You have seen it on practically every wedding photographer's web page and in bridal magazines. It seems that everyone wants to give the bride and groom advice on how to choose a wedding photographer. Most of what I have read is sound and useful advice, but I thought it might be helpful to write an article that explores this in more detail. So lets look at the mistakes brides and grooms often make in choosing their photographer.

Over the past 25 years as a wedding photographer, I have had the opportunity to speak with well over a thousand engaged couples. I am always surprised by some of the criteria many of them use to choose their wedding photographer. Here are the top 7 mistakes I feel many brides and grooms make when selecting a photographer for their big day:

Who else would like to know the difference between photojournalistic and traditional style wedding photography?

There is a much confusion surrounding the different styles of wedding photography that professionals are shooting today. Most couples want the style and glamour that they see in magazines. They often don’t know exactly what that style is called and how a skilled photographer can make them look as good as the bride and groom in the latest trend-setting celebrity wedding. Other couples are looking for a more traditional style of wedding photography.

After the last bridal show in Austin Tx, we got together with some friends for dinner and the conversation shifted to the cost of wedding photography and why it can be so expensive. When someone books a 5-6 hour wedding with us they may not be aware that our true time commitiment to our customer is about 30 hours.

We want our customers to understand that a professional photographer does more than “just shoot and burn a disk”. The wedding day is just the beginning. As professional photographers we always photograph in camera RAW format. This means that our workflow after the wedding is a day or so to process the 800-1500 images. Yes, we do check/adjust each image for color balance, exposure, composition etc as part of our processing. Then, we upload the entire wedding to the internet so family and friends can enjoy the photos. It takes quite a bit of time even with page templates and upload scripts to create/upload the 800-1500 thumbnail images, larger images and web proof pages.

Many brides ask us why we insist on an engagement shoot for all our wedding couples.  Think of the engagement shoot as an audition for the photographer and a dress rehearsal for you.  This time allows us to get to know each other.  As the photographer I get to see what makes you comfortable in front of the camera, what makes you laugh, what relaxes you.  As the subject you get to know the photographers work style and personality.  On your wedding day you will spend more time with your photographer then any other vendor.  My goal is always to make you so comfortable with me that by your wedding day I am a trusted friend.   This makes a HUGE difference in the final photos.   If you are relaxed and comfortable your photos will be more natural.

Going through your engagement photos with your photographer is another really important step in getting the best possible photos on your wedding day.  Viewing and discussing your engagement pictures allows you to tell the photographer what you like and don't like about your photos.  Perhaps you don't like profile shots because it highlights the shape of your nose, or you prefer close up head & shoulder shots over full length shots.  Whatever your personal preference, your photographer will have a better understanding when you can go through a photo session together.

Anyone who has already chosen a wedding photographer and now has their wedding photography will tell you it was not easy choosing their photographer and making sense of the many, many similar packages and services offered. Unfortunately too many brides will tell you their wedding photography never matched their expectations after they made their choice. The following 10 Tips are offered by a professional wedding photographer (me, smile) who has done a lot of research on what is being offered in the GTA, seen what is offered at the wedding shows and has personally photographed 100+ weddings in the last 3 years.

My purpose is simple: to help you make a well informed decision and make sure you end up with excellent photography within your budget for your wedding day. To be completely upfront, I do want your business and I feel that if you care about the quality of your wedding photography and understand the differences in the levels of service and the details offered we will earn your business – especially if you see our work online or in person.

I have noticed a trend recently in wedding photographer's web pages of trying to clear up the confusion over the various styles of wedding photography. New names have emerged for these styles: Documentary, Illustrative, Fine Art, Classic, Contemporary, the now familiar Photojournalism and of course Traditional. Also we now hear photographers talking at length about how they only shoot weddings using "available light" and promise you that they won't use flash