News, Tips & Offers delivered to your inbox.

Commemorate your wedding day forever by choosing the best photographer available.

Your wedding day will be over sooner than you realize, but high quality pictures and videos of the event can make the memories last a lifetime. The best way to ensure good results is to hire a professional photographer who is experienced at shooting weddings.

To find a photographer, start by asking recently married friends, as well as other wedding pros, for recommendations. Call photographers to check availability and prices, and set up meetings with those you like so you can evaluate their portfolios.

To judge quality, look for technical skill—clear, well-lit pictures—and for the photographer's ability to capture the moment. If you're considering a mix of color and black-and-white shots, be sure to look at examples of both.

Many brides today are looking at their parents' wedding albums, full of formally posed portraits, and wanting more lively pictures of the day. That's why the journalistic approach, where the photographer moves around during the wedding to capture the event from start to finish, is gaining popularity. With this style, the completed album works like a story of the day in pictures.

Still, most couples also want good-quality posed photographs of themselves as well as family members and close friends, and even a photographer who works in the photojournalistic style should understand this and be able to meet your needs. When interviewing a candidate, view posed photos and candids to make sure she is equally competent at taking both, and be wary if she tries to convince you that you don't "need" portraits.

Assuming you like the style and quality of the pictures, New York–based wedding photographer Andy Marcus suggests focusing on the following points:

• Find out exactly how many hours the photographer will be spending at the wedding. Be sure she leaves enough time to do posed family and bridal-party shots, plus all the special moments—from your grand entrance to the bouquet toss— hroughout the day.
• Ask if the photographs will be printed by hand or machine. Hand printing may cost a bit more but it insures superior color and custom-cropping of your images.
  Also ask if the fee includes retouching. If not, it can cost hundreds of dollars extra.
• Make sure the photographer has backup equipment and will dress appropriately.
• Find out exactly how long it will take to get your album or finished prints after the wedding day. Only use a photographer who's willing to put a date in writing.
• Be sure the photographer's personality is compatible with yours—you'll be spending a lot of time with her.

Apply the same requirements to prospective wedding videographers, and discuss the specifics of what might be in your final tape: Full-ceremony coverage, a childhood photomontage, special effects, etc.

Page    1  2