Wedding photographer - 5 mistakes that (almost) every couple makes when booking!
The headline should not deter you in any way, but after many years of wedding photography I have heard the same things over and over again, which did not go so well and therefore I would like to support you that everything goes better with you and you do not experience any negative surprises.
Here are the 5 mistakes that (almost) every couple makes when booking:
1. MISTAKE: SAVING IN THE WRONG PLACE
YES, a wedding costs a ton of money, no matter the scale. I got married myself years ago and have been in the business for years, so I know all too well how much goes into it.
From experience, the four most important components of a wedding, that are also the ones having a huge impact on the success of the day, are:
Location
Music (Band/DJ)
Food and
Photographer
Think about what you are willing to spend on it and only then start to build everything else around it and look for the right service providers. So don't save at the wrong end!
You should also keep in mind that this day will not come a second time. You can't turn back in time and therefore you can't repeat any of it. For example, you can not take photos of the wedding ceremony a second time. If the photos are disappointing because the photographer is inexperienced or just doesn't fit, that's it!
It is not uncommon for many people to only see the time at the wedding as the photographer's working time, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. Therefore, I have made a small list here of how many hours a photographer usually invests in it:
Answer inquiries and create offers
Get to know each other (e.g. via video call)
Create invoice
Advice on the schedule
Location check
Preparing the materials (e.g. bride and groom list), possibly renting additional equipment
Pack bag and equipment check
Final coordination of the schedule no later than one week before the wedding
Arrival and departure
Accompanying the wedding day
Registry office (to my packages and information)
Full-day coverage (to my packages and information)
Backup of the images
Selection of the images
Editing of the images
Delivery of the images
To ensure that nothing goes wrong in the end, a large number of work steps are necessary before and after your big day. Depending on the length of the wedding day, a workload of 25-30 hours or more, excluding the time spent on location on your wedding day, is not uncommon for wedding photographers.
2. MISTAKE: YOU DON'T LET THEM SHOW YOU A FULL DAY'S REPORTAGE
In my article “Howto findthe right wedding photographer“ I mentioned that it is very important not to simply book someone, even if they have been recommended to you. Get a comprehensive picture of the person themselves, their photos, and their style.
Since wedding photographers now tend to cover the entire wedding day, please ask to see a wedding story in advance and don't just judge by the couple's photos.
INFO: you can find my full-day coverages under Love Stories
3. ERROR: COMPARING APPLES WITH PEARS
Unfortunately, I've heard this more than once: "Well, my uncle also has a camera and sometimes takes pictures with it." So I was directly compared to the uncle and was supposed to argue why the couple should still book me.
Such comparisons and statements can be very hurtful, because you are comparing someone who has invested years of passion, time and money in wedding photography with someone who may only be able to operate their camera in automatic mode. So please avoid comparing apples to oranges and don't compare different types of apples either ;-)
A photographer who may take great animal or landscape shots is not automatically a good photographer for weddings and therefore usually charges different prices than someone who has been successfully working in wedding photography for years.
To make a fair comparison, it's important to send each photographer the exact same request with the same information and pay close attention to the number of photos or edited images delivered in the end. Only then will you get an objective view of the offers. It's important to remember that more pictures don't automatically mean better quality! In fact, the opposite is often true. Consider whether you really need the offered 2,000 pictures from your wedding and what you want to do with them later, or whether a few hundred might do the trick, perfectly capturing your day. In my experience, a value of 400-600 images is more than sufficient for a wedding story, depending on the wedding.
4. ERROR: PREMEETING? WE DON'T NEED ONE! WHAT IS THIS ANYWAY?
Here and there it happens that I get a request for a wedding and the bride and groom want to book me directly after submitting the costs. Without getting to know each other, nevertheless I do not accept that booking,simply because it can backfire for both sides.
No other service provider will spend as much time with you on your wedding day as the wedding photographer and that in quite intimate moments. From getting ready to the party, the photographer is always where the bride and groom are. So it would be extremely bitter if the person behind the appealing website doesn't suit you at all. This is not meant to be rude, with some people you can connect easily and the chemistry fits from the beginning, with others it does not truly fit. On your wedding day you do not want to be uncomfortable (except perhaps after hours of dancing ;-).
Therefore, I can only recommend to every bridal couple: Get to know the person behind the pictures, the website or the camera. In a relaxed video call or, if possible, even over a coffee. Think about your wedding beforehand and write down all the questions that come to mind (see 5 tips on how to find your wedding photographer). The preliminary meeting is the ideal place to answer all these questions. At the latest at the preliminary meeting, have a wedding story shown to you over an entire wedding day.
So if all your questions are answered, you've seen one or more full-day reports of mine and still agree with your counterpart - yay: you've just found your wedding photographer!
It should feel like your wedding photographer is a friend for (at least) a day. Here's my bride Noa after the 1st look.
5. ERROR: DELIVERY OF THE DATA?
If you've read this far, I think it's become abundantly obvious why I clearly recommend a professional for your wedding photos. Because as I said, you can't turn time back to your wedding day!
But before you start looking, let's quickly address the last mistake: The delivery of the data. Here, too, things can go wrong and you won't even be able to hang your printed photos on the wall!
I am an advocate of: Less is more! You never look at thousands of pictures and even from the bride and groom wedding shoot a good selection, with good quality, is enough.
The photographer will run a general cleanup filter and probably his color filter over all images. However, the photographer will not be able to edit all images in detail.
There are different technical requirements for using the images depending on how you want to use them:
Photo book: 300dpi, maximum resolution
Wall art: 300dpi, as an example, for a 70x50 cm picture you ideally need 5,184 x 3,456px
Slideshow: for a 4K slideshow you need a resolution of 4,096 x 2,160px
Internet: 72dpi, 800-1,600px on the long edge
I recommend that you have the pictures from your wedding delivered in the correct format. Once in a web resolution (e.g. 1,600px, 72dpi) and once in the maximum resolution (5,000px, 300dpi), so that you can start with your project (photo book, slideshow,...) right away and don't have to deal with the conversion first, because a lot can go wrong here too.
Do you like my photos and would you like to find out if we click? Then just write to me. I look forward to getting to know you and learning more about your plans. Let's go!
