| For most events in our lives, a cheap camera is | | | | wedding in the U.S. now is over $20,000, few are |
| sufficient to record what is important for posterity. | | | | willing to put most of that into the pictures. Is the |
| But some things like weddings are, hopefully, once in | | | | photographer reasonable in comparison with others in |
| a lifetime, and worth paying more to have it | | | | the area? Is their price of what you want within the |
| photographed right. So from the myriad of choices | | | | budget of your wedding? Remember, cheapest is |
| how should one go about selecting which | | | | rarely best so look for a good balance of cost to |
| photographer to hire? Here are seven principles that | | | | value. |
| will aid in that choice. | | | | 5. Service. How quickly are the pictures available? |
| 1. Availability. If you are wealthy, you may be able to | | | | Some will even display the wedding pictures during |
| hire the best New York photographer to capture | | | | the reception. That is a nice touch. How quickly can |
| your California wedding. However, most people will | | | | prints be made? How available will they be to others |
| want to hire someone more locally, someone whose | | | | on the web or on CD, and how soon? |
| transportation costs will be more reasonable. Also, | | | | 6. Options. Good photographers will have a wide |
| since photographers are especially busy on | | | | variety of options to choose from. Do you want |
| Saturdays, will he/she be available on your big day? | | | | pictures taken during the rehearsal? Are the main |
| 2. Skill. Photographing a wedding is much more than | | | | pictures going to be taken before or after the |
| aim and click. It involves good equipment and expert | | | | ceremony? Do they have creative suggestions on |
| skill. Everything is digital these days. What is the pixel | | | | making it special? Will the pictures be printable by |
| range they will use for the pictures? The more pixels, | | | | others in the family off their website? |
| the larger the file size but the better the resolution. | | | | 7. Integrity. Promises are one thing, but delivery of |
| Then what is the company's reputation? What do | | | | the product is something else. Does the photographer |
| others say about their skill in taking wedding pictures? | | | | have a reputation for being on time and early for the |
| Are samples of their work available? | | | | ceremony? Do they do what they promised? Do |
| 3. Personality. What would it be like to work with | | | | they stay as long as is needed to capture every |
| them? Are they pushy, trying to get you to choose | | | | moment you want to remember? |
| their most expensive package, or do they present | | | | A wedding is too important of an event to let it pass |
| the options and let you decide? Would they tend to | | | | with only an amateur photographer recording it. As |
| take over or fit in? How would they do at working | | | | you plan the big day in your lives, consider these |
| with the children in your wedding party? | | | | principles so that not a single precious moment is |
| 4. Price. Of course, though the average cost of a | | | | forgotten. |