Choosing a Wedding Photographer

Posted by azuan on Jun 16, 2009 in :: All Posts ::, Featured Articles, REVIEWS | 5 comments

I was cleaning up my hard disk and backing up some files when I came across my collection of wedding photographs. A thousand plus photos with total size of almost 3GB making it a challenge for me to sort the photos. I ended up deleting only duplicates and keeping the rest. I just can’t delete the photos of one of the most important event in my life.

It is true. A wedding will be one of the most important moments that will happen in a person’s life. As what I have experienced, countless hours go into wedding planning. That’s why it is crucial that your homework is done when trying to find good people for all the jobs. And obviously one of the most important jobs will be for the photographer. There is no such thing as ‘rewind’ or ‘again please’ for some of the wedding moments. You can’t repeat an akad nikah or a merenjis so the photographer for a wedding need to be sharp.

You can’t have the cake cutting ceremony twice just because photographers not ready.

although i don’t mind eating the cake a few times

Trying to find a wedding photographer is a huge responsibility. There are several factors to consider when making this important selection. The photos that you take away from your wedding are going to be the most memorable keepsakes that you have. The photos will be all over your walls for the rest of your life and will be shared for many generations.

As for me, during my wedding last December I was entrusted to find my own photographer for ceremonies in Shah Alam and I am thankful to be introduced by my brother to Mr. Jidin and Wife, Ms Shana from AnyEvent Photography.

AnyEvent Photography is indeed one out of hundreds if not thousands wedding photographers available in Malaysia. If you’re planning for your own wedding, here are some tips. This is what I looked for in wedding photography”:

a) Good Attitude

I don’t care no matter how good a photographer is, if the attitude is bad, I would never ever hire that photographer. Always meet potential photographers no matter how busy you are. Out of thousands available on the net, select some based on their online portfolio and packages and meet them. Evaluate the attitude throughout your conversation (e-mail, YM) and during the meetings. If the photographer has this ‘I’m so good’ ego, screw them and find another one.

When I met the husband-wife team of AnyEvent for the first time I realized that they are humble, friendly and professional hence why I decided to chose them to cover my wedding. True enough throughout the events, the photographers were friendly and cracking jokes to make things easy for everyone.

Ok, maybe sometimes the photographers were too funny hehe

Attitude will also reflect on the way they dress. I’ve been to weddings where photographers wear as if like they are invisible. I guess that’s what differentiates professional and amateurs.

A proper dress code by Mr.Jidin of AnyEvent

b) Experience

Another thing to consider when choosing your wedding photographer is the experience a person may have. Their price might be an indication of how many years they have been in business as well. Just because someone has a lot of experience doesn’t always mean they will be better. But usually someone who has been in the business for long is more experience to handle different kinds of situations in a wedding.

AnyEvent Photography has done quite a number of weddings and other events which made me confident with their capabilities.

c) Equipment

The bigger the better? No!

I never believe in someone that claims equipment is everything. A photographer might have a camera and lenses that is as expensive as a car, but that does not make him or her an expert. Good equipment helps a lot but in the end it’s the art of photography and editing that matters.

One of the AnyEvent camera.

Good equipment allows great shots.

Always enquire whether your wedding photographers have proper gears to cover your wedding theme. AnyEvent Photography that covered my wedding were using reputable medium-high end DSLR of different brands. To me personally that’s a plus point as I believe different brands/systems have different advantages!

d) Location

If possible, try to hire photographers that are near to your wedding venue. It simplifies a lot of things. Deals and meetings can be done on short notice and trust me when your wedding is near, every single second matters.

Location is one of the reasons why me and Jiji chose 2 different photographers for Johor and Shah Alam events. Events in Johore were covered by CapturePix http://capturepixs.fotopages.com/ and they too done a wonderful job. By having 2 diffrerent photographers, we ended up with two different creative styles for the photos and we spread the risks quite well.

e) Last but not least, price.

You pay for what you will be getting. The service and the photos. Do spend a bit on photography. If you’re really short of cash go easy on the albums. You can develop your own albums from the softcopy later when you’re in a better financial condition. But do spend a bit more in getting reliable photographers like AnyEvent Photography.

Another thing worth mentioning is the fact that AnyEvent photography is a husband-wife team. IT does helps a lot when it comes to poses especially for someone as ‘kayu’ as me who is not camera friendly.

Thank you AnyEvent Photography.

The bride and grooom will have enough worries the day of the wedding. Take these factors and consider them when you choose your photographer. If you do, you are going to have a lot of wonderful pictures to cherish for the rest of your lives.

p/s: This is an un-paid and un-biased review of AnyEvent Photography. They are really cool! Visit their new blog here at: http://anyevent-photography.com/blog/ and you’ll see one good looking groom fooling around with a pillow