Don't take chances.
You only get one chance at wedding photography so make so make sure you get a qualified photographer who is a member of a professional organisation. Uncle Bob might indeed have a good camera and be a decent photographer but there is a lot more to wedding photography than simply taking the pictures. Also your professional will have experience of several situarions and have equipment to deal with the weather etc. Also he must be fully qualified and insured.
Make sure you see complete albums of weddings and not just the best shot from lots of weddings or
portfolio training days.
Look at how everything is arranged and organised in the photographs. You will be spending a significant amount of money on your wedding and dress and you want everything to look great. Check the pictures for bits and pieced of debris that have not been noticed by the photographer. You want a photographer who notices all these things and address them quickly and properly.
Look at the how group shots are arranged. Inexperienced photographers will often fail to organize groups properly resulting in awkward and unsightly arrangements, or worse some people being hidden.
Consult with your photographer about time. It is better to allow too much time and have some free to spend with your guests rather than having a to rush and perhaps have to miss some of the photographs you wanted. As a general rule you need to leave roughly 3-4 hours from the start of the ceremony to the start of the meal plus driving time. This might seem like a lot but if you take out roughtly 60-80mins for the ceremony and allow for a couple of locations etc it is better to have a little extra time and have a relaxed approach rather than continually watching the clock to ensure you are on time for your meal. It also allows a bit of contingency for trafffic or possible breakdowns etc.
Have a alternative plan for your pictures in the event of bad weather or other problems.
Does your venue provide a room where pictures could be taken etc.
Think of the time of year. Remember in some months of the year it can be dark in early afternoon so the lovely gargens that you saw in August with the great blooms might not be possible if your wedding ceremony is at 1:30. I normally suggest that winter weddingd shoudl be as early as possible to allow for the limited time for outdoor shots.
Ideally the hairdresser and makeup artist to get the bride ready first before anyone else.
There are a number of good reasons for this.
1: You will be ready in plenty of time and can relax.
2: Your photographer will have time for bridal portraiture shots with you while the others are getting sorted.
3: It avoids the scenario where your photographer has to leave for the church without photographs of you ready
4: The photographer can 'stage' a few shots of you 'leaving home' etc
Ask your photographer if he can supply you with details of other weddings he has done that you could contact for feedback, though this shoudl not be a major factor.
(This might not be possible because not everyone will agree to having their details passed on. In addition no-one is going to give details of a reference unless they are fairly sure it will be a good one!, but it is still worth asking)
Wedding Photographer in Northern Ireland
www.colinturtle.co.uk
