7 Principles to Choosing the Best Wedding Photographer

 For most events in our lives, a cheap camera is sufficient to record what is important for posterity. But some things like weddings are, hopefully, once in a lifetime, and worth paying more to have it photographed right. So from the myriad of choices how should one go about selecting which photographer to hire? Here are seven principles that will aid in that choice.

1. Availability. If you are wealthy, you may be able to hire the best New York photographer to capture your California wedding. However, most people will want to hire someone more locally, someone whose transportation costs will be more reasonable. Also, since photographers are especially busy on Saturdays, will he/she be available on your big day?

2. Skill. Photographing a wedding is much more than aim and click. It involves good equipment and expert skill. Everything is digital these days. What is the pixel range they will use for the pictures? The more pixels, the larger the file size but the better the resolution. Then what is the company's reputation? What do others say about their skill in taking wedding pictures? Are samples of their work available?

3. Personality. What would it be like to work va wedding photographer with them? Are they pushy, trying to get you to choose their most expensive package, or do they present the options and let you decide? Would they tend to take over or fit in? How would they do at working with the children in your wedding party?

4. Price. Of course, though the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. now is over $20,000, few are willing to put most of that into the pictures. Is the photographer reasonable in comparison with others in the area? Is their price of what you want within the budget of your wedding? Remember, cheapest is rarely best so look for a good balance of cost to value.

5. Service. How quickly are the pictures available? Some will even display the wedding pictures during the reception. That is a nice touch. How quickly can prints be made? How available will they be to others on the web or on CD, and how soon?

6. Options. Good photographers will have a wide variety of options to choose from. Do you want pictures taken during the rehearsal? Are the main pictures going to be taken before or after the ceremony? Do they have creative suggestions on making it special? Will the pictures be printable by others in the family off their website?

7. Integrity. Promises are one thing, but delivery of the product is something else. Does the photographer have a reputation for being on time and early for the ceremony? Do they do what they promised? Do they stay as long as is needed to capture every moment you want to remember?

A wedding is too important of an event to let it pass with only an amateur photographer recording it. As you plan the big day in your lives, consider these principles so that not a single precious moment is forgotten.