Our local newspaper recently featured an article which I found very interesting, and a little sad. It was titled "Wedding photos not up to scratch" and the aim of the article was to warn couples that "WA Consumer Protection has had four complaints about wedding photographers in the South West in the last six months, primarily about the quality of the photos".
This is not news to us.
Roger and I often receive frantic calls from brides whose wedding photographers have handed over images or files which are poorly exposed, out of focus, or just plain awful, and they want to know if there's any way we can "fix" them.
It's always hard to tell them - No.
It doesn't matter how much photoshop you throw at a bad image, you can never turn it into a good one.
The article goes on to give tips on choosing a wedding photographer - get recommendations, get a written quote, ask to see a portfolio... all good ideas. Here are a few of my own tips on how to tell a photographer from a fauxtographer (I'm going to use the term he to make it easier, but I mean he or she!):
1. "He has a website and a big camera - he must be a good photographer"
Not necessarily! Type "photographers website templates" into Google and you'll see how easy it is to make yourself look like a great photographer on the web. What you really want to see is that he is able to take consistently good photos at a wedding from start to finish. The only way to do that is to look at complete wedding albums. It's easy to fake it with a handful of OK images from a wedding...but if a photographer isn't willing to display entire wedding albums, something's not right.
2. Experience vs Work experience
Make sure that your photographer is experienced! You will spend so much time, effort and expense planning your wedding - don't let a fauxtographer use you for "work experience"! One of the most important things a photographer needs to know is how to deal with different lighting situations. Outdoor Southwest weddings require particular skill as the lighting can vary from harsh sunlight, to dappled light, to low light. If he doesn't understand light, and doesn't have the experience under his belt to deal with it appropriately, it will show in his images.
3. Membership of the Austrailian Institute of Professional Photography.
Perhaps I should have put this as number one because it's fairly important. These days, cameras are so good that alot of the "skill" has gone out of photography - just take a thousand photos and you're sure to end up with at least one good one! Anyone can buy themselves an expensive camera, make a groovy website, hang up a sign and call themselves a photographer. It's easy...and scary. For a photographer to become a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography they must meet a set of criteria - have been working full time as a photographer for at least two years, have their images and finished albums appraised and approved by two accredited members of the AIPP, and they must agree to adhere to a professional code of conduct. It is possible to be a brilliant photographer and not be a member of the AIPP - I'm just advising that couples do their homework. If your photographer isn't an AIPP member, ask him why.
4. Awards. Everyone's got em!
Almost every photographer advertises themselves as an "award winning photographer" so these days awards don't really mean much...unless you educate yourself on how the awards are judged and by whom...and really, who has the time to do that?
Here's my explanation of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography Awards system (but if you really want to understand it fully take a look here):
Each state holds an annual print competition with various categories (wedding, portrait, commercial, landscape, illustrative) to which entrants can submit a portfoilio. Winners of each category earn a title such as "2009 WA Wedding Photographer of the Year" (hey, that's me!). State competitions do not award silvers or golds (although some photographers misleadingly promote themselves as having won silvers at state awards) - images are judged as they would be at national level, giving the photographer an indication of how their image may have scored nationally.
At the national level photographers submit just four images per year to win points (silvers and golds) which accumulate to earn honours (Associate [that's me], Master of Photography [that's Roger, with 3 gold bars, which means he has earned Master of Photography status 4 times], Grand Master). Some photographers earn one silver and call themselves "award winning photographers"...which is true...BUT...the real skill is to achieve consistently high standards every year - not just let one silver award be your claim to fame.
AIPP awards are not easy to win.
If your photographer is an "award winning" photographer ask him - what awards have you won?
5. Lastly, a piece of advice from my Dad...
Never trust a man with dirty shoes.
Hopefully that helps someone out there to stay away from those Southwest photographers that people are complaining about.
K x
P.S. Just to reward you for reading this far, a photo of our 6 year olds enjoying their new swing
Enjoy!
K x
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