Love the work
Choose the wedding photographer, whose work shows the way you would like to remember your wedding day. Look at the work–is it posed wedding photography? Is it a natural wedding photography?
I am an observational wedding photographer; I have developed a documentary style over many years that captures genuine emotions. I seek form, shapes, expressions and splendid light.
Other photographers may place you in poses, and this has an overhead in time, and expressions feel awkward and less natural. There is not a right answer here, some couples will love formal wedding photography, and others more natural wedding photography.
Look right now, the moment you book your wedding
Good professionals get booked early, and good professionals only shoot one wedding a day. They concentrate only on you and your wedding.
Be warned, some Cyprus wedding photographers shoot many weddings a day, often at the same venue. For me, that would be like wearing creative handcuffs.
Ask your photographer how many weddings they shoot a day; if it is over one, you are probably talking to the wrong Cyprus wedding photographer.
Think about whose opinion you trust
Ask on Facebook, your friends-and-family, and speak to venues and planners and other wedding vendors–you will get 101 opinions.
However, not all opinions are equal, and some are quite literally paid for. Always take a step back and wonder about the motivation for a recommendation. Do you think the venue is getting a kickback? Do you think the planner is contractually tied in with a group of suppliers?
An odd recommendation that I see a lot is that plenty of brides recommend wedding photographers when they have not even had them shoot their wedding yet!
The venue said you must have this wedding photographer
Do not be bullied into using a wedding photographer, or any other wedding professional. Choose the Cyprus Wedding photographer whose work and style you love and with whom you want to work with.
Venues and some planners often have an approved list, these are only suggestions, and often show that they have made a deal behind the scenes. Choose the photographer you want, and book them, the choice is all yours.
How does the photographer come over to you?
I am usually with you and your guests all day, so we need to get on. We need to click.
It is important that you communicate with your prospective Cyprus wedding photographer and gauge them, and their business. What are they like on the phone, are the e-mail communications timely and orderly? What is the paperwork like? do you get on with them?
Wedding Photographers and Videographers are the two Wedding professionals who deliver the finished product to you after the wedding. We go away into a dark room for a long time and edit your photographs & videos. For your peace of mind, you need to know that you are dealing with a long-term business with professional business practices.
Communicate, look at the paperwork, do they answer the phone and e-mails? Is everything timely and professional?
It is not all about the cameras
Wedding photographers do more than turn up with a camera. Professionals have a car full of spare cameras, lighting equipment, and a pile of other goodies to cover all eventualities.
When we get back, the hard work begins, we edit, we have computers and software and backup solutions and backups of the backups… It is a very equipment/software heavy business to be in.
Chat with your prospective Cyprus Wedding photographer and ask them pointy questions about cameras, backup cameras, file backups. Trust me, I can talk about backing up files for at least half an hour.
I take at least one week, to meticulously hand edit the photographs from one day’s shoot, and that is a very full week. Knowing this ought to put into perspective any answer you get about editing.
If a photographer can deliver the files in one day, they are not editing, or they are just applying a preset the whole batch, and you are for sure going to be getting a substandard product.
Avoid using family or friends
Trust me on this, shooting a wedding is not relaxing for a novice, they will be under silly amounts of pressure, and won’t have the gear or experience to give you the wedding photography you deserve.
It is 8 hours behind a camera, instead of 8 hours being a guest. It is unlikely they have the technical expertise, backup gear, or experience to deal with a wedding.
I find it really easy to work with strangers, and very hard to deal with my family, and I am a seasoned professional, it is even harder for the novice who will be constantly pulled from pillar to post and then ignored when he wants cooperation.
Nail down a price and make sure there is a contract
Price is important, it shows a few things; how much a photographer values their own work, and where they are placed in the local market.
A cheap price shows that corners are being cut, and the photographer will not have the funds to invest in decent equipment, replacement gear, and spare backup gear.
Remember the price is not just for shooting on the day, it is for editing, so consider that you are hiring them for 1-2 weeks of work. If the price feels right with this in your mind, you are probably in the right ballpark.
Every reputable photographer uses a contract, and discusses and agrees the price with you fully, beforehand. My contract covers price, deliverables, copyright, usage, cancellations, etc. Getting the paperwork right now saves confusion down the line.
The deliverables ought to cover things like a sign of the number of wedding photographs, delivery schedule, etc.
No contract… large bargepole–avoid and do not book.
To sum up
Booking a photographer is a big tick off the wedding planning list.
Book early, love the work, get on with the photographer, don’t be told you must use a photographer by a venue, ask lots of questions, make sure they are a professional business, insist on a contract and make sure the price feels right.