1. “Hiring me doesn’t mean I’ll be the one taking pictures.”
At first, Melissa Weir of Babylon, N.Y., wasn’t worried about the two assistants sent to photograph her wedding by the studio she had hired. But then one of the photographers growled at Weir’s 80-year-old grandmother to “Stop eating and get over there” for formal shots and plowed through guests to snap the couple’s reception entrance. Then he missed their cake-cutting entirely — because he was loading his plate at the dessert table. “We had to cut it twice. In the picture, you can see there’s a huge piece missing,” Weir says. “Just looking at it makes me mad.”
That was hardly what she’d expected when she hired the studio. She’d heard nothing but raves about the owner and assumed he’d be the one behind the camera. But unless the contract names a specific photographer, brides and grooms have no guarantee that an associate or assistant of their chosen shutterbug won’t end up with the assignment. Big studios even hire freelancers as needed, says Alan Fields, the co-author of “Bridal Bargains.”
Ask upfront — and again closer to the big day — who is assigned to shoot your wedding. Meet them as soon as possible and bring any objections to the lead photographer.
2. “I have no idea how to use this fancy camera.”
Equipment failure is a common claim on wedding insurance, says Chantale Cyr, the vice president of product management for Travelers Insurance (TRV), which offers wedding protection plans. Even if the camera works properly, a less-experienced shooter may wield it incorrectly. “Maybe the photographer left the lens cap on,” she says. “Unfortunately, that does happen.”
Looking at the proofs of her wedding photos, Lisa Diamond of San Francisco thought a third of them seemed oddly focused. “At first I thought there was something wrong with my eyes,” she says. On closer examination Diamond, a self-described photo hobbyist, spotted lens smudges that had led to an odd glitch in many photos. “[For example] in a shot of me and my bridesmaids, you see the beautiful, clear edges of the garden around us, but we’re all blurry,” she says. Luckily, the photographer was switching among three cameras, and the other two were smudge-free.
3. “The fewer photos you order, the worse your pictures might be.”
To couples facing pressing decisions about napkin patterns and bouquet hues, choosing a package of enlargements, CD-ROMs and albums – before a single picture’s been taken – seems backwards. But choosing the cheapest option, under the assumption you’ll order more prints later, can result in worse photos, says Anja Winikka, a senior editor for wedding guide The Knot. Lower-priced packages usually include fewer hours of shooting, no second shooter and even different equipment.
Ask for a “time and talent” package instead, which covers just the service expense of having a photographer attend and take pictures at your wedding, suggests Mark Kingsdorf, the owner of The Queen of Hearts, a wedding planning firm in Philadelphia. That way, you can pay for the hours needed without committing to a poster-sized print or other possibly unwanted paraphernalia. “They know you’re not going to invest in a photographer and then not order something,” he says.
