Selecting Your Photographer

Index

SECTION 1
Why the Cost?

SECTION 2
Equipment You Should Expect

SECTION 3
Questions for Digital Photographers

SECTION 4
The Wedding Packages & Wedding Albums

SECTION 5

What You Should Expect & Your Photographer's Attitude

SECTION 6

What Is Important To You About This Wedding?

SECTION 6

Money Saving Tips

SECTION 7

The all Important Shameless Plug

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Often I'm asked, "Ric, why do you photographers charge so much for wedding pictures"?

I certainly understand how they feel. I would feel the exact same way if I were in their shoes. The fact is wedding photography can be very expensive.

In this article I'll attempt to offer some suggestions as to why wedding photography can be very expensive. Also, I'll suggest important ideas you must consider while you search for your photographer and tips to help you decide. I'll give you important questions to ask every photographer you're considering, including me. Finally, we'll come up with some money saving ideas to stretch your photographic dollars to the limit.

Here we go... Undoubtedly, you have surfed a few sites or have already interviewed a few wedding photographers, and, equally important, viewed some of their work. You probably found that prices vary tremendously and are still left wondering... "Was he serious?? Just how in the world can they look at me with a straight face and say, that'll be $15,000.00 please"?

I promise I will be as objective as possible with this report. Please forgive me if I slip a little and throw in a few shameless plugs. I'll be sure to warn you in advance when I feel one coming.

In my area of Nashville, TN, we are blessed with a lot of tremendous photographers. Some of them are friends of mine and others I know by their reputation. Their work is extraordinary! They stay booked often a year or even two in advance, which leads to the first reason why wedding photographers can be very expensive: Some photographers have developed their business and perfected their craft to a point they have clients willing to pay a premium to book them. From the photographer's stand point it's a way of controlling demand or volume through pricing.

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Equipment to Expect -

Plan to spend as much as you can afford on photography but this is where your due diligence comes in. When you are interviewing photographers and find they charge these prices or claim to be at this level, in addition to looking at their work work, which is a no-brainer, check out the gear. I know this sounds like a guy thing, but trust me, it is very important to know WHAT THEY ARE SHOOTING and what they will bring to your wedding. I'm not kidding here, for the last couple of years with the proliferation of digital, I've seen a bunch of new wedding photographers show up on the scene with their $400.00 camera and a fist full of ink jet business cards. But lets start with film:

If they are still shooting film, look for a Hasselblad Medium Format camera. This is the workhorse of high-end wedding photography. When properly used these cameras provide dazzling images. Yes, there are other medium format cameras, but the "Hassy" is arguably the best film camera for this type of work. Hasselblads are expensive with a price tag that can easily top $5000.00 depending on the lens and viewfinder. In addition, medium format film and processing costs are more expensive than 35mm cameras which adds to the price tag of your pictures.

Rivaling, if not exceeding, the quality of a medium format film camera is the latest generation of professional digital cameras. Here's where I start arguments with some of my die-hard film colleagues. Without getting into that debate, if the photographer you are considering is shooting digital charging the big bucks check the camera.

Here are the brands to look for:

Canon EOS -1Ds Mark II
Canon EOS - 5D
Nikon D2x - (not as good as the Canon) Actually, they're fine. I say that just to get a rise out of Pam Hawkins, whom I truly respect. Pam is one of my mentors , a fabulous photographer and a very talented digital artist. She shoots with a D2X.
Kodak DCS Pro - SLR/c Digital

There are other digital cameras out here that will work but ones mentioned really are the industry standard. When properly used, with the right glass (lens) they will deliver amazing images that meet and exceed medium format film cameras. (now that's going to start fights with my film buds, but it's my story and I sticking to it).

While we are talking equipment, make sure any photographer you consider has back-up. For example, on every assignment, I make a practice of bringing studio strobes, two on-camera flashes, both of my digital Canons, (a 5D and a backup D60 and upon request, a film Canon EOS 3). I bring lenses that will cover wide angles to zoom close-ups, extra batteries, flashcards, camera cords, and my light meter.

Hey, stuff happens. If something breaks, make sure your photographer is prepared with replacements so nothing is missed.

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Question For A Digital Photographer:

It is a misconception that shooting digital is cheaper than shooting film. The high cost of equipment and digital support systems are only a part of your photographer's cost of doing business. Processing digital images is labor intensive and wedding albums, being very labor intensive, can amount to many hours preparing a large number of images for your presentation. For example, each digital image must be enhanced for printing. Your photographer's ability to correctly enhance each image or outsource your images to someone who can, contributes to your photographer's cost of creating your album.

On average, I usually present around two hundred images to my wedding clients. I made the digital transition around four years ago. Since then, I've spent many long hours in formal training (my pal Pammy) including experimenting with a lot of personal images until I felt comfortable enough to work on a client's images. Believe me, if you don't know what your doing, you can destroy a perfectly good shot trying to "make it better".

No one told me when I started this digital adventure that photography would evolve so fast that today's techniques can go by way of the buggy whip in 18 months. I encourage you to ask the photographers you are considering the following questions:

Who does your color correction?

a. Photographer does... ask, "Is your monitor calibrated"? If she cheerfully responds, "Absolutely, you can't color correct without calibration software", you are off to a good start. Personally, I use ColorVision by Pantone.

b. Photographer says, "No, I leave that up to the lab". Also good, he's honest. Digital is still new to many great photographers. There is a ton to learn. There is nothing wrong with making a business decision to outsource work to someone qualified. Ask to see some samples shot digitally to make sure his lab are rendering great images from his files. More than likely the lab does or he wouldn't use them.

c. Photographer says something like, " I only use pro gear that doesn't need calibration." Politely end the conversation and then RUN!
Do you use Photoshop? (if the photographer works on her files)

a. Photoshop is the industry standard and your photographer should at least be using Photoshop CS. It is important to find out which version because Photoshop also has a consumer program called Photoshop Elements which is fine for Uncle Bob's hobby but certainly not acceptable for your images. We use the last upgrade, CS2 because of several useful additions that improved the efficiency of our workflow..
Do you retouch all the proofs?

a. This can get tricky. High-end, our $15,000 guy for example, should provide to you an album for use in choosing your enlargements. Not telling him how to run his business, heck he's getting the 15K, but, these images, in my opinion, should be yours to keep, particularly if you agree to pay those kind of bucks. That's between you and the photographer. If they are yours to keep, it's in the photographer's best interest to retouch where necessary. Those images should be perfect, hence they aren't really "proofs". See where it gets tricky? I'm sure you are finding out that every photographer has packages from which to choose. The issue of proofs can be an area to negotiate for more pictures. If a proof album that you keep isn't a part of the package be prepared to pay for the added time to retouch the images. This can amount to a tremendous amount of work if performed properly. Here's how I treat proofs. This isn't a plug but only meant as a comparison. I provide my brides with color corrected proofs with the first round of enhancements. The proofs are theirs to keep. The album pictures are chosen from the proofs I provide. The finished pictures are returned beautifully retouched and lacquered, mounted in the album of their choice.
Very Important!!! If the photographer you are interviewing is relatively new to digital, ask about their experience shooting slides. Shooting digital and shooting slides are considered similar because exposure for the digital sensor, as with slide film, does not offer the latitude of negative color film. Be dead sure that your photographer is comfortable shooting digital. No amount of Photoshop can replace detail in an image blown out by over exposure. Underexposed images will suffer detail loss in the shadows which will look "noisy", caused by "banding" when the exposure is adjusted in Photoshop. Without getting to "techy" Banding occurs when you try to stretch the dynamic range of your image beyond the amount of properly exposed pixels. I know that just glossed you over but be tough. What's next is...
Hugely Important!!!! Ask how the photographer archives your lifelong memories.

a. One challenge that faces digital photographers is how to store image files. This is a critical part of the work flow. Depending on what is being manipulated during the enhancement process including the amount of filters, sharpening, softening, lightening, masking, coloring, toning, shaving, repairing, brightening, etc, etc, etc, the uncompressed files, basically the digital equivalent to a negative, can reach 60 megabytes or more, triple that amount if your guy is using one of the cameras mentioned earlier. Hmm...Let's see, 60+ megabytes by 200 images is...err... a lot of hard drive.

b. Here's how it should work. I know this is boring but hang with me. These are your priceless images we are discussing.

The picture is taken, (digital capture) and the image travels like this:

Camera > to the flashcard (on camera storage device) > hard drive>copy to CD or DVD> a copy on a backup hard drive for long term storage. Enhanced copies saved to backup hard drive and to CD/DVD. There should be three places at any one time where your wedding images should reside 1) Computer hard drive, 2) back up hard drive, 3) CD/DVD filed away. Each location should contain the camera originals and the enhanced working copies.

There is plenty of other stuff that a digital photographer needs to understand before attempting your photography. Their answers and their comfort level with the above questions should give you a clue as to their digital ability.

As important as digital best practices are, I'm sure I just lost a few of you with the technical junk so lets move on to some fun stuff.

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The Wedding Packages:

By now you know that packages can be numbingly confusing and certainly as varied as there are photographers. Obviously what products and services you order contribute to the price of your photography. Wedding albums are outrageously expensive, even for professional photographers who supposedly buys this stuff wholesale. Let me say this though... The pro albums you purchase from your photographer are better than albums found in the department stores. The material and crafting is meant to last a lifetime and beyond with proper care. There are elements in some types of archival systems (fancy name for wedding albums) that can damage your images. If you must go to the department store make sure everything is acid free particularly if you choose an album that use clear acetate sleeves to hold your photographs! You can also protect your images by having them lacquered. It will cost a little more but it is worth it. Lacquer will protect your images from scratches, ozone, UV light. fluorescent light, and some spills. (shameless plug coming) Album images in my collections are lacquered automatically, you don't even need to ask.

The variety of albums available can be confusing:

Photographer..."Do you want a custom leather library bound book with 20 sides or 40 sides"???

Uh...? What'd he say?

"Or would you prefer a flush mount coffee table book with full bleed pages and a half panoramic opener for the inside front cover"?

Oh yeah, a couple of those please just until my head stops spinning???!!

"Oh... I'm sorry, you seem confused. Are you still not sure"? I could show you this nice hinge mount removable page series... yeah, they're great, first you buy the cover in your choice of either a full soft hand-rubbed leather embossed double border with cameo, or an Ebony leatherette or even a Serpentine with an untrimmed square cameo. Don't forget now, all these designer hinge albums feature black hinges, the black mylar edged pages with corner caps are sold separately. Maybe we could substitute the plain caps for those with gilded corners? I'll check... anyway... decide on the colors and then all you need to buy are some of the 98 different styled mats, after that, just decide on what pictures you want and Presto, you have your album. Simple eh"?

After that, you don't need an album, you need a shrink. And you thought weddings were supposed to be fun!

Pardon my tongue while firmly joined with my cheek, really, I'm horsing around, a good wedding photographer is able to guide you through this maze by showing you sample albums or catalogs.

Here's what you need to know: Top quality brand names are ZookBinders, Leather Craftsmen, Art Leather, Renaissance and Kambara Inc. Kambria distributes high-end albums under the Maxima and Florentina brands. There are others who manufacture high-end albums but the ones I mentioned here are ones I've personally used for my clients.

Also be aware that when you purchase a package, everything is figured separately for a package price. The creation, the processing, the book, the pages, the mats, the imprinting, the shipping, taxes, and even your pictures are priced separately to come up with the package price. What does this mean to you? I can't speak for other photographers when it comes to their pricing. What it means to my clients is they come to me with an approximate budget and we work together build their own package. I'll explain a little later because I'm getting dangerously close to one of those shameless plugs.

If you are considering the $15,000.00 photographer and are being offered Taprell Loomis aka Tap your getting ripped. While Tap offers fine products for what they are, they are not considered high-end by the standard I use.

Album companies are also jumping on the technology band wagon. They offer custom software and production choices for photographers and wedding clients to design some truly remarkable digital books that rival a Madison Avenue production. In the United States, Renaissance seems to be leading the pack with their SoHo Book. Be warned, my price for a 25 page-spread book having 80 different images of varied sizes up to 8x10s will cost me $890.00. Another company that does this sort of work is Queensberry Album out of Auckland, New Zealand. Technology and world-class shipping is shrinking the globe and the wedding industry is no different. Currently we are using ZookBinders. You can Click Here for additional album information.

I hope this gave you some idea of what goes into producing your wedding album. In defense of the $15,000.00 dollar photographer, you can see how charges quickly mount up. I almost forgot to include, with the exception of the production albums or some of the library bound books, most of the time, your photographer must spend man hours manually assembling your album. At the very least, if you chose the right photographer, he is monitoring production at both the lab and the album manufacturer.

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Think about this now...What is most important to you?

I purposely saved the most important for now. If you need a break, bookmark this page and come back later. This section is about you, to what you are entitled, what you should expect, and the photographer's attitude! Also, I'll share some ways I've found to save your valuable dollars. And...Show you how you can get the best of both worlds, a high-end product at very competitive prices.

What must go into your final decision spring for the deposit, usually nonrefundable, and book this photographer? Again your due diligence should serve you well. You have seen the work, asked the questions suggested in this article, read the service agreement, checked out the references, you can stomach the prices, the date is still open and all the tangibles are covered. Consider this before you book. Do the three of you click? Actually, this is important for all parties involved, particularly your parents if you're a young bride or if someone else is helping with the cost. Why is this important? Unlike most services purchased, wedding photography requires a relationship. It's difficult to trust a stranger so we must take some time to get to know each other. This is where you trust your instincts and this is why the consultation is so important. Wedding photography needs to be a collaboration between you and your photographer. This is going to sound strange in this day and age but we must like each other for the creative process to work. Speaking personally, I have to know what is most important to you about this wedding, hear this... not just the wedding pictures, but the entire wedding. This requires trust, thought and discussion.

What is most important to you? Is it the gathering of great friends and family, many of which you haven't seen for a long time. Is it the excitement of you and your true love starting a brand new life together and the ceremony binds it all together. Is it the party afterward? Is it the loving bond between you and your father who with great personal sacrifice gives you up to your groom? (that taken from experience) Is it most important that everything runs smooth without confusion? There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. But why should any of it matter to me, some photographer to which you have been referred or may have found on the Net? This might be difficult to understand at first but think about it for a moment. This is important because you are providing me the honor and the responsibility of recording the most important event of your life since birth. I take that responsibility incredibly serious and for me to know exactly what to look for I have to know what is most important to you.

Posing the families for the group shots is the easy stuff. Tricky lighting for adequate exposure can be figured in advance. Knowing where to be and why to be there requires a relationship if we are to have any prayer of catching those intimate moments that can fill a lifetime with priceless memories.

I feel this attitude is one of the unique characteristics of my practice. At least its important enough to actually refer business to one of my colleagues if I feel we don't "click". Your wedding is much too important to be left to chance.

There are also some technical things we need to work out. Another unique characteristic to my studio that you won't find with any other photographer that I know off in this area, is the amount of visits I make to the site before your wedding. If this is my first wedding at the facility, I'll go and meet those in charge. Often I can get great tips from others who have "worked" prior weddings at that location. Once we get close to the date, I'll visit the site again at real time to see how the light is falling both in and around the facility. This is to spot any glaring problems that will need attention prior to shooting your wedding.

That practice really bailed me out on a wedding last year. When I went to the site prior to the wedding, at the time when the wedding was to take place, I was faced with a huge window and direct sunlight just flooding in on the exact place where the bride and groom were to take their vows. This situation was easily handled with some non-panicked thought and diffusion material placed in such a way that it wouldn't appear in the shots or detract from the alter. If I hadn't scoped the place out prior I would have been scrambling around worrying about technical issues instead of concentrating on the bride and groom. I was able to get one of my favorite shots later that afternoon as the sun started to fall.

Finally, I'll attend the rehearsal the night before. I'll look for interesting angles or for anything glaring that will create problems with the shots. If needed, it's easy to make any adjustments at the rehearsal. It is impossible to make adjustments during the wedding. Can you imagine...? "Uh, excuse me Reverend, sorry for the interruption, can we move the wedding party two feet to the left? I can't seem to frame the bride's face through the hanging plant".

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Money Saving Tips -

So Lets wind up this report by with proven ways to save money on your wedding photography. I know they're proven because I've been showing my clients these ways these ways going on 3 years now. These first steps are obvious to everyone but as they comes together you will notice savings the lining up:

Start early when planning your wedding.
   Set a date soon after the proposal. Set the date a year away if possible. I know this seems like an eternity but you are planning to spend the rest of your life together. Having the discipline to deny the immediate gratification gives you more power and tremendous leverage while negotiating. Keep in mind, many people purchase on impulse and wedding venders like any other vender try to capitalize on that. Another advantage to setting the date a year or longer away is the ability to take advantage of off season sales and clearance items.

   Purveyors with inventory must move old stock to make room for newer styles or upgrades. Also, in some states, businesses clear inventories during tax time to avoid state inventory taxes. Wedding vendors are more apt to negotiate while things are slow. Particularly if you plan to get married during one of the off months. January, February, (except Valentines day) March, the beginning of April, most of November and December, except for New Years Eve. Expect to pay a hefty premium if you plan to ring in the new year at the alter

   During the slow months, some venders may even negotiate a reduced rate for the busy months just to take in the deposit. Be careful doing this. Make sure the vender has a history. Venders who reduce rates for peak season dates are usually not established or strapped for cash. Feel confident the vender will be around in the peak season before signing. Negotiate how much of the deposit will be paid and secure the date with a service contract.

   On the other side of the coin, it isn't uncommon for established wedding venders, photographers included, to book up over a year out. On average my June dates are the very first to go. As of February '05, I've already had a serious inquiry for May '07! You can assume booking more established venders for your date will become more difficult as your date grows near.

  If you have family out of state, are they close enough to make the trip and return during one weekend? Your principle guests' may have to use vacation time if they live too far out. This could create conflict, especially if there are school aged children involved. When setting your date its okay to consult with the friends and family who will be most impacted by distance. They will be happy to join in your joy of the engagement and appreciate the extra time to prepare.
What are your needs? By the time you are finished with this article you should be pretty clear as to what a photographer has to offer. The best way to limit impulse buying is by knowing what your needs are before shopping. Notice, I said, "Need". Discuss those needs with family and friends and decide who will purchase what early in your planning. Obviously everyone's situation is different. And since you're reading this you know there is a wealth of information on the internet. Get your ideas from everyone's marketing and find a photographer you trust and personally go over the individual items. There are plenty of good honest photographers that will answer your questions. My consultations are absolutely free and never with any obligation. I welcome your telephone calls and particularly enjoy meeting people in person. (It's fun putting the face to a voice) Suppress any impulsive urge to commit to a package. Actually, I advise my clients to avoid packages.
Consider using disposable point and shoot cameras at your reception. Say what??? "Why would you suggest point and shoot cameras", you ask? I've been to several weddings where the bride set out a disposable camera on the individual tables at the reception and their guests had a ball taking pictures. I think this is a great way for true picture fanatics to get a ton of extra pictures of the party that follows the wedding ceremony. Any wedding photographer worth their salt is not threatened by these cameras but there are a few things in that you should be aware. If you choose to use disposable cameras, inform your guests with a note on each table to take pictures of each other or funny situations that arise as the party gets going. You will be getting all the important pictures from your photographer in addition to great images of the reception. I've found that guests with disposable cameras tend to shoot nothing but the bride and groom. You run the risk of getting a lot of pictures of the same stuff. If planned properly, you can reduce the hourly fee of the photographer at the reception by staging the traditional events such as the toast, cake cutting, bouquet and garter toss, first dance, etc, in the beginning of the celebration. The best thing is to figure the cost of the cameras including the developing and printing of the pictures and additional albums for storage and compare the cost per hour of your photographer. The one thing you don't want to do is risk an all important shot to chance. Your photographer should be well informed as to what is important to you and your guests should understand that she takes precedent while staging and positioning for her images. Also, your guests should understand that your photographer will happily take special pictures of family and friends but she will only shoot with her equipment. With that said having some extra cameras around can be a lot of fun and real party starter.
Avoid Packages. Here's why, most people try to find a "package" that may get close to their needs. Earlier we determined that package pricing is merely the sum total of the package elements that photographers purchase individually plus a mark up to cover time, labor costs, business expenses and a reasonable profit to earn a living. Packages help the photographer to even out their profit margin by subsidizing low markup items with high markup items. The problem is that you, the consumer, rarely find a package that's perfect for you. Your choices are limited to the products and services being offered in the package. You risk having to pay more for a must-have. You may need to compromise in order to keep the peace or even worse, perhaps sacrifice something very heartfelt and meaningful.
A Better Way! (Warning!!! What follows is a Shameless Plug). Since going digital, I believe I developed a way that serves us both better. If my bookings are any indications, my clients think it's a better way as well. Here is why... The RFP way of booking a wedding allows you to get everything you need and exactly the way you want it. Best of all, your photography costs are spread out and between everyone who wishes pictures. You don't take a budget crushing direct hit!. Remember the work flow discussion earlier? Well I've been able to streamline the man hours involved in processing by using available software and product advancements, most of which I've mentioned, to decrease processing and labor costs.
Billed like a commercial account. My weddings costs are figured like a commercial project. I bill for time shooting, processing, my expenses, labor for assembly, and for the actual pictures. You pay these same charges for a package but you sacrifice choice for simplicity. This pricing is essentially the same for our commercial clients who purchase the right to use the the image as opposed to buying an actual print. My out of pocket expenses, (your albums, frames, proofs etc) unlike typical retail, are only marked up 30% for handling plus the shipping charges. Photographs if purchased with albums are also reduced because of a volume discount I provide. With out going into the minutia of how everything is figured my wedding "packages" come in around 30% cheaper when you compare apples to apples, product to product.
Wait a second you just said packages...What Gives!??? Okay, you caught me and here's the catch... You and I build the package! Put simply, we work together with the same resources that every other photographer has, some might say better...(oops - sorry shameless plug there), You and I and others close to you decide on what features you need and itemize the costs. Everything to shoot the wedding is down on an estimate / bid. You know what your costs are for the capture and proofing. During the consultation you will have an opportunity to view album samples and choices.
Now here's what separates my practice from most other wedding photographers. You and the people close to you now know what choices you have at the very beginning. However, things may change between now and your wedding. You may not want to commit to an archival system, (just kidding, wanted to see if you remembered ), an album right now when technology may bring something better in the future. Or, you may be depending on cash gifts at the reception to cover your wedding album and photography, Perhaps, you may not be able to afford that killer top of the line album while you are putting out all of the other bucks associated with your dress, reception site, florist, caterer, on and on ad nauseum. Or, if you're like me, you just want to hold on to your money for as long as you can. For whatever the reason, you do not have to choose an album until you are ready.
What the heck is a preview magazine??? Glad you asked, Preview magazines are a feature of my "Fashion Your Package" style of wedding photography. These are spiral bound magazines that contain all the pictures taken at your wedding. I offer a couple of styles and sizes to choose from and they all come with a graphically titled and designed front cover. You can have your preview pictures printed double sided on high quality magazine bond paper or your preview pictures can be printed single sided on traditional portrait quality photo paper. These magazines serve us well because even though they are intended as a catalog for previewing an ordering the pictures for your actual wedding album, they are affordable enough to giveaway as gifts. You can even upscale the preview magazines with a leather cover.
The choice is yours! Fashion your Package is all about choice. You choose all the features and services you require like engagement portfolios, formal bridal portraits, matted signature portrait boards, high-end wedding albums and mounted portraits. In addition, after a small deposit to book your date, Fashion Your Package creates a revolving style account that won't bury you in price all at one time.
Here's my personal email address: ric@farrahphotos.com. This email address goes directly to me so ask any questions you have and I'll get back with you to discuss in depth your needs. There is absolutely no obligation in asking a question or gathering additional information. Remember we have to "hit it off" and feel comfortable with each other before I'll even accept the assignment. Your wedding photography is much too important to just leap into without investing some time in relationship building.

No matter who you choose as your photographer, I'd like to know if this article was helpful. Please feel free to use the same link above to give me your thoughts.

Best of luck with your wedding and marriage!

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Who would have thought...

Those wonderful quiet moments...

& Those secret romantic rendezvous'...

and all the consideration...

Would lead to a Question...

Will you marry me?

Ric Farrah Photographs "Photography that mirror an honest reflection of the magic within" S