:: How To Find A Wedding Photographer ::

The Basics :: What to Look for in a Wedding Photographer at Nashville Wedding Photography

People are always coming to Nashville Wedding Photography and asking, “Okay, we want to hire a great wedding photographer that is worth the investment, but how do we know we’re hiring someone good?” Our answer is this: do your research! Be ambitious, be straightforward, and don’t be afraid to ask for and express what you want. There are many things you won’t want when hiring a wedding photographer, so make sure your photographer has the proper skills, equipment, and experience. Reference our article about Hiring Uncle Joe to learn of some dangers of hiring someone who isn’t quite qualified and up to the huge task of photographing a wedding.

It always helps to ask, ask, ask! Our team at Nashville Wedding Photography never gets tired of answering client questions. We not only expect it but we welcome it! Clients and potential clients can always Contact Nashville Wedding Photography with any questions or thoughts. Wedding photography is so much more than just pulling out a camera and snapping a few pictures of the day. It takes careful planning, effort, interest, ideas, and creativity. We are proud of the work that we do and are open to discussing any questions or concerns a client may have. Some helpful questions to ask are listed in our article 15 Questions To Ask Your Wedding Photographer.

Wedding Photographer Proficiency :: Technicality versus Creativity

Many variables are integrated when a photographer shoots a wedding. There are the technical particulars that photographers should be completely comfortable with, such as proper exposure, setting the correct F stop, knowing how to measure Depth of Field, finding the right Aperture, and so on. These are the fundamentals of photography and your wedding photographer should be well versed in these concepts (Reference our Common Photography Misconceptions page). Along with this, the photographer also should have a substantial amount of creativity involved with the technical part of his or her shooting. A wedding photographer may be able to work by the book when it comes to shooting a wedding but if there is no creativity involved, the pictures will often times fall flat and not have the interesting qualities they could have. So, make sure your wedding photographer technically knows what they’re doing but also has an artistic angle when it comes to their photography. Our page of Wedding Photography Styles outlines different views a photographer can take. At Nashville Wedding Photography, our style is a Photojournalistic Style, so while we have all the technical aspects of shooting a wedding down, we offer a unique and artistic perspective when shooting your wedding!

Wedding Photographer's Character :: Charisma and Personality

Although a technical and creative photographer is crucial when hiring a proficient wedding photographer, you also want to make sure that they have a friendly and outgoing personality.  During a wedding day shoot, there are often times people running around everywhere and the craziness of the day becomes infectious! You want to make sure you have someone that can easily and kindly direct people and gather them together for photos and such. Having a friendly personality and lots of charisma makes it easy for the wedding party and guests to relate to him or her, thus allowing for better pictures throughout the event! You are investing your finances and your time into the photographer on one of the most important days of your life. Finding a photographer with a complimentary personality helps to promote the entire experience of your day.

Experience of Nashville Wedding Photography :: Expert or Amateur

Just as with any job, experience can help determine the proficiency level of a photographer. Some photographers might be full-time wedding photographers and shoot nothing but weddings all year. Others might only shoot fashion and do weddings on the weekends. Even more may be new to wedding photography all together. It is beneficial to make sure that your wedding photographer has enough experience to shoot your wedding but also has the images to back it up. If you really like their style and they may have only shot a few weddings, go for it. At Nashville Wedding Photography, we not only have the experience shooting weddings but also have experience shooting all kinds of events. Read our About Us section for a closer look! In our opinion, we feel it is important to look at the entire catalog of what a wedding photographer has shot in order to get an idea of their experience, more specifically their wedding photographer catalog. Ask about their experience level and how many weddings they have photographed in the past.

Caliber :: Quality versus Quantity at Nashville Wedding Photography

At Nashville Wedding Photography, one of the main questions we are asked is, “How many images will I receive?” We base our work upon quality and not quantity. We have heard so many stories of wedding photographers that work solely on the idea that “more is better.” However, often times the more pictures a photographer strives to get, the more he or she rushes through the shooting process in order to get this many photos. Rushing wedding photography compromises the quality and the overall creativity and artistic look of the pictures. Our client resource Wedding Photography Styles outlines the kind of creative work we work to achieve. We strive to take the best images possible and never overpromise pictures to our clients. You want to make sure you have a photographer that can produce enough images for your special day but also make sure those images are worthwhile and superior work. We understand that you will want the most pictures possible from your day and attempt to achieve every desire and request that a client has for us. We will never compromise quality just to shoot an extra 100 pictures. We feel that the most memorable photos and treasured moments come from the time invested into the photography. Read 15 Questions for Your Wedding Photographer to get a better idea of the flexibility of our time constraints.

Multiples :: Nashville Wedding Photographer “plus one”

At Nashville Wedding Photography, our Wedding Photography Packages include more than one photographer, if you feel one is necessary. We have heard so many stories of disappointment from couples that hired a wedding photographer but didn’t choose to hire a second or even a possible third photographer for the wedding. Because one person can only be in one place at one time, many moments can be missed along the way. While our primary photographer focuses on the bride and groom during the ceremony, who is there to catch the mother wiping her teary eyes, the bridesmaids catching sentimental glances at each other, or the musicians playing the music as she walks down the isle? Catching so many different shots and angles requires much movement and time, both of which are difficult to acquire during the middle of a ceremony! At Nashville Wedding Photography, we do recommend that a second photographer is hired in addition to the first. This also is characteristic of our Photojournalistic Photography Style. From this, you get more shots of the bridal party and the family during the actual ceremony, and more moments and memories are captured. For larger weddings, often size 200 or more, we recommend having three photographers. The first for the couple, the second for the family, bridal party, and crowd, and the third photographer often can maneuver around to get creative and “outside” shots of the ceremony from a completely different point of view. You can’t have a primary photographer running around the guests and down the isle to catch each angle! We often tell clients to think through what shots and angles you truly want from the wedding, then base the number of wedding photographers around what you are hoping to achieve.