This weeks blog is designed to give you some useful tips when looking for your wedding photographer.

I have been a wedding photographer for the last seven years in this time I have seen a massive influx in wedding photography businesses come and go.

Kat Cherry is a full time wedding photographer in Toowoomba & Darling Downs, so she doesn’t work other jobs and use her photography as a side hustle. Her main genre is weddings and capturing each and everyone to reflect the couple that have hired her to document it. So what should you look for and ask in a wedding photographer. In today’s world there are a lot of photographers and wading through to find a good one is important.

Kat has shot at lots of different locations in and around Darling Downs, including Preston Peak, Gabbinbar Homestead, Adora Downs, Aberfeldy Farm & Barn , Brisbane, Gold and Sunshine Coast and interstate.

1. A good question to suss out or ask when meeting your wedding photographer is do you work in any other Job. This question is important as if photography is a side job or hustle you want to make sure that your photographer is available and not going to have to pull out to other work commitments in their other line of work. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with having two jobs this is fine but given that this is your special day you may want to ensure your photographer has undivided attention to it. Eg if you are having a weekday wedding will this interfere with the photographers other job. These are one of the questions you should ask and as reiterated there is nothing wrong with two jobs but make sure it wont interfere with your special day.
   
   
2. Price – This is a big one and can be linked in with above question. Cheapest and dearest overall has no bearing effect on who is better at their job, we all start somewhere and portfolio building we have all been there. Several factors like experience, travel all come into play. Photography is not a regulated industry so photographers can choose their own prices. My prices reflect on my cost of doing business including things like camera, maintenance, paying myself a wage, editing, fuel, insurance etc. Average time to edit a wedding is between 60 – 80 hours work. You will find the average for a full day ranges from $2500 – $4000. Again there are cheaper and there are dearer as in point one some photographers have other regular income from a part time or full time job coming in so can reduce the price to reflect a hobbyist price.
   
   
3. Wherever possible meet your photographer in person or at least via face to face zoom. Taking photos of the day is the easy part for me I really like to meet my prospective clients face to face to connect with them and provide a more personalised service. Not every client is a right fit for each other and I always refer to others if I feel that I am not the right photographer for you. Its a great chance to look at full gallery of their work and printed samples as well as see the personality type. A good wedding photographer can show you Rainy and sunny photos, they can also show familiarity with night shots. You need to be comfortable with the person who is documenting your day if you are comfortable you can be yourselves and thats were the magic comes into your photos. You should be able to gauge if your photographer is bossy, assertive, easy going and professional. Wedding meetings are about you, about want you are wanting for your special day, Meeting should not be rushed its the ideal time to ask all questions and in my experience there are no silly questions. Check that the photographer or studio you are using is the person you are speaking too or if a larger studio make sure you are able to sit down with the photographer who will be capturing your day , there are exceptions to this which should again be in a written agreement eg if the primary is sick, injured or Quarantined. You will find smaller companies will have great networks in this event.
   
   
4. Look at their work, and ask lots of questions.  It’s a common fact we always post our best images; hero images we call them. It’s important to see a flow in a wedding gallery and how they are edited. Also make sure the photographer owns the work and the wedding they captured. A good photographer will tell you when showing a wedding if they were the principal shooter or a second photographer hired to assist in the shooting process only. In these instances they are still good but were hired by the primary and not by the client. Make sure they are a registered business. Importantly make sure the photographer style of editing is what you are looking for.
   
   
5. Word of mouth and reviews – There are both positive and negative to these like everything, do your research I tend to not be too reliant on wedding groups and venues. Whilst one person may have a great experience it may be different to friends and family, different personality types etc can come into play. Whilst most venues have preferred suppliers a lot of the time kickback payments are also happening for that venue or supplier to recommend each other which may not be in the couples best interest and just because someone has not captured at that venue or location does not mean they cannot. We pride ourselves on doing lots of destination weddings in other states, we also offer a discounted rate for a chance to shoot in a new venue. In saying this reviews and word of mouth should not be ignored as most photographers have worked hard to build a great reputation. SUPPORT YOUR LOCALS
   
   
6. Contracts/ wedding agreements – These are a must do not pay a thing without a written agreement in place, your agreement should have written in what you are paying for, backups, copyright. For more info make sure you check out our wedding agreement blog.
   
   
7. Go with your gut feeling its hardly ever wrong if you feel uncomfortable or cant ask questions and get answers in initial meeting research some more. I don’t accept cash payments everything is done by invoice and written agreement. We also network with lots of other professional photographers so we can refer you to others if we may not be the right fit for you.
   
   
8. If you find a good photographer, hire them you will not regret it. Whilst price can be a factor re -evaluate what is needed and what you could go without at your wedding end of your day photos documenting food eaten and the flowers that have now died, your pretty venue is all captured in photos
   
   
9. Photo/video combo – Its a bit of a common myth that companies that do both photo/video are better than hiring two separate companies. Whilst it is easier and maybe cheaper it does not mean necessarily better. Two companies can work together great I have worked with lots and they have different angles, most importantly there is a second backup of storage with a different company. We offer photo/video combos but are also happy to work with other singular companies as we work for our clients, what they want is most important !!
   
   
10. Editing Fads – Yes like everything there are fads and as fast as they are in they are out. Most professional photographers can edit to whatever style you like however it does not mean it will be timeless, pictures are to be looked at if you follow a fad are you going to like that Fad in 5-10 years ? Make sure you are happy with their style of editing and documenting before booking.
    
    

Until next time

Kat x