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We live in an awesome age of instant information. You can sit at your computer and check out every wedding photographer in Rhode Island without moving anything except your right arm. Actually, you can do it without moving anything except your thumbs if you feel like doing it on your phone. Is this good? Definitely! It’s great for you to pre-screen wedding photographers based on their style.
Don’t Go Too Far
Notice how I said specifically that it’s great for you to pre-screen photographers based on style. I would warn against price shopping on your first pass through photographer land. How come? Terms used on websites can be so vague that it’s difficult to compare “apples to apples” so to speak. For example – photographer A and photographer B might both offer two photographers and an album. Photographer A costs $2200 and photographer B costs $3400. Well, photographer A is the clear choice… right? Not so fast. Without meeting them, you miss out on some key info, like photographer A offers themselves with an assistant (who happens to be their little brother) while photographer B offers two legitimate photographers for your day. Photographer A also hands you a scrapbook with all your 4×6 prints pasted into it with a glue stick while photographer B provides a professional quality wedding album. By just looking at their websites, you would make the incorrect assumption that their offering of an album and two photographers is equivalent.
What Else Is Missing?
There’s something else that’s critical that can’t really be attained by browsing websites – whether or not you connect with your photographer. Everybody’s got different personalities. On your wedding day you’re going to see your photographer more than almost anyone else. You’re going to want to make sure you can get along easily with them! We are not the perfect fit for every bride. Nobody is. Schedule a meeting, get together, look at what your potential photographer offers (albums, wall art, packages, etc…), and see if you can easily make a connection with them and if you can picture (no pun intended) them sharing in your wedding day.
Meetings Are Scary
They’re not. They shouldn’t be. It should be a casual meeting where you get to know each other a little bit and talk about your wedding. If you go to a meeting and it’s scary, excessively awkward, weird, or forced, then that’s a strong sign that photographer is not for you.
You need to meet your photographer. Find out the details. Ask the important questions. Understand what you’re investing in. Oftentimes things are cheap for a reason. More often than not you are going to get what you pay for.
Series information
Next we’ll be wrapping up the entire series by talking about the post-wedding viewing experience. Not sure what that is? Then be sure to catch the post.
If you missed the intro to this series, you can catch it right here – How To Choose Your Rhode Island Wedding Photographer Series Introduction.
