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Reduce your wedding planning stress and hire a professional wedding photographer to take all of the wonderful memories of your special day.

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Another great way to get your guests in the game is to have a photographer set up a photo-station with on-site printing. Each of your guests would have a pictures taken with him or her significant other, and the picture would be printed on the spot and slipped into some sort of cardboard or plastic folio. Prices ranges vary, so please check with your local vendors for quotes.

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WOULD THE REAL PHOTOGRAPHER PLEASE STAND UP!

Ok, now on to the real deal of finding a professional photographer for your wedding. To keep in-line with what we have discussed in our budget recommendations, do not shop on price just yet! Rather, see many samples online and in person either by visiting the studio or going to a bridal show. Once you determine what quality will satisfy you, then you go onto the difficult task of finding a photographer that delivers what you want, within the budget that is comfortable with you. There are TONS! of photographers out there! And just because they are advertising doesn't mean they are all professional. You have to be careful of weekenders and amateurs. Many photographers who start out have a decent portfolio because they have shot it over the shoulder of who trained them, or shot it in conjunction under the tutelage of their trainer, so be careful of that! Make sure to get a photographer who is tried and proven! Someone who can deliver each time and every time!

STYLE, JOURNALISTIC AND/OR FORMAL

Most professional photographers shoot a combination of journalistic and formal, with the latter being the traditional posed shots that were once the common thing to do. Back in the day, it was the studio photographer who would come out to shoot a wedding, and not the photographer who was shooting rock bands or working for the press. As videography became more prevalent 15 years ago, photographers saw a need for journalistic coverage of the real time action of the wedding. Today, it is common for photographers to be versed in both styles. Some studios have two shooters with one doing journalistic and the other doing posed.

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PACKAGES
For a bride who is just starting her search for the right wedding photographer, knowing what you want in your package can be a big advantage. Think about things like how many hours of coverage do you need? Do you want one photographer or two? How many different locations will the photographer have to go to? Do you want engagement session, prints, an album? All these questions should be thought of prior to going to your first photographer interview.

WEDDING ALBUMS

Today's high end studios offer something called a magazine style wedding album. This is basically a graphic design in the determined print size of multiple images on that page. So, if your album was a print size of 10x10, then you could have from 3 to 5 images on that page that tell the story of the wedding day. You would think that this would be a cost cutting issue, because now you don't have to make as many prints to show as many images. However, there is the cost of the design itself that now plays a part of the overall price. Whereas before, if you had 50 images to print that would mean 50 prints. Today, you can fit 50 images into a 24 page design. These magazine style designed pages also look great in the 'flush mount' page album and have been instrumental in making the flush mount album a huge success. With a flush mount album, a print is mounted on a backing board, and then cut flush so that there is no matting. Despite the rise in popularity, the traditional matted album is still very popular among today's brides!

HOW WEDDING VIDEOGRAPHY IMPACTS YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY

If you plan on having a wedding videographer, make sure that the videographer understands your photographers workflow. A meeting or teleconference between the photographer and videographer may be necessary to ensure that both services work in concert with one another. Many photographers offer videography as well. Check to ensure that the videography is the real deal, and not just something they do on the side. The way to find this out is to see demos, talk to the actual videographer that will be doing the filming and so on.

TYPICAL QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

The following questions are pretty standard, and the answers will give you some insight into the persons abilities and overall attitude with respect to how they approach the wedding. And because none of the questions are specific to pricing, film or digital or albums, you can ask them regardless.

1. How long have you been in business?
2. Do you carry back up equipment and any necessary insurance.
3. What happens if you get sick or injured and can't shoot my wedding?
4. Do you shoot film, digital or both?
5. What is your attire when you film a wedding?
6. Do your fees include a sight visit prior to the wedding day?
7. Do you need to attend the rehearsal and if so, does that affect the price?

NON-TYPICAL QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

The following questions are NOT TYPICAL and should be asked only if you understand the subject matter.

1. Do you shoot in RAW or jpg format?
2. Do you, and how much post processing do you do to each image?.
3. Do you use the same SECOND SHOOTER all the time?
4. What are the qualifications and experience of the second shooter?
5. What is the turn around time for receiving the final images
6. How will I receive the final images? Will I get a disc of high resolution jpg's?
7. Does the high resolution jpg disc come with a copyright release so that I can make prints myself at any printer that I choose?

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TYPICAL SHOTS that a wedding photographer should get for you..

Most professional wedding photographers know which shots needs to be taken. So we won't rehash what has already been published elsewhere on the web. There are MANY lists available on the web, however most professional wedding photographers do not and WILL NOT shoot from a list as it will hinder their ability to work. There are times when a list is pertinent, such as the post family pictures after the ceremony. Here is a general rundown of the shots you should be receiving.

1. Bridal Preparation if applicable or behind the scenes at the church prior to the ceremony.
2. Groom's prep if applicable.
3. Ceremony= entire processional [i.e. a shot of everyone who processes] and various shots through-out the entire ceremony from various angles.
4. Posed family pictures after the ceremony [a list is ok for this part]
5. Romantic session of bride and groom prior to reception
6. A second photographer or videographer is advised to cover cocktail hour when you are doing your romantic photo session so you can see what you missed. These shots would also include your reception room shots before anybody enters.
7. Reception=various shots from different angles during all important moments including entrance, toasts, traditional dances, cake cutting, etc. Also shots of the bride visiting tables as well as detail shots and anything that tells the story of your wedding.

How many pictures should my photographer take?

This varies from photographer to photographer and depends on the style of the shooter as well. A typical formal photographer can get up to 300 posed shots on any given wedding. A photographer that does formals in additional to photojournalism will shoot more because he/she is capturing a live event as it unfolds. In this case you should expect anywhere from 600 to 1500 shots not including the second shooter.

Second Photographers, associate photographers, second shooters.

Many photographers offer a second shooter as an added value. In some cases the second shooter is trainee or someone just starting out. Depending on the price you are paying, you may want to get specific about this. Here are some questions you can ask your wedding photographer about the person doing the second shooting.

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EXAMPLES OF WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY:
courtesy of San Francisco Wedding Photographer