Advice on looking for a Wedding Photographer in NorCal

[matthew_lew1]

<p>Hopefully this is the right place to ask these questions. I am an avid hobbyist photographer and am getting married next Summer, so it time to start looking for a photographer. I've seen so many inadequate photographers at friends and family's weddings, and am a bit worried on picking one out, so I wanted to come here and ask for some advice and possibly some recommendations.</p>

<p>Since everyone here is a photographer, of many levels, I am sure most of you get where I am coming from. I have the technical knowledge to be a professional photographer. I shoot with my dslr on a regular basis. I've owned and shot 35mm, medium format, and large format. I have my own darkroom. So I know when a photographer is making huge mistakes and when a photo has been over processed in post. My biggest concerns are that when selecting a photographer, they aren't going to match up with my expectations. </p>

<p>I went with my sister when she met her photographer, and he seemed so well organized. His portfolio was pretty good as well, but then came wedding day, when he had a group of asians, with already squinty eyes, looking straight in to the sun for group shots, not to mention the giant photographer shadow in the shot as well. A slight 15 degree turn in either direction would have easily resolved this issue. My point is, meeting a photographer and seeing his portfolio is only going to get you so far. If a professional wedding photographer can't even muster up enough portfolio worthy shots, he probably isn't ready to go solo as a wedding photographer. So my question is, what do I do to find the right fit? What questions do I need to ask, and how do I weed through the photographers that have great portfolio because they just got some lucky shots?</p>

<p>I really don't need some amazing world class photographer to shoot my wedding or anything like that. Honestly, I would be perfectly content with all the photos being just pretty good and nothing mind blowingly amazing. All I really want is consistency and some attention to detail. As long as they get all the most important shots, and there aren't any major mistakes, I'll be happy. I'd be much happier with that, than a handful, pr even few handful of amazing photos and the rest being lack luster. And if I see a single photo with a photoshop blur to make a fake depth of field, I will be seriously pissed. Sorry for the rant. Wedding planning is painfully stressful, and I'm a bit anal about this particular matter. Thanks for any advice and/or recommendations.</p>

[mitch_w1]

<p>Your comment about the Asian photographers "squinty eyes" is highly offensive. Says a lot about you. Surprising for someone living among such diversity in the Bay Area. Good luck with your search. </p>

[art_tatum]

<p>Mitch if you had read it right before commenting you would realize that Matthew was commenting that the photographer (race unknown) had the wedding group (Asians) facing into a setting sun which caused them to squint. Everything is still right in the Bay area.</p>

[KenPapai]

<p>Matthew -- there are a couple Bay Area pros that post here regularly and you'd be lucky to hire them for your needs. Hang out here for awhile and follow the action.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>...looking straight in to the sun for group shots, not to mention the giant photographer shadow in the shot as well. </p>

</blockquote>

<p>Sounds like a total beginner shooter. </p>

[keithdunlop]

<p>No offense, but based on your proclamation that you could be a "professional photographer", and that your main concern is your hired pro not meeting your "expectations", you come across as a potential nightmare client.</p>

<p>My advice?</p>

<p>1. Don't show this post to any photographers you are considering hiring.<br>

2. Find a photographer whose work matches the style you are looking for, and who you (and your bride) click with personality-wise.<br>

3. Ask to see a complete wedding set.<br>

4. The right photographer to hire will come naturally.<br>

5. Stop worrying so much about the technical stuff and just enjoy your wedding day.</p>

 

[JAPster]

<p>Just some ideas. First, make sure you have a contract shoot, and that everything that you really want from the shoot is covered in the contract and properly spelled out. Second, involve your wife-to-be in the whole selection process, make it a 'team decision', as she is likely to be concerned how the pictures turn out not to mention how much the package will cost. Thirdly, ask to see a lot of sample pics, and a list of previous customers. Contact a number of previous customers and talk to them, see how well pleased (or not) they are about their experience with any prospective photographers.</p>

[picturesque]

<p>I would also say that you should look at <strong>several complete</strong> sets of wedding photos from a potential photographer. By complete, I mean everything a client got, not the outtakes. This will tell volumes about technical skill, including use of light (both natural and artificial), ability to cover everything (tell a story and include all the important characters), whether the photographer is pushing a style or following trends.</p>

<p>If you know photography, you know when an image has been 'fixed' and whether it should have been shot so that it needn't have been fixed. You know if he or she 'should have' dealt with the light in a different way. You know if the images look like everyone else's and don't contribute to the overall storyline.</p>

<p>When you ask for those several complete sets, you might specify ones that have the same conditions that your wedding will have--indoor or outdoor, daytime or at night. Some photographers can hide the fact that they can't deal with certain lighting situations, and asking to see weddings similar to your upcoming one will also be telling.</p>

[francie_baltazar]

<p>Depending on where you are getting married you could ask if the venue has "preffered" photographers. If they do this is a good place to start. Also google the venue name and wedding photographers and you will get some additional hits. Be prepared to pay. A good professional photographer is going to be 3K and up. You have to look at two or three entire weddings from the photographer - what did the client see - next you have to make sure your personality works with theirs. If you are Asian - which given your comment above I am assuming - ask the photographer if they work with Asian people. Once you make your decision - let the photog to their thing. You are not a professional wedding photographer and you have to trust the person you hire to do their job and not let your knowlege get in the way. Good luck...</p>

 

[fuccisphotos]

<p>Matthew, see if they can possibly show you online proofing galleries of their previous clients (assuming that's something they offer), that way you can see what the client got, and gives you an idea of what your own proofing gallery experience would be like. I always show my clients what a proofing gallery looks like and invite them to review entire weddings and encourage them to do the same with any other prospective photographers they are meeting with.</p>

[matthew_lew1]

<p>Thank you everyone for the responses. I will definitely make sure to ask to see some complete sets and proofing galleries. I definitely don't mind paying a slight premium to get good results. My main concern was just that any decent wedding photographer should at least have a handful of albums that look pretty good, but from what they ended up with, it seemed they had a few lucky events where things fell in to place for them.</p>

<p>@Mitch W. You shouldn't take any offense to what I said. I am asian myself. My point was, and a bit jokingly, was that my family being asian have squicnty eyes, and the sun made us look even more asian. Again, that was a joke.</p>

<p>@Keith. I completely understand what you are saying and where you are coming from. That is partial why I came here for advice first. Also, my comment about my knowledge of photography was just a statement that I have the technical know how at the knowledge of a professional, not a proclamation that I could be pro. That does make sense that the expectations that I could convey could come across negatively though and potentially cause problems. Overall though, in the end I don't have huge expectations for an amazing wedding album, All I want is to have consistently decent shots. I don't need every shot to be a money shot, just all the important moments caught, without seeing major flaws in them.</p>

[picturesque]

<p><blockquote>...it seemed they had a few lucky events where things fell in to place for them.</blockquote></p>

<p>This is why you ask that the complete sets you see have the same conditions as your wedding--as similar as possible but most important would be lighting/time of day/indoor/outdoor. Second would be the same venue(s), third would be the same general size/type of activities.</p>

<p>The first specification will tell you how the photographer handles the general lighting. For instance, there are plenty of photographers who can shoot quite well in natural light outside, and even inside, given any bit of light beyond 'dark'. Give them an overcast day and an outdoor wedding, and you will see great stuff. If the day is blasting sunlight, not so good, or if everything happens inside at night. Then you see them struggle with shooting without a flash at all or a single on camera flash, which, when handled well, is fine, but I find most photographers who emphasize natural light seem to not do so well with flash. Of course there are exceptions.</p>

<p>If it is possible, ask for the same venues as your wedding. If the samples also happened at the same times--day/night, inside/outside--you will have a very good idea how the photographer will handle things.</p>

<p>As for size/type of event, a very small wedding can be very different, in terms of what is possible to photograph, than a large wedding, and formal weddings can be different than informal weddings. A photographer's people skills can be tested.</p>

[keithdunlop]

<p>@Matthew - very sensible expectations. I'm sure you'll find the right photographer!</p>

[philip_tam]

<p>I do think there's a lot of crappy photographers out there. Wedding photography as a business is a lot about the photographer's business/sales.</p>

<p>I think the advice people gave so far is really good, but in addition, if you have concerns about post-processing, flash/available light skills, just ask. Be up front about it. Ask what their philosophy is, and be sure to say what you're looking for.</p>

<p>At the same time, try to relax a bit. I'm sure if any other photographer tailed you around while you shot pictures, they could point out areas where they think you're making mistakes. I did a lot of travel/street/landscape photography before I started doing weddings, and it's night and day. With weddings you're mind is constantly being pulled in different directions: creativity, technical setup, demands on time, anticipation, and your environment. It takes a lot of consciousness of all these aspects, and things slip through the cracks.</p>

<p>Sometimes, you're forced to choose between flaws just to get the picture out of the way and let people go about their business. It's not a portrait session, you have to move on.</p>