Video:How to Find the Perfect Wedding Photographer

Transcript:How to Find the Perfect Wedding Photographer

Hi, I'm Jeremy Saladyga from Gruber Photographers in New York City for About.com. Today I am going to give you advice on how to hire a photographer for your wedding.

Find Wedding Photographer Recommendations

Both style and budget are key factors in picking a wedding photographer. I would first start by asking your friends, family, and coworkers for recommendations. You're going to be spending an entire day, one of the most memorable days, with this person. You want to make sure you like them, they're personable, they dress properly, they're not yelling, they're calm. And the only way you really could do that is by asking for recommendations from your friends and that can begin your list to go to the web and then look for them on-line and look at their website.

Choose a Style for the Wedding Photography

You want to look at their style. And when you're looking at their style you also need to think ahead as to what kind of style you want your wedding to be photographed. Is it something more photo journalism where it's telling the story, is it something more posed? You want a sleeker look, do you want a more real look. And that can kind of begin the process of eliminating it and adding to your list of photographers when you're looking at their website.

Check the Photographer's Website

The website should be easily navigated so you can see their best, greatest hits, and maybe even a complete wedding. You want to see a start to finish what you are going to expect to see in the end. Do you see the getting ready? Do you see the ceremony? Do you then want to see what happens in between those 2 points? If you're looking for something more photo journalism, or if you're looking for something more formal where the pictures are posed, you want to look at their portraits.

Questions to Ask a Wedding Photographer

You start making phone calls after that. You know, pick 4 people and visit them…typical questions you should ask them. Sometimes, it starts with, "do you shoot in film or digital?" And that's always a hard question to answer, and never an easy question to answer because at this point it really doesn't make a difference, film or digital the quality is similar. They also ask, "what's your favorite part of the wedding?" "how do I know you're going to get my friends?" And at the same time, "how do you do that, what's your approach?" How do you cover a 200 person wedding when it's just you and an assistant, or just you and two assistants? Do I need more than one photographer?

You'll also have to tell the photographer whether you're getting ready in one place, then you're going to a church? Then you have a cocktail, your formals outside, and then your reception somewhere else and that all plays into it, so the more information you give to the photographer before hand, as the photographer should be asking you all of these questions, and that's another hint, are they asking you about your day?

Find a Wedding Photographer That Personalizes

The photographer should not only ask about your wedding, but about you and how you met your fiancee and get a little background information about you, show that they're interested in your story. They're going to be with you that day - they should be at least interested. How did you meet? What do you guys do? It's the personal part. And that helps the photographer when they go to photograph your wedding to know what to look for. Then, they can ask you. So, you getting ready at the same place, or is the ceremony at the same place as the reception. It should be a progression of questions that lead up to your day. It's personal.

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