How to choose a good wedding Photographer ?
# Check the style of work - If the portfolio of the wedding photographer relates to your style, go for it. Check his or her own work instead of just showing references and works of other Photographers. Showing other's work also helps in better understanding but check his own profile as well to ensure that he has eye to create some good work.
# Experience counts - There is nothing to beat experience in wedding photography and videography. However creative you may be, its absolutely a different thing all together performing consistently in challenging situations. An experienced and seasoned photographer can understand the fine nuances of an elaborate wedding. The team of Together We Rock is not only experienced but is also headed by a seasoned well established Commercial photographer, Munish Khanna, who knows Photography and cinematography extremely well.
# Every second person is a photographer - Today, with digital photography, every second person owns a DSLR and thinks he or she can shoot anything. Wedding Photography is quite challenging and you need to be creative under all circumstances. Taking snapshots is one thing and creative good photographs is another. Not everyone can handle weddings well as it needs more of a Journalistic approach in handling the event in a creative manner. Good knowledge and command of Photography equipment is important. We also involved in training photographers and run both online and Delhi based photography courses. We can judge the calibre of the photographers and include in our team only the ones who are good at what they do.
# You don't just need candid pictures, Documentation matters as well. Ensure that the team covering your wedding is capable of handling both styles of Photography. You may be paying more for Candid photography just because it's become so popular but documenting everything is just as important.
# Good equipment counts only if the eye behind the camera is good as well - Ensure that you are checking out the Photographer's own work. Well established photographers would never ever call someone else's work as their own. So do not judge the photographer by just the equipment he is using but also understand his style of work. He may be using very good equipment but might be using it at very low quality settings as he may not be aware of the finer aspects of good equipment. Once again, experience counts.
# Turn around times - How fast or slow do you get your Wedding photographs, the teaser, the Highlight and eventually the full version of your wedding film and of course the wedding albums. Check the commitments. Are they realistic ? It does take time to deliver good stuff. The High definition and 4K video data itself is huge and handling itself is time consuming. If you are getting the commitment of getting everything unrealistically too fast, either you may not get it as per schedule or you may not even be getting as per specifications. Check out the time line given by " Together We Rock "
# Be Realistic - Do not compare with very high end weddings if yours is not going to be like that. You may show references and expect the final outcome to be like that. But do not forget that you may be showing an elaborate big fat indian wedding but maybe yours in no where closer to that. The ambiance, the decoration and scale, everything adds to the video. Do not expect the same. Being creative also works when there is scope for it.
# Do not compare prices - If you like the previous work, go for it. You are paying for what you have liked. Don't say that the other photographer is charging so less and has even thrown in an album free of cost. A lot of variable are involved. If you like a Photographer's work and style, it's never a bad idea to pay a bit more as you are sure of good quality images in the end.
# Professionalism -Keep it professional both ways. Do not call the team too much in advance. Give proper addresses and schedules. Do not leave it all to the last minute. Keep all the payment terms clear as as per schedule. Do check if they have a website. A website is more professional than having just a Facebook page.
# Check the wedding albums - Good stuff cannot be just included - Wedding albums and coffee table books come in different sizes, shapes and with different price tags. So it's good to talk about it and pay for it separately rather including it as a part of the package and that too as a free or complimentary element. You can customise and get the album made to your taste and style. There are different options of wedding albums covers including the ones with different types of leather, cut out windows, hardbound full bleed photographs etc etc. Different paper types and thicknesses are also available.
# Meet up - It will give an idea about the ease of difficulty with which you can work together. Discuss all plans in detail and get the idea from the photography team as to how they plan to approach it. Check out the wedding photography Album samples. Its good to see the Physical albums.
# Check the overall coverage. Check out an actual previous photography album to see the complete wedding was handled. However, different clients get it done differently. You may brief the photographer about your requirements.
# Discuss clearly what all is included and not a part of the package. Do not keep things very casual. Discuss everything in detail and give your requirements in writing and also take up the commitments and inclusions in writing. This avoids any misunderstanding later on. You may send in your requirements through a form like this.
# How Big is the team - It all depends on how big you want it to be. If your venue is quite big and good coverage is very important to you. Ask for more photographers in the team. These can be positioned accordingly to get better coverage of your wedding.
# Don' just go for recommendations - Seeing is believing. Meet and check out the website.
# Most important - Book well in advance Good photographers get booked as early as one year in advance. The Big Photography companies also hire a lot of freelancers besides their own staff. Sooner you book, sooner the Photography company or agency can fix assign the best photographers and videographers for your wedding ceremonies.
# Should be able to work and coordinate with both sides - yes this is a very important aspect. The team should be big enough to cater to both sides well.
# Same team for Photography and Videos helps in easier coordination. - It's always better to source the wedding Photographers and videographers from the same company as it becomes easier for you to coordinate everything at a single point rather than going around here and there.
# Go for a Pre wedding shoot - Book the same team to do your pre wedding shoot. This enables you to understand the approach of the team and also get an idea about the actual style. This interaction helps you understand how easy or difficult it may get to deal with the team during the wedding.
