It’s no secret that photography is a saturated market these days. At times, it would almost seem that everyone and their mother claims they’re a photographer of some sort.
For clients, that becomes the hard part: with how many choices there are, whom do they select out of the bunch to trust with their special day?
On a raise of hands: people will say to look at their portfolio, their Google/Yelp reviews, and so forth. But even then, they will still have several contenders, and then they begin to maybe narrow it down further through their prices or shooting style. Although a topic for another post, price shopping is a practice I do not personally recommend.
While it is strongly recommended to check out their portfolio and testimonials, they’re still not the most important factor. It’s how they make you feel.
At one of my old corporate jobs, I once had the pleasure of watching our vice president of HR say that exact phrase during a presentation.
Anecdotally, he told us a story of how he once bought a pair of shoes online.
And quickly learned he had to return them…because they were women’s shoes. That was a face-palm moment for him when he initiated the call to return them.
Nevertheless, despite it being his error, they were more than courteous and took care of him. And, because they made him feel good and valued as a customer, he used them again. That’s all it took to make him a repeat customer, and to give him a story he’d still recount years after the fact. It didn’t take a discount or witchcraft to convert him to a regular. Just courtesy through their words and actions that they value his time and business.
As a client, reminder that you’re going to be spending your entire wedding day with your photographer. After the day is done, you will get photos back that you will (hopefully!) look back on happily for the rest of your life.
If you’re not comfortable with the person photographing you, then you and your guests won’t look your best on camera.
That’s why I recommend meeting them in person, when applicable. Some do engagement sessions, others simply meet for coffee, or even just a Zoom call to break the ice. Point being: one way or another, meet face-to-face. A photographer’s essence and vibe can only be conveyed so much over text/email.
And if you and your guests are comfortable in front of the camera, the pictures show genuine emotion that serves as the icing on the cake for your album. That’s not something the camera creates: it’s the connection between the photographer and their subjects with the energy of the event.
Vibes aren’t imaginary just because we can’t see them. Setup a one-to-one with potential photographers, and your search and debate over which one to pick will present itself.
How they make you feel, both during a one-to-one and on camera is paramount.