steve and Sarah are college qualified and members of the leading professional associations.
Let us look at some of the key things you should consider when choosing a professional wedding photographer.
Does the photographer shoot in a style that you like?
The two main styles are reportage wedding photography and traditional wedding photography. Reportage concentrates on informal and spontaneous images whereas traditional wedding photography involves more formally posed shots of the bride, groom and family groups. Steve & Sarah Mills Wedding Photography provide a popular blend of both styles which will tell the complete story of your big day. Fun and spontaneous moments are captured aswell as gently-posed portraits and group shots. Your photographer should also make every image available in either black and white or colour.
Can your photographer show you complete wedding albums?
Some photographers will show you sample albums containing a collection of ‘best pictures’. Shooting a few good images at a wedding is quite easy – its very different to creating a series of 100 plus beautiful images at every wedding. Steve & Sarah have the skills to produce great wedding photography throughout your special day. The best wedding photography uses natural light to craft images which are atmospheric and have an almost 3 dimensional feel.
Steve & Sarah Mills Wedding Photography are specialists in natural light wedding photography.
Who will be the photographer covering your wedding?
Some wedding photographers will use sub-contract photographers in busy periods.
Make sure that you know exactly who will be photographing your big day and that you like their work and have a good personal rapport with them. At Mills Photography we take pride in personally shooting every wedding we book – its our photographic style and personal approach that couples like and we wouldn’t trust our reputation to anyone else.
Steve and Sarah Mills shoot all weddings as joint photographers – capturing the widest possible range of images throughout your day.
Is the photographer willing to cover weddings outside of the local area?
Although we are known for our wedding photography in Nottingham, we are happy to offer our wedding photography service in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and throughout the UK. When travelling outside of the East Midlands we ask that you cover our reasonable travel and accommodation expenses.
Does the photographer guarantee you a high level of personal service?
Your wedding photographer will play an important role on the day – he or she will need to work quickly and with the minimum of fuss to make sure that all runs smoothly. The foundations of this begin when you first meet your wedding photographer – are you comfortable with them and confident in their abilities? After all, they will be a guest at your wedding! Is your photographer keen to discuss your wedding arrangements and any special requests that you may have? Will the photographer provide unlimited photography and coverage of the whole day up until the first dance? Will he or she arrange a pre-wedding meeting and visit the wedding and reception venues before your wedding? Like Steve and Sarah Mills, will they only shoot one wedding per day? At Mills Photography, we personally look after all these important details.
Will the high level of service continue after your wedding day?
Can the photographer guarantee to have your photographs ready for viewing soon after you return from honeymoon? Will you be left to choose your photographs from a book of low quality proofs or as with Mills Photography, will you see your images projected onto a large screen over a glass of wine? We find that couples enjoy this way of viewing their photographs and selecting the images for the album. Steve and Sarah will then personally design your wedding album, incorporating any special requests you may have.
The ultimate factor in finding your ideal wedding photojournalist is in the portfolio of your candidates. Through their images you must determine if that particular photographer can produce the type of images that will capture the emotions and other rich memories of the day in a way that will resonate deeply with you for years to come. You’ll need to get a sense of the photographer’s shooting style. Take as much time necessary to peruse their portfolios—a relatively easy task these days, thanks to the Internet. Brides and grooms should in general try to assess the photographer’s imagination; someone who strives to be different rather than shooting the same kinds of pictures all of the time. They should look for humour and feeling in the work. Rather than just looking at the pictures for the content, assess them in the light of how the photographer approached the scene, and whether he or she can do a lot of things well. You also want to make sure your wedding photojournalist is a versatile photographer with a lot of skills.
Despite its usefulness in viewing photos, and in providing biographical and approach philosophy information about the photographer, a Web site is not the be-all and end-all of wedding photojournalist research. In fact, certain sites can be terribly misleading these days. For some, it may also be beneficial to meet a photographer in person or at least have a phone discussion in order to find out more about his or her personality. The conversation can range from a deeper discussion of your photographer’s professional background, to his or her favourite photographs, sources of inspiration, to the specifics of how he or she approaches the wedding day on a logistical level. Is your photographer planning to show up 15 minutes before the ceremony or two-and-a half hours before? Talk to them about your wedding details and any specific expectations you may have regarding your pictures. Share with your photographer what style and approach you prefer, but more importantly listen to him/her to find out how well your wedding day vision matches their mode of operation. You also should be looking for somebody with whom you can spend the day and be comfortable. And that comfort level works both ways - when everybody is more comfortable, they’re going to open up to you more and not be so self-conscious about it. Most importantly, you want to choose someone who doesn’t just view your wedding day assignment as simply another business transaction. Finding a photographer who really loves what they do and is very passionate about their work is key.
Areas covered: Wedding Photography in Nottingham and Wedding Photography in Derby.
© Steve & Sarah Mills Wedding Photography Nottingham
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