Many sites have a Frequently Asked Questions section, but I wanted to take it a step further and answer some questions that SHOULD be asked.

Why is there such a huge difference between prices between photographers?

This is a tough subject to tackle and touchy amongst many photographers. My answer is simply this. Instead of just making the decision solely on price, see if you are comparing like products. A Kia Optima is a great car, and for under $30,000 it comes fully loaded with everything from remote start to navigation to heated and cooled seats. A Mercedes S-Class fully loaded can run 4 times that. Instantly the question comes up, is the Mercedes "four times as good?" When the question should really be, is the Mercedes and the Kia the same product, with the same quality of service and experience. The answer is most definitely NO. You will find wedding photographers that start around $500 and you will find wedding photographers that are $50,000. That $500 may even fit your style MORE than the $50,000, so what's the difference? Usually the experience between the two. Not just "work experience" but your TOTAL experience.

What should I look for when hiring a Wedding photographer?

When it comes to wedding photography, very often price and quality goes hand in hand. I tell my friends and family to look more at their own budget than at the price of the photographer. Depending on what your value of photography is, a good reflective number is 10-25% of your overall wedding budget. I say that because whether or not you have a $1000 back yard ceremony or a $250,000 castle extravaganza, you will find that those numbers will often give you the reflective quality and experience that you are  expecting and deserve.

Things to look for:

  1. Experience
  2. Portfolio
  3. Delivery/Turn around times
  4. Service/Reviews
  5. Insurance/Liability Coverages