Top 10 things you need to know when hiring a wedding photographer in Scotland
The Big Day is just over the horizon and like most couples you haven’t thought much about the wedding photographer Edinburgh you’re going to hire yet. It seems like such an easy task; all you need is a guy with a decent camera, and don’t forget, Cousin Angus has offered to do it for free.
Hiring a Wedding Photographer in Scotland or anywhere else is a bit like booking a holiday to the sun for the Glasgow Fair. You pick a resort that will make your pals jealous then you look for hotels and packages you can afford. Inevitably there’s at least one inexpensive option that offers to save you a hundred quid and even though you’re not quite on the beach you wanted, your tight Scottish genes kick in and you say “Aye, we’ll take that yin!”
Needless to say you hate the holiday and wish you hadn’t bothered. You saved some money, but instead of great holiday memories you’ve got tales of noisy neighbours and grubby rooms. Hiring a wedding photographer offers the same set of risks, only this time you’re not risking a week in the Costas you can put right next year, you’re putting memories from the biggest day of your life in jeopardy because you didn’t make the effort to do a bit of research on the person you hired.
This article has been written to help you make better choices when it comes to hiring your Edinburgh wedding photographer. If you get it right you’ll enjoy a lifetime of beautiful memories that bring a tear to your eye every time you look at your lovely photographs. Use Cousin Angus for your nuptials and the tears might not be of joy.
Top 10 Things You Need to Know When Hiring a Wedding Photographer in Scotland
The Big Day is just over the horizon and like most couples you haven’t thought much about the Wedding Photographer you’re going to hire yet. It seems like such an easy task; all you need is a guy with a decent camera, and don’t forget, Cousin Angus has offered to do it for free.
Hiring a Wedding Photographer in Scotland or anywhere else is a bit like booking a holiday to the sun for the Glasgow Fair. You pick a resort that will make your pals jealous then you look for hotels and packages you can afford. Inevitably there’s at least one inexpensive option that offers to save you a hundred quid and even though you’re not quite on the beach you wanted, your tight Scottish genes kick in and you say “Aye, we’ll take that yin!”
Needless to say you hate the holiday and wish you hadn’t bothered. You saved some money, but instead of great holiday memories you’ve got tales of noisy neighbours and grubby rooms. Hiring a wedding photographer offers the same set of risks, only this time you’re not risking a week in the Costas you can put right next year, you’re putting memories from the biggest day of your life in jeopardy because you didn’t make the effort to do a bit of research on the person you hired.
This article has been written to help you make better choices when it comes to hiring your wedding photographer. If you get it right you’ll enjoy a lifetime of beautiful memories that bring a tear to your eye every time you look at your lovely photographs. Use Cousin Angus for your nuptials and the tears might not be of joy.
We’ve arranged this as a Top 10 list of things you should know when you hire a wedding photographer. They’re in no particular order, but please be sure to tick them off as you perform your research and decide on the professional you want to use. It goes without saying that you and the photographer need to have a mutual understanding of what the terms mean in each of these tips.
1. Define Your Style.
You might see or hear Wedding Photography services described as Traditional, Epic, Photojournalist or Modern. Most folks will recognize the Traditional style; posed shots with family members, bride and groom and the entire wedding party in the settings you expect to see those pictures taken. This is largely true with the Modern style too, but there may be an industrial or urban edge to the shots, especially if you live in a big city.
The Epic style is a sophisticated photo shoot usually at landmarks, where the landmark itself is a huge part of the shot. This is different to a traditional shot with perhaps a castle as a backdrop and should be explored with your wedding photographer. The Photojournalism style is a candid style with few posed pictures that tends to provide an honest view of the day as it happened. Your grannie might not like it though.
2. How Much Will it Cost?
Seems simple enough, but make sure you have gone over the costs for the service you want. It is very annoying if you think you paid for proofs at the wedding only to find out you didn’t. Get an itemized list of services from your wedding photographer before the wedding.
3. Are the Photos Raw or JPEG Format.
This might seem a bit techie, but it can make a difference when you’re taking pictures in the fickle Scottish weather. A JPEG image is processed in the camera to a standard that is readable by any digital image machine. Once the image is processed it can only be manipulated at the expense of quality, even if it’s a simple rotation. A RAW image on the other hand is the unprocessed data from the optical system on the camera. It must be further processed in order to produce your wedding pictures, but the wedding photographer has more options to fix or enhance issues. Many professional photographers will offer RAW images. The drawback is the time taken to post process the results.
4. Do They Shoot Colour or Black and White.
Most people want colour photos, but it’s possible to get some pretty spectacular black and white images at a wedding shoot. Make sure your photographer has the capability to shoot good black and white images if you want this type of shot.
5. Is the Equipment Used Appropriate for Scottish Weather.
First and foremost this means does your wedding photographer have the lighting equipment needed to make your day special regardless of whether the weather’s wet and miserable or the gorgeous autumn day we all deserve. If your guy only has a flash on top of his camera the chances are your photographs will look very flat if he has to use it for main lighting. Ask to see a selection of shots from bad weather and good weather days and see if there’s a big difference on the bad days. Oh, and make sure he brings a brolly…
6. How Many Weddings Have Been Done.
We all have to start somewhere as photographers, but just like you wouldn’t get your wedding hairdo from a hairdresser doing it for the first time, it makes sense to hire a wedding photographer with experience. Ask, then verify with a portfolio.
7. Professional or Amateur.
Don’t take a chance on the weekend guy unless you really know their work. Trust your once-in-a-lifetime pictures to a professional.
8. Professional Qualifications.
If your photographer is a professional she will ideally be a member of a professional society such as SWPP or BPPA (these two are now merged as SWPP-BPPA). The societies help ensure standards are met by every member and have a strict code of conduct.
9. Know What’s Included.
If you bought a package deal, make sure you know exactly what’s covered and what’s been left out. Many people expect to receive digital prints, but don’t have it signed into the deal. Make sure you have it all signed sealed and delivered before the big day and your wedding photography will be as you hope and expect.
10. View Some Albums.
We all put our best photographs into the gallery pages, but ask to see some complete wedding albums too. These will help provide a sense of consistency and the ability to cope with different lighting situations.