By Ben Janken, Ben Janken Fine Photography

Congratulations on your wedding! You’ve probably never hired a professional photographer before, and know little about wedding photography. Below are my “The Eight P’s for Choosing Your Photographer”– guidelines to lead you to the very best choice you can make, regardless of your budget or taste.

1. PRIORITIZE: How important is the photography to you? This is one of the few times in your lives that everyone you love will be in one spot. Photography is the best means to capture this. If this is not important, then have your friends take photos. If it IS important, then hire a…

2. …PROFESSIONAL, someone– like me– with plenty of experience photographing weddings, not someone who does it as a sideline. It is not a job that “anyone” can do, though frequently “anyone” tries to. It requires photographic skill, technical knowledge, the ability to work quickly in stressful situations, an orientation towards service, and back-up equipment…for a start. Most important of all, it requires a pleasing…
3. …PERSONALITY. You’ve probably heard stories about the Photo Nazi who ruined the wedding. Simply put, not everyone is cut out to be a wedding photographer. If you like your photographer, you’ll probably like your photos. If you don’t like your photographer, you won’t like your photos that much, either. Related to personality is this: “Does your photographer have…”

4. …PASSION? I love what I do! I love being a professional photographer, I love going to weddings, and as a married gay man, doing FAMILY weddings. That’s why I left commercial work many years ago– the human rewards of what I do. I love being told years after the event that my clients are still enjoying their wedding photography, that it always brings them back to that day. Which brings us to…

5. …PHOTOS. Do they move you, delight you, give you a sense of the wedding and the people at it? Do they tell a story? Are there portraits to capture the people, candids to capture the moment, and artistic photos to capture the beauty and elegance of the day? In group shots, is everyone visible? And what about the quality of the…

6. …PRINTS? Are they in focus and properly exposed? Is the color consistent and pleasing? Are B&W prints neutral in tone, or do they have a color cast? And speaking of quality, what about the…
7. …PRODUCTS? Does the photographer provide you with archival quality albums and prints, produced by a PROFESSIONAL photo lab? I provide life-time guarantees on all your albums and prints.

Because of these questions…
8. …PRICE is the last thing you should look at. If the photos are important to you, hire the best photographer you can afford, someone who gives positive answers to all of the items above, especially #3 #5. If you get what you want, it’s worth hiring a true professional. If you don’t get what you want, whatever you paid is too much.