Choosing the perfect photographer for you- everything you'll need to know and ask.
Wedding Photography is no easy task and interviewing potential wedding photographers can be a daunting task. The team at SA Weddings have created a list of the top 10 questions to help you find the best photographer for your big day. While this list consists of the exact questions to ask, you'll still need to pay attention to the soft-skills that are mentioned during the meeting and conversation.
This should be your first and foremost question, as this is the style of photography that interests you. Ruth du Toit Photography will capture your love effortlessly with hints of romance and fine-art influenced wedding photography techniques.
You will come across photographers who don’t create contracts for their clients. A contract is created for your protection, as well as for the photographer’s protection. They're important and hold all the relevant details and agreed-upon services they will be providing including pricing, termination, resolution terms and so on. It is best to hire a photographer that will build a contract with you and be wary of photographers that “don’t typically create contracts for clients.”
While it is a possibility that your photographer happens to get ill on your wedding day, it's crucial that their studio does something to take care of the situation in the case of last-minute illness. Find a photographer who is equally skilled that can take over, for example. These things need to be discussed upfront.
Professional photographers should have the proper insurance for their business. Insurance protects the photographer against theft and importantly it provides liability protection in case Great Grandma Jean trips over the photographer’s bag and shatters her hip. If your photographer does not have insurance, chances are that they are new to the industry and are still looking into this essential cover.
Another factor in how your pictures will look is the style of post production that the studio employs. Be extremely careful, as many studios don’t post-produce your images and rather give them to you unfinished and straight from the camera. In this situation, you are not receiving a finished and professional product. Also remember to question your photographer as to whether they have a unique post production catalog for you to look over.
Since colour correction is just basic post production, it should be used on every single image. Many photographers will not colour correct any, or will only colour correct “select” images from your wedding. This means that you may have a lot of pictures where your skin tones are orange, yellow, red or even blue.
We chatted to photographer Ruth du Toit, who suggests checking before the time with your wedding photographer that all images are colour-corrected to be assured that they are all of professional quality.
While some photographers don’t necessarily have the best of the best, it's important to have a good set of equipment. Make sure your photographer has some backup equipment too, nothing would be worse than for the photographer to miss half of your wedding because their lens broke, with no spare nearby.
It's good to know upfront if your photographer has a policy on overtime. You don’t want to be surprised when your wedding photographer asks for an additional R2,000 before they release your pictures to you. Even worse, you don’t want your wedding photographer to just pack up and leave when their time is up. You want a happy and successful experience together with your photographer.
Even though your photographer is a big part of the wedding day, it’s important that they're not a distraction either. As such, it’s important for the photographer to blend in as much as possible. Furthermore, for religious or cultural ceremonies, there may be certain colours that are considered taboo. Make sure your photographer will be dressed appropriately for the occasion. Typical photography attire is black suit pants with a black polo or dress shirt. They dress completely in black because they want to go unnoticed by the clients and guests, so that they can capture the magic of your big day.
Each wedding photographer varies in the time it takes to produce and deliver your pictures. Photographers that do not do any post production or colour correction may try to entice you by saying your photos will be ready within the week, or even the next day. Otherwise it could take between 4-8 weeks to edit and develop your photographs.
Ruth du Toit Photography will capture your true love story of your perfect day as it unfolds.
