Mistakes to Avoid when hiring an Inexperienced Wedding PhotographerAs explained in a previous blog, professional photographers spend a lot of time and money on equipment and learning their craft. This is how they grow with reputation, quality and expertise. Clients, who book professional photographers, will most certainly be happy with the final results and cherish the photographic images of their weddings for years to come. Wedding Photography is probably one of the most rewarding careers to undertake, as the work is to produce creative media the client will be happy with. It involves hard work, patience, experience, and management. Go here to find out how much a professional photographer costs I sometimes feel like the most stressed out person at the wedding, as it’s on me to deliver a very acceptable media capture, even when the event is not going to plan or is out of my hands. This is where the years of me shooting weddings can play its part and give me the confidence and skills to perform my function as an Asian wedding photographer in Asian weddings. I have had many discussions with clients and their families about the bad/poor experiences they have had with Photographers in the past. There have been some horror stories, ranging from poor images, blurry, out of focus shots, non-interesting, the photographer being rude all the way to the photographer not even showing up at the wedding. It’s a shame, as this could all have been prevented by taking the time to do some research. So what happens when you hire an amateur or un-experienced photographer to cover your wedding What tends to happen is the young couple, don’t really have any knowledge or experience in finding their ideal photographer. They are also tasked with booking all the other wedding suppliers, so sometimes it can be a minefield and overwhelming. The couple may then find themselves booking expensive venues or catering, DJ or decor, and not leave enough in their budget to book a professional photographer. This can lead to the couple focusing on try to get a cheap photographer to cover their wedding, with whatever budget they have left, and this potentially, is where the problems start So professional Photographers prices and packages cost in the region between £1000 to £2500. See here to find out what it takes to be a professional photographer. At this price range, it is very rare to get below average images or poor service. So what if you find someone a lot cheaper? Well in my experience in the industry, there are several types of scenarios of a low cost photographer, which I list below
Don’t get me wrong, when I started out, I did weddings for free, just to get into the industry. But only on the back of being honest throughout and working my way up through the years, to building my company, where I can charge the correct amount for a wedding event, based on my experience and portfolio. We all start somewhere, but there are a percentage of so called “Photographers” out there that are really in it to scam the client for quick money. It is a shame this happens a lot in the industry, and perhaps one day there will be tighter regulations. But until then, it’s up to the client to do their research and avoid such issues. As many wedding couples will be focusing on getting the cheapest photographer to cover their wedding, they will overlook the process such as looking at the portfolio of the photographer or company. They should properly go through the Photographers galleries and portfolio, and see if it is to an acceptable quality They should pay attention to what the photographer is communicating with them, and understand what they are getting with their investment. Some key tips on avoiding Photographer scammersFirst, check they are insured
Second, look at their online presence and portfolios Third, Discuss in detail about the package you are choosing Forth, ask if you can speak to a recent client of theirs and generally get a feel of the Photographers Service Fifth, ensure you get everything in writing as a contract and ensure you are on-top of your communication throughout Finally, make sure you can contact the photographer at his/her permanent residence The above list should help you avoid booking a dodgy photographer and keep you inline with a professional service provider. There have been a few occasions, where clients and non-clients have contacted me, and asked if I can remake/correct or enhance photography or video that they had done a couple of years ago by some other company or individual that they hired to cover their/family wedding. Once they send me the data, I am usually shocked how bad it really is. On a few occasions, I would tell them I cannot correct it as it’s beyond recovery. They would tell me they got someone photographer they knew who was a family member, or something like that, and they obviously disappointed in the final result. And I don’t mean a couple of things here and there which can be dismissed; I mean the entire wedding itself. For example, a wedding film is typically 3hrs long in Asian weddings. Imagine watching a wedding film, where the entire film is dreadful to watch, where there were 2 or 3 cameras used, of different brand makes, and the exposure settings were all completely different, and the footage was shaky. For this alone, you would need to spend approx 30-40 hours to correct for this and still it wouldn’t look its best. For the time re-editing, you would be looking at a lot of money to spend, which will put you off getting it done. And there goes your wedding day memories. Another example is where I was sent low res jpegs (Not RAW) of an Asian wedding to try to enhance. The photographer who shot these did not know how to use the basic software tools like Photoshop or Light room, and therefore the images were very poorly edited. I could recover some and enhance, but many were out of focus, blurry, overblown with exposures, and non-recoverable. Unfortunately, these were images of critical parts of the day, and I had to inform the client the bad news. I even discuss other issues clients are having such as the Photographer or Videographer has lost their wedding film data and refuses to refund the client. Or the photographer hasn’t delivered the wedding media, and it’s been 1 or 2 years after. In most of the cases I have stated above, most of the time, the client booked a photographer for a very cheap price. I cannot stress how much this can ruin memories for such a special occasion, as well as impact the general public’s perception of Wedding Photographers in general. As a closing statement, not all clients shave a large budget to spend n a professional photographer. What I would suggest is to be upfront to a reputable photographer, and be forthcoming in what your realistic budget is and perhaps you may find someone who can find a way to help you achieve great images, without providing all the extras. Don’t be afraid to negotiate, be realistic and always do your research. At Amar G Media, we do try to provide affordable photography with amazing service and quality, and help clients meet their requirements for their wedding. What not drop us an email or call/whatsapp Amar on 07904857510 and see how we can help you.
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AuthorAsian Wedding Photographer & Videographer in Berkshire, London. #ILovemyJob #WeddingPhotographer Archives
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