So you got engaged and booked your wedding venue, If you did so you most likely have a wedding date set. What is next? On Long Island most wedding vendors are booked at least 9 months in advance. One of the most important vendors is your wedding photographer so that is usually the next vendor following your wedding venue.
So you probably signed up on websites like weddingwire.com or theknot.com to get help with your research.
The main question surfacing is how do you choose? How do you differentiate between those vendors?
It can be so overwhelming just looking at all the options available on these websites.
There are so many differences among us photographers but sometimes they are not the most obvious.
Let us help shed some light into the truth behind this issue.
There are a few elements to consider : level of work, reliability or reputation and price.
These 3 main elements can be split into many other things that will make your decision easier.
Level of work. Though this might sound subjective and it can be very subjective, there are a few underlying elements that qualify photographers.
What makes a good wedding photo? This is such a tough question, isn't it? Let's start with the types of wedding photos. There are classics and there are the ones in the moment. In a classic photo you can expect a wedding photographer to guide the outcome by posing the couple, wedding part or the family in order to obtain a certain result. The photos captured in the moment are those photos that evoke emotions. They might not be the most technically well executed images but they are just as powerful as a commercial photoshoot.It is about how do you feel when you look at a wedding photo. Does it make you feel happy, sad, are you mesmerized by the drama presents in this photo? Having any of these feelings ( or any other feeling for that matter) is a good sign. That photo means something to you which makes it so relatable. As photographers we never underestimated the power of emotions evoked by a photo.
When it come to classic wedding photos the photographer will control the light and the composition. Depending on what they are aiming for when taking a photo, the end result might be a traditional timeless portrait, or a dramatic romantic shot. In the execution of such photos the photographer gets to showcase their knowledge and mistakes of light, posing etc. They might use natural light available at the time or additional artificial lights as needed.
Regardless of the type of photo it should be an end result of execution and processing. The post processing of any photo should imply starting with Raw photos. Should a JPG format is less than ideal. Adjusting the white balance, the contracts, colors and saturation are not always possible in a JPG file.
Photo Detail:Great Neck Long Island New York
Reliability and consistency is as important as the level of work. You can research the reviews on specialized websites but we also encourage you to get real local feedback from friends and family and your local community. You can join social media groups dedicated to the wedding industry where you get to ask questions and get real feedback. You should also engage in multiple communications with your desired photographers to get a better sense for their communications skills and their level of consistency in their responses. You should also reach out by phone as well and meet them face to face at least two times before making a final decision.
Price is one of the 3 factors that falls within your court. It is up to you on how much you can allocate to your wedding photography budget, From our experience shooting weddings on Long Island for over a decade, is that most couples allocate at least 10 % of their entire budget for their wedding photography. On Long Island that is an average of $2500-$3000. If you find yourself not being able to work with your desired photographer due to the price, you can always find ways to reallocate things in your budget and make things work. Read about why a wedding photographer might seem a bit expensive.
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