Hawaii Wedding Photographer Tips For Brides & Grooms
On Making Your Wedding Photographs Great

III. What to Look For When Choosing Your Wedding Photographer     A. Do You Like the Photographer's Wedding Photographs?   B. Are the Sample Photographs from Same Wedding "Professionally and Talentedly Consistent"?   C. Are you Comfortable with Your Wedding Photographer's Personality?   D.What Your Money is Really Paying For & Why You Should Begin Looking Early

How do you spot the wedding photographer who's right for you? We offer the following ideas when shopping around for a wedding photographer with whom you'll be happy.

In the past the primary concern when hiring a professional wedding photographer was what kind of equipment he or she used. It's now recognized that an artistic eye and an alert perspective, which enables that person to spot and effectively record the attractive visual elements throughout the wedding day despite all its distractions, is far more crucial. An effective way to determine this is to look at a series photographs from the same wedding by that wedding photographer, a series of photographs spanning the entire period for which that photographer was hired by that bride and groom.

What do you do when you look at these photographs? You decide whether you like their style. Do the pictures tend to have "smack"? In the print media, a photo is said to have "smack" when the image has emotional impact for the viewer. This emotional impact or affect may be immediate or delayed, strong or sedate, glaring or subtly -- but whatever it is, it draws the viewer into the image and entices the viewer to linger over the picture. If a photographer's series of photographs arouses and engages your interest, you may have found a photographer whose style is for you.

 

However, there is more. Next, look at those photographs and, in terms of your own wedding, ask yourself if those photographs suit "the look and feel" of the way you see yourself and how you'd like your wedding day portrayed:

Can you see yourself in the place of the people in those photos? Do you like what you see? Has the photographer involved the individual characteristics and personality of the important people in the pictures? Has the photographer captured the person's feelings of the moment? Do they seem like they are just being themselves? If you can answer in the positive these and othere similar questions, you then like that photographer's work and artistic style -- and thus have your initial indication that this might be the wedding photographer for you.

Looking at a series of photographs spanning the same wedding is also important because this will reveal whether the photographer's work has what we at Hawaiiseen.com call "a professional and talented consistency."

As we noted earlier, photographing a wedding requires photographic technical ability, being able to adapt to changing circumstances (few weddings ever proceed exactly as planned) -- and a sustained level of visual alertness and energy (maybe for hours on end) as the flow of wedding day events demand. Thus, if the photographs which span one wedding's coverage enthuses you, then the photographer does have this consistency - i.e., he or she cares enough about both his or her work and the clients to give them his or her best for the entire period that he or she was engaged to cover. Viewing a series of photographs from the same wedding therefore helps you spot a wedding photographer of talent, alertness and commitment.

You will then have a second indication that you may have found a wedding photographer who's right for you.

So much for your chosen wedding photographer having technical expertise, artistic talent, visual alertness, and commitment. But your photographer must also possess a final quality. It's a quality that can be summed up by a single but important question: Do you feel comfortable with him or her? When considering different wedding photographers, it's important that you feel comfortable with your wedding photographer's personality, the way he or she conducts himself or herself, and how he or she relates to other people. A person who's right for another couple may not be right for you.

Your comfort level can often be determined by your first impression of this person. When you first make contact with a prospective wedding photographer (whether you first speak to him or her on the phone or first meet him or her in person), get a feel during this first conversation for how well you think he or she will get along with you. A wedding photographer's personality and ability to communicate are as important as his or her technical skill and creativeness. Pay attention to how the photographer interacts with you -- and how you interact with the photographer. Imagine yourself working with this photographer for several hours -- in the context of a very busy and hectic wedding day. Does this wedding photographer have an inflexible pre-set idea on how the day should go? Or is the photographer flexible and willing to listen to your ideas? Do you prefer a photographer who takes total charge or one who listens to you regarding your ultimate goals while still adequately directing the details needed to accomplish them? Being comfortable in the presence of your wedding photographer and his or her personality style is crucial to the success of your wedding photographs because, among other things, your comfort level (or lack of it) may show in your expression and so in your pictures. Not only will you be working with your photographer throughout your wedding day -- but that same wedding photographer will also be interacting with many others at your wedding and he or she may also have to direct them concerning many photographic aspects of your event. If his or her leadership is to be effective -- and a positive experience for your family and guests -- your photographer must possess a strong sense of direction while also being polite, friendly, and diplomatic. Therefore it isn't enough for an individual to be able to "point a camera and press a button". In order to produce memorable wedding photographs in the midst of the on-going wedding -- your chosen photographic professional must not only have technical skill and artistic talent -- but must also possess excellent people skills, a good personality, and a liking for people.

Actually the above conglomeration of technical skill, artistic sense, and people skills is what your money secures when you hire a professional wedding photographer. Important as all the gadgetry and the cameras are -- it's the person behind the camera who must deal with a wedding's often hectic jumble to create its memorable images. And a wedding day can be a long day. Because of the wedding day environment, wedding photography calls for persons of commitment who are skilled portrait artists, alert photojournalists, and diplomatic photo directors all at the same time. The above tips for spotting this combination of talent, artistic sense, and people skills may help you hopefully in choosing the right wedding photographer for this, your most special of days. Start your search for your wedding photographer however as soon as you've set your wedding date. Not only will the search take time -- but photographers found to possess the above characteristics will also be the most popular -- and so have the most crowded calendar schedules. If you don't begin early enough, your chances of securing one of these professionals will be slim.

General Information About A Wedding In Hawaii

A Wedding Day's Photo Gallery & Musical Slideshow

For Brides & Grooms: Tips for Making Your Wedding Photographs Great (Back to the Start of "Tips")

Hawaiiseen.com Wedding Photography Price Packages

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