A few of days ago a couple called and asked if I was available for a certain date. Unfortunately I wasn’t, so I recommended a couple of photographers whose work I like. The couple didn’t know much about photography – and why should they, for most people your wedding is probably the first and likely the last time you’ll be hiring a professional photographer. They were wondering what they should be looking for in the photographer’s portfolio. I think this is a very good question, what does one look for in a photographers portfolio?

If I were to hire someone to cover my wedding, my big five would be:

Is there good detail in the bride’s dress? Often the white in the dress will blow out or not have much detail in it due to overexposure. You have paid so much money for the dress and you want to see the details, from the straps, zips, buttons at the back through to the detail in the bodice. Its just wrong to settle for photographs of a dress with no detail showing.

Does the bride look like a movie star or model? OK, some people are not photogenic and this might seem a little over the top, but I firmly believe that a wedding is mostly about the bride and she should look stunning. There are numerous tricks in photography and photoshop to make anyone look gorgeous and making the bride look ordinary is a cardinal sin.

Does the couple look natural, or are they awkwardly posed? Photographs should look natural and unforced. If the couple look awkward then there is a good chance that they were not comfortable with the photographer. Your photographer should make you feel relaxed and happy, they should be capturing your emotions on the day. You have planned for this day for a long time, it is your time to enjoy not to stand with frozen grins on your face while someone blasts you with a flash.

Does the portfolio have shots of the wedding? I often see portfolios that are 99% posed shots outside. I have ranted about this enough in this blog, [scroll down for a serious monologue about this - which did make me feel better] so I’ll just add that if you are getting a wedding photographer there should be some shots of the wedding itself rather than just posed shots and a lot of detail shots.

Do the images look like something that could be in a magazine or do they look like your uncle could have taken them? This is a subjective one and I’m sure most people have an uncle who can take some damn fine photos, but what I’m referring to here is an element of being out of the ordinary whether its the colours, the presentation or the effects used (sparingly). I personally always strive for a cinematic feel to my photos.

More recently I would have probably added a sixth. Do the photographs incorporate the family or is it just the bride and groom.

For me these would be the bare minimum requirements. I assume that it is a given that all the photos would be well composed, expertly exposed and professionally printed.

This entry was posted Saturday, November 19th, 2005 at 11:12 am and is filed under Opinion, Photography, Weddings.