By McKenna Corson
To quote the cliche, a photo is worth a thousand words. But photos of one of the biggest days in a person’s life may be worth a bit more than that.
Well after the rings have been exchanged, cake cut and first dances jived, it’s the photographs that keep the day’s essence underneath their glossy, colorful surfaces.
Selecting the person in charge of maintaining these memories might be daunting, but local photographers from Mariana Edelman Photography & Design, Maria Sharp Photography and Lauren Gabrielle Photography provide advice to help couples find the right photographers for them.
Pay attention to how long (a photographer has) been in business. There are a lot of newer photographers out there, and that’s fine, everyone has to start somewhere, but I think a lot more experience is needed day-of – when problems happen and they have to think quick on their feet and know how to light certain things. Just by having overall general experience, (a photographer) brings a sense of ease to the day, because they’re not worried about what they’re doing. They’re able to focus on what the couple is worried about and help bring some peace.
Maria Sharp, owner, Maria Sharp Photography
Couples should ask (photographers) if they have backup equipment, what’s the turn around for the pictures (and) what would they be getting per picture because sometimes photographers don’t give high resolution images or they put a watermark (on the photos). Would they get a USB drive with all the high resolution images so they can print them themselves, and make a turnaround in less than a week? What happens if the photographer gets sick and who would fill in for them? They need to know what they’re getting, and how and when they’re getting it.
Mariana Edelman, owner, Mariana Edelman Photography & Design
Make sure you know what to expect from the photographer by not going off of their Instagram or Facebook page. It’s easy to just post one or two really great pictures from a wedding, and then people think, ‘this photographer is amazing.’ You really need to see how they capture each part of the day, because it’s so different in terms of lighting and that kind of thing. Make sure you do a lot of research into what their work looks like in any type of environment and ask to see a full wedding gallery.
Lauren Gabrielle Bota, owner, Lauren Gabrielle Photography
