Wedding Chat with Sande | Meeting Photographers at Wedding Fairs

I recently had a conversation with a friend who was very brokenhearted. She was married in January and was so disappointed in the wedding photos she was receiving from her photographer.

I know this pain. When my daughter got married, the photographer she hired also left her very disappointed. And like my friend, my daughter met her photographer at a Wedding Fair.

I've previously written a blog about how to select your wedding photographer but I thought I was blog on it one more time.

As my friend and I talked, we found many similarities in our stories. Our photographers were very friendly at the wedding fair. They had amazing photos at their tables. But we didn't do our homework. Here's some red flags to watch for:

1) Check their social media pages and website. Are they updating their weddings? The photographer my daughter hired hasn't updated his Facebook page since February, 2017. A wedding photographer should be proud of their weddings and want to show them off. They should want to show off their engagement & bridal sessions. My friend says her wedding photographer's Facebook page is the same. And she realized that the wedding he does have on his page is a styled session. She clicked on the tags and found that the bride & groom in the photos are both models. No actual weddings on his page.

2) Neither Facebook page has the option to read or leave Reviews. That is interesting isn't it?

3) If you really think this is a photographer for you, book an engagement session. This way you can test them out. My friend said that her photographer set a timer on his phone when he started their session. When it went off in one hour, the session was over. He even said dumb things - he told the groom to put his hand on the bride's arm to cover her fat. WHAT???? My daughter's photographer did her bridals. He barely spoke to us during the session. He never told her she was beautiful. If I asked him to photographer her in a certain place or pose, he would tell me "it won't look good" and wouldn't do it. He didn't go out of his way to make her bridal session a memorable experience - it was just a job to him. And like my friend - in exactly one hour it was over. He delivered photos to us that weren't even edited. They weren't straight, no touch ups. My friend and I both said we edited our own photos after we got them.

4. Has the photographer worked with any of your friends? When you are young, you have people all around you getting married. Watch who they hire. Talk to them about their experience. If the photographer hasn't worked with anyone you know - be careful. Word of mouth referrals are the best way to find your photographer!

These are just a few tips to help you make a decision. Don't book a wedding photographer without doing some real research. It is just too important!!