How to narrow it down…

Wedding planning is such a daunting task because you’re gathering the components of the most special day of your life. How do you want it to go, and how do you want to remember it? The latter is why I recommend prioritizing the pieces of your day that you will cherish forever, namely your photography! But with thousands and thousands of wedding photographers in pretty much any region of the country, how do you select the ONE that is right for you? I’ve come up with a way to easily break down where to start. I always say, even if it’s not OKOTA, make sure you invest in a photographer perfect for YOU. So let’s get started…

1. PRICING

This one is the obvious place to start and will narrow down your search the most. You have probably heard it before, but it rings so true over and over again when it comes to wedding photos… YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. Take it from me, running a wedding industry business is not easy, it’s not cheap, the equipment we use is top of the line, and we have the pricing we do for a reason. Some behind the scenes factors many couples don’t realize, that contribute to our pricing include:

Software: Are your photos being edited and exported with professional software that won’t compromise their quality when ordering prints, albums, canvases and more? Are your images backed up on computer hard drives, external hard drives, off site and on site so that they are not gone forever should a piece or two of technology fail? This equipment is expensive, but priceless when it means protecting your photos of a day you’ll never get to redo, therefore, contributes to a photographer’s fees.
Equipment: It’s one thing to have a nice camera, but do they have lenses that can handle low lighting situations, external lights for dark receptions, tons and tons of FAST write-speed memory cards so that nothing is missed. Back ups to the back up camera just in case? It takes a LOT more than just a fancy camera, and you’ll be happy you went with a photographer that has backups!!
Education: I’m always investing in more courses, staying up to date on the latest technology, so that I’m always offering couples the absolute best I can. I have a degree in photography from Xavier University, but there is nothing wrong with being self taught, as long as self taught still means always learning, growing, and investing to perfect your craft. Classes, and webinars, practice shoots, can add up quickly, but also directly impact the quality of service you’re receiving, thus the price you’re going to pay. An example of the education you want your photographer to have… Anyone can buy a fancy camera, and these cameras have a “auto” setting on them. Meaning anyone who knows how to press a button can walk into a wedding, click the button, and have an okay photo (about 1/2 of the time), but an educated photographer knows and UNDERSTANDS the cameras hundreds of settings and functions. At OKOTA we only shoot in Manual, meaning every time we are in a new room, we add more people into the photo, a cloud blocks part of the sun, etc. etc. we are making tiny adjustments to our camera functions to light the scene perfectly for that EXACT photo. This sometimes means recognizing the need for a change, knowing what changes to make, flying through 5 different camera functions, and making a lens change all within 15 seconds. This is also where the next point, experience, comes in…
Experience: As a wedding photographer we’ve seen it all. We know the flow of the day, can direct, or change plans at the drop of a hat. Experience is most important to making the day run smoothly. Should something go wrong, should you have a short amount of time for photos, you want a photographer who has been there before, understands what to do, can problem solve, without compromising the quality of your photos at all. The more experience a photographer has, the more confident they can be on your wedding day, and the better your photos will be, which again, affects the cost.
Legitimacy: Owning a photography business has so many pieces that do not involve photography at all, but you’ll want to know a little bit about them, because it may affect you. Does the photographer have insurance? Are they a legitimate business, registered with appropriate licenses for the location(s) of your photos? Last thing you want is to hire a photographer who doesn’t have all their ducks in a row, and then find out you’re without a photographer right before your wedding! YIKES

Hopefully this helps you to understand what goes into a photographer’s pricing and why a cheap photographer, that may seem okay, may have that pricing for a reason. When setting your budget, remember, photography is NOT where you should cut costs for your wedding day! These are what your children and their children will look back at as you tell them your love story!

2. PHOTOS

This is most obvious, the pictures of course! You have to love the photographers actual photos! Most couples do not have a perfectly trained eye to be able to recognize perfect lighting, sharp focus, and impeccable compositions, they just know they can look a photo and know if they like it or not, not understanding really why they may like that photo. I could write a whole separate blog post on how to spot a good and bad photograph technically, but for this blog post we will stick to just a few top-level tips to determining if a photographer matches the style photograph you like…

Figure out your style… Do you prefer darker, more moody, brown/tan/bronze photographs where the shadows are a true black, and the photos feel like a warm sunset just looking at them? If so, look for a photographer who has a dark and moody style. Note that this style does not always show colors 100% true to what they actually were. Your flowers may be a little less saturated, and the bridesmaids dresses may seem a bit darker. If this ISN’T what you’re looking for you may want to look for a true-color photographer. These are more saturated images with brighter colors, bright greenery backgrounds, with flowers and dresses all showing up super bright and colorful in the photos. These photographers may need to set up extra lighting throughout the day, even when outdoors. If you’re not into super contrast heavy saturated images, you may want to look for a light and airy photographer. These photographers shoot in natural light, meaning sunlight and windows are their friends! Colors are truer to life, but in instances of park greenery backgrounds the background is more blurry and desaturated to really put emphasis on the subject matter of the photo. These photographers like lighter background images such as stone walls, skylines, or parks with pathways and light areas. (Side Note: OKOTA shoots in a light and airy style with true color when it comes to attire, florals, and decor). *see examples of each of these styles above*
Now that you have a style of picture you like, you can narrow that down further to see the photographers who photograph that style well… The number one thing to look for is CONSISTENCY. Consistency cannot be emphasized enough! This means when you look at their instagram, their website, the print albums, etc. does everything look like it was shot by the same photographer?! If so, if it all matches, you know you have found a photographer confident in their style because they have perfected the look of their images. You can feel confident in a photographer who is consistent because you know exactly what you would be getting when it comes to your photos!

3. PRODUCTS

Now that you know enough about what goes into the behind the scenes of pricing you can make a determination for what you’re looking to spend on your photographer. Then you can narrow down photographers based not only your price point, but who photographs in the style you like. The third P to take into consideration is what you’re actually getting from your photographer throughout the planning process, and when your wedding day is over. Some things you may want to consider getting would be…

An engagement session. Again, an entirely separate blog post could be written about the importance of an engagement session, but the main thing is you get a chance to get used to being behind the camera, and the photographer gets used to photographing you. At OKOTA I put a lot of emphasis on engagement sessions because it never fails, I show up to the engagement session to meet a semi nervous couple who has no idea what to expect, and has never posed for professional photographer before. THAT IS NORMAL. I love after just the first bit of the engagement session, talking couples through posing, explaining different flattering angles, getting to the more confident PDA, laughing, joking, genuine candids, and then rest of the session is breeze. My favorite compliment is when grooms tell me how much fun they had, and were not expecting that! Because of these engagement sessions I get to show up on a wedding day where tensions are a little higher, and timelines are more strict, and provide some comfort to couples when it comes to their photo time. Because of their engagement session experience couples get to start off their photos confident in me, in themselves, and nerves around photos don’t exist at all, because they know what I’m looking for, and they know what to do!
Planning help. This is a big one that couples definitely need, but may not necessary think of including in their photography package. With such a big investment in photography you want to be sure you have your hair and makeup finished on time, that the groomsmen know where they need to be and when, your family knows which photos to be ready for after the ceremony, etc. etc. etc. This all comes with preparation and planning prior to the wedding day. At OKOTA we provide an info packet to help you put together what you’re imagining for the day, and then we send you a questionnaire to fill out that will not only help us to put together your photo timeline together, but is designed to make you think of things you may not have thought of before (travel time etc.). Then we meet in person to go over EVERYTHING. We want you to feel confident that everyone is on the same page, and that the timeline and photos will go smoothly. We then put together a timeline of the entire day so you can see exactly where and what we would be shooting throughout the day so that nothing gets missed! (Limo drivers and DJs also love our timelines because it keeps them on the same page, and everything on time as well). Make sure you have access to photographer throughout the planning, not just on wedding day, because you’ll definitely need them!
The photos themselves. How would you like to receive your photos? Back in the day we offered our photographs, burned to a disc (we know, it was A WHILE back). Then we evolved to offering USBs that I would package up super cute, and snail mail them out. Now we offer a digital download link, because who doesn’t want their photos, high quality, ready to download and share instantaneously?! You receive a digital link that you can forward to your parents, family and friends, that they can view, mark favorites, and even purchase prints if they wish (super popular for flower girl parents who want a 5x7 of their daughter looking adorable busting a move on the dance floor). You can order canvases, prints, and make a favorite list for your album right from this link, or just download them to your computer and decide how to cherish them in your own way. Totally up to you! Make sure you receive print rights from the photographer!!! Some photographers give you digital copies, but you MUST go through them to print, or you must pay an extra fee to get them printed yourself. This is a hidden price that you’ll want to be aware of when choosing your photographer. (side note: OKOTA does NOT charge this fee, and you DO get the print rights) We are also now offering a complimentary wedding photo app that you can download, and will basically be a digital wedding album for your phone!
Second photographer. Some photographers do not include a second shooter, or it is an added cost. I DEFINITELY recommend having a second photographer/photographer assistant included in the photography package you choose. There is just so much going on throughout a wedding day, I love having my second shooter take care of close shots while I’m getting the wide angle, or they get the groom’s reaction while I focus on the bride and vice versa. Extra hands make for a smoother wedding day, and more photos from more angles because unfortunately, you don’t get to see every single thing that makes up the day, and you’ll want to later when looking through your photos!
Hours of coverage/how many photos. Every wedding day is different. The timelines require different things, and result in different hours of coverage needed. I recommend not getting too hung up on this aspect of the package, because most photographers will allow you to adjust this as you get further into planning, and help guide you to the right amount of coverage once more of the day is planned. Just be sure adding hour(s) at a later date is an option prior to booking!!

4. PERSON

Last, but not least you, have know choose the right PERSON for the job. The photographer you choose is basically the third wheel on your wedding day. You will talk and listen to them probably as much as you talk and listen to your spouse that day, so you have to like them as a person. Make sure you really click. If you’re not sure if you clicked at first, set up another call with them just to talk a bit more! This is really important. You have to have complete trust in them as a person which also leads to complete trust in them as a photographer. I know in my experience, leaving all my trust in my wedding photographer on my own wedding day was very comforting, and took stress off of me, but on the other hand as a photographer, when my couples really trust me is when my creative juices are on overdrive, and we make magical photos!

Something that helps to understand if you will really click with that photographer specifically (other than creeping on the about me section of their website and IG story highlights) is taking the time to ask them about “their why”. For example, I explain to all OKOTA couples how I started this business wanting to more than just a wedding vendor to couples, but to use OKOTA and OKOTA’s services as way for the wedding process to be easier, simpler, and more enjoyable. I want OKOTA Couples to feel like they have a friend there for them throughout the planning process that is continually there, that understands them and their personalities, what they like and don’t like, and that they trust to help execute their vision across several aspects of their wedding day, so that they can actually enjoy being engaged. To be honest, wedding photography isn’t always glamourous. It is hard and stressful and has often times left me sweaty, frozen, muddy, soaked, sore, blistered, and exhausted, but if there is a real, really real “why” behind what the photographer does, it is one of the most rewarding jobs you can have. Seeing couples have a day that is truly them throughout every aspect of the day, seeing them get the absolute most out of the engagement season of their life, with a grand finale of a wedding day, and gorgeous pictures to remember it by, makes me seriously LOVE what I do.

in summary…

First, educate yourself on what your budget should be, and then set a budget. This will narrow down a lot of photographers for you. Further narrow down by recognizing the style of photographs you like and which photographers do that style well. Next, you will start to be able to compare packages, which photographers offer exactly what you need? Lastly, when you have it narrowed down and are meeting with your favorites, really make sure you click with them as a person. Then there you’ll have it! YOUR perfect wedding photographer!!

I hope this helps make this big decision a little easier, but if you have more questions I’m happy to help… abbie@okotaweddings.com

The 4 P's of Choosing the Perfect Photographer