How to choose photographer/videographer?

Picking a photographer and videographer seems to be the most stressful for us so far in planning our wedding. It's such an important part of the day and I don't want to make the wrong decision but there are just so many different photographers and I have no way of narrowing it down. Any suggestions?? What important questions have you all asked when meeting with the different companies??

How to choose photographer/videographer?

I went with Patken. They gave us the best deal. I would ask what the package includes, if it includes the album, how many dvds, if its blu ray quality, if it includes parent albums, how long you have the photographers for, if it costs more if you have them longer, what style pictures they take, if an engagement shoot is included etc.

We looked at silver fox - which was a lot more than we wanted to spend, and then we looked at patken and they were much more reasonable for both

Re: How to choose photographer/videographer?

I spent hours just looking at different photographers websites. The types of images captured were very important to me in picking who I wanted to meet with. I also combed through reviews on almost every site there was. These boards are very helpful as is theknot.com.

Some were too artsy (******** style) and some were too posed.

We only met with one photographer (Ricky Cheung) and because we liked him so much, we booked him. And I loved his website too, because he made it feel personal, and I felt like I got to know him a bit. (I know it sounds cheesey, but true!)

Definitely questions to ask are:

How many photos are typically shot?
How much is an extra photographer?
How many hours does that cover?
Is an engagement session included or discounted?
How much are albums or are they included (if so, how many)?
Are you limited on locations? (we're doing everything at the venue but some couples have multiples locations)
How long does it take for proofs to come back?

The knot and other wedding sites have tons of questions that you can ask. But those were the main ones we asked. The rest was about clicking with the photographer (for us).

We just had our engagement pics done this past weekend, and we had a ton of fun! I didn't feel anxious or nervous. We laughed mostly.

It's a big decision, but definitely pick someone you feel comfortable with because he/she will be with you all day!

Good luck!

Re: How to choose photographer/videographer?

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Posted by allie227

I went with Patken. They gave us the best deal. I would ask what the package includes, if it includes the album, how many dvds, if its blu ray quality, if it includes parent albums, how long you have the photographers for, if it costs more if you have them longer, what style pictures they take, if an engagement shoot is included etc.

We looked at silver fox - which was a lot more than we wanted to spend, and then we looked at patken and they were much more reasonable for both

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This is great to know...we got a recommendation from a couple who used Patken and it's one of our venue's preferred vendors! Definitely going to look into it...thanks so much!!

Re: How to choose photographer/videographer?

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Posted by ilovephotobooths

I spent hours just looking at different photographers websites. The types of images captured were very important to me in picking who I wanted to meet with. I also combed through reviews on almost every site there was. These boards are very helpful as is theknot.com.

Some were too artsy (******** style) and some were too posed.

We only met with one photographer (Ricky Cheung) and because we liked him so much, we booked him. And I loved his website too, because he made it feel personal, and I felt like I got to know him a bit. (I know it sounds cheesey, but true!)

Definitely questions to ask are:

How many photos are typically shot?
How much is an extra photographer?
How many hours does that cover?
Is an engagement session included or discounted?
How much are albums or are they included (if so, how many)?
Are you limited on locations? (we're doing everything at the venue but some couples have multiples locations)
How long does it take for proofs to come back?

The knot and other wedding sites have tons of questions that you can ask. But those were the main ones we asked. The rest was about clicking with the photographer (for us).

We just had our engagement pics done this past weekend, and we had a ton of fun! I didn't feel anxious or nervous. We laughed mostly.

It's a big decision, but definitely pick someone you feel comfortable with because he/she will be with you all day!

Good luck!

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YES! I feel the same way with the pictures! I want the pictures that are posed but I also want candid shots and I want the photographer to be in the right place at the right time to capture these moments...even thinking about getting a second photographer to ensure we get a lot of great shots! Thank you SO much for all the info and questions to ask!! :) :)