Photographers

This week has been busy with meeting photographers and obsessively pouring over photos they put online. After having seen so many beautiful photos, how can I just let any old person take our wedding photos?

Here's what a photographer does according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics:

Photographers produce and preserve images that paint a picture, tell a story, or record an event. To create commercial-quality photographs, photographers need technical expertise, creativity, and the appropriate professional equipment. Producing a successful picture requires choosing and presenting a subject to achieve a particular effect, and selecting the right cameras and other photographic enhancing tools. For example, photographers may enhance the subject's appearance with natural or artificial light, shoot the subject from an interesting angle, draw attention to a particular aspect of the subject by blurring the background, or use various lenses to produce desired levels of detail at various distances from the subject.

Previously, I never really thought about the expertise that goes along with being a photographer. Well.... I guess that's not entirely true. When you take a picture you don't want it to look like there is a tree growing out of someone's head or that they have no left arm or anything like that so I guess it has at least crossed my mind. Photographers really are artistic and some of them have amazing pictures and are really good at what they do. This picture demonstrates the difference between a professional and an amateur. To me this is important on our wedding day.


I think that I will have to prioritize 3 things: price, personality & style.

As far as STYLE is concerned, I wouldn't have even contacted them if I didn't like their style. Candid moments are really important to me because most people don't like posing for photos. I also want to feel a mood has been captured - not just a record of a moment in time. Most lovely of all, though, is they can edit photos! If Bruce gets a cold sore (heaven forbid), someone looks a little green from flu season, or even if Ryan gets a black eye (he's playing football this year) then these things can be edited out. Some may think this is terrible. I don't. That's what matters :) Editing really makes the photos stand out, look professional, and make you want to display them because they are so beautiful.

So, PERSONALITY-wise it is difficult because they have all been personable. Some are laid back, some are super excited about their jobs and others give a feel of trying to get everything done. They have all been really nice, though.

PRICE will likely be the deciding factor. Who will give us the most bang for our buck? Every one of them wants me to choose them for their work, not their price. However, some people have such amazing work that I just cannot afford them! If I were rich I could choose whomever I wanted, but I'm not so I'm looking for the best in my price range.

Hopefully We'll have the decision made by this coming weekend. I'm tired to pouring over these photos!