Did you know that finding just the right photographer can be a two way process? Some studios don’t care about a good client fit. They are either large studios with a sales staff and sales quotas or a hungry photographer who will take any booking they can get. This is a disservice to not only themselves but, the clients as well.
You should use the four “P”s of photography: Personality, Photography Style, Package and Price to select your wedding photographer. As you are interviewing the photographer, a professional photographer may also decide if you are the right client fit for them. Personality, Photography Style and Price are looked at in this decision process.
Price
The easiest fit test is Price. If you can only afford $1800 for a complete photography package and the photographer’s packages start at $3600, then you are both wasting your time by continuing discussions. However, a $500-$1000 difference might be surmountable. It all depends on how much each side is willing to bend.
Photographic Style
One factor which sets each photographer apart from another, is their own unique style. Some photographers may have a similar style but there are subtle differences. Other photographers have drastically different styles. The main wedding photography styles today are Traditional, Photojournalism, Artistic and Reportage. I recently referred a potential client to another photographer because the client wanted very Traditional photography. As a photographer who specializes in a blend of Traditional (to make the parents happy), PJ with a dash of Artistic thrown in, I knew this client would be paying a lot of extra money to hire me to photograph their wedding in a purely traditional style. After politely explaining this to the potential client, I referred them to another photographer who’s style more closely fits what the client desires.
Personality
Finally, some photographers see if their personalities mesh with yours. This is the most intangible of factors which a photographer may use to determine if they want to accept you as a client. Some photographers call this their gut feeling or intuition concerning a client. Photographers are human too, we try to work with everybody but, every so often there is somebody who makes us uncomfortable for one reason or another. Most of the time, the clients feel the tension too and book a different studio. Sometimes, despite the tension, the client wants to book the photographer. When that happens, the photographer may decide to be unavailable. In this case, it is much better to continue looking for a photographer who is as excited to work with you are you are to hire them.
Finding the right photographer is not an easy task. From our perspective finding new clients is not easy either. A professional photographer wants you to have a great wedding day so they can capture all of those magical moments which make your wedding day special. It takes just the right match between photographer and client to make sure you will receive the wedding photography you expect and deserve.
