Hearty congratulations; your wedding bell has rung!
We understand that you are extremely happy and a little nervous about your special day, right? You want a perfect wedding with exquisite venue, lavish trousseau, and a sumptuous menu. Moreover, you don’t want to miss a single moment of all those festivities that is going to happen around you two.
However, weddings are usually so overwhelming for the couples that it becomes difficult for them to remember every detail. Hence, selecting the right photographer is crucial. Here are a few tips on how to find one, who can ably capture all the moments for you to cherish lifelong.
Pick your style: Before selecting a photographer research on different photography styles and choose your favourite. The magnificence of a big fat Indian wedding can be well demonstrated in classic portrait styles. Candid informal pictures, where the subjects are not aware of being photographed, have great story-telling capability and can be best captured with a photojournalistic approach. Photos with a blurred background and muted appearance can be as gorgeous and dramatic as fine-art, and require special skill sets and creativity to capture. The timeless beauty of black and whites goes well with a traditional set-up.
Budget-wise: Understand how much you would want to spend on your wedding photography. Remember, every good thing comes with a price-tag. The more famous the photographer, the higher will be the fees. Additionally, you may also need to pay for printing, CDs, etc. As per experts, it is a good idea to allot around 10% of your wedding cost towards the photos.
Research right: After selecting the style and deciding on the budget, you can look for the appropriate photographer. Local yellow pages can be of great help in finding marriage photographers in mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and other bigger cities . Visit their websites for their portfolio. Social media is great to check out their work and comments from their customers. Pay special attention to reviews from recent clients, as well as the photographer’s response.
Interact: After you shortlist a few photographers, start calling them to check their availability on your wedding date since Indian weddings fall on particular dates as per traditional customs. Ask for a complete wedding album with a similar setting as yours to check his/her consistency. It is always better to meet him/her in person to assess whether you two are comfortable around each other. Involve your significant other in this. Give details like the venue, the date and time (to assess whether there will be proper lights), your imagination on your wedding album etc. Now-a-days, a pre-wedding shoot in chennai, Mumbai and other metros is fast catching up. It will also be a nice idea to set-up a meeting between your photographer and your stylist for optimum result.
Ask the right questions: Confirm whether the photographer will be available for the entire day since you don’t want to miss out on any of the important milestones associated with the wedding. Ask whether there will be an assistant. If yes, will there be any additional charges? Before signing the dotted lines, ask about your rights on your photos. If they will be watermarked and whether you are allowed to print them, since many establish photographers retain the rights of the photos. Ask when and how many images you can expect and their resolution. Get a clear idea about retouching options and special effects.
We understand, by now you are quite overwhelmed by the task of selecting an ideal photographer. But trust us on this since weddings can’t be recreated. All your hard work will earn rich dividends in the form of spectacular images which you can treasure for the rest of your life. However, make sure to book the photographer of your choice well in advance – at least 6-8 months before the wedding day; after all the early bird always gets the worm.