How do you choose GOOD photographers for your wedding, bar/bat mitzvah or event?

Not everyone knows what makes good photographs and they don’t know how to choose a good photographer for their event. What are you supposed to look for?

There are so many photographers out there it is a daunting task to choose a good photographer. In fact, some newbies are quite good sometimes and most often cheaper than professional photographers.  However, when they see all the results of a newbie amateur…well,you deserve better.

Good photography and a good photographer doesn’t come cheap mind you. There is expensive equipment to purchase and maintain and there is technique to be learned and continually upgraded.  And the cost of building and maintaining a website is not cheap today either.

All that is well and good, but what I want to know is How Do I Know What To Look For? Just like buying anything, you do need to know what you are looking for to make the right choices.

Most people don’t know what they are looking at is bad photography! Here are some things to think about when searching for a good photographer:

1. It’s in the lighting. A good photographer knows how to create beautiful images in any kind of light whether  in a dark banquet room or outside in the summer heat. That photographer knows how to adjust their camera to get consistent quality images.  When there is a loss of detail, it is overexposed. If you can only see white faces and black backgrounds that image is underexposed or the photographer doesn’t understand camera settings.

2. Composition makes a balanced photo. If a photographer crops in so close as to cut at a joint such as wasteline or elbow, the person either looks huge or that he or she lost an arm. That is so unflattering. Professional photographers crop in between joints to make for a beautiful balance.  The eye should be drawn to just one point of interest in each photo. Do you get confused as to where to look in a photo? Is more than one thing going on? That is bad. One point of interest…that is good!

Also not every person in a photo should be centered. If you are shooting a family in a beautiful setting, most often including mountains or streams and the natural environmental symmetry makes for a spectacular image.

3. Focus. Photos should not be fuzzy or soft. They should be crisp especially the face, and eyes should sparkle.

4. Contrast  If the photographer shows you a flat image, run away! Images should have contrast from light to dark to hold your interest. It makes a two dimensional photo look like it is three dimensions and pops off the page likes its real life.

5. Backgrounds. So many photographers zoom in so tightly they don’t get how to incorporate nature’s beauty into their images. Not good! A good photographer knows how to do that. That is what makes them good and you should be looking for that kind of photographer for you.

Are you getting my point???!