Wedding Photos – Will Make Anyone Believe In Love
Similarly, we scout for a number of photographers. What captures my attention is the ‘cleanliness’, whiteness and just oh so beautiful and perfect photos taken by Fotorika. I just couldn’t resists not asking them their quotations soon after. I remembered it was over at Tanjong Katong Complex, spiral staircase that Irman emailed them for quotations. Moments before we met Eileen for our second consultation for our wedding. We clearly asked for both Videography and Photography. Unfortunately, the reply came with a good and a bad news.
Good – they are about to open for 2017 bookings
Bad – they don’t do Videography
Just to share our days leading to the whole booking of Fotorika…
(1) Set on a Style
Before we begin researching photographers, we’ll need to first decide what type of photography style we prefer, as that will help determine which kind of photographer we’ll want shooting our wedding. Actually, for us, we looked through most of their portfolio via instagram. From there, we shortlisted the photographers and slowly ask for quotations and later, for meetups.
(2) Do our Homework
Start our search by reading reviews from recent brides. Carefully review potential photographers’ websites and blogs to check out photos of other weddings they’ve shot, which will give us an idea of their style and workmanship.
(3) Set up an Interview
This is not a decision that can be made on looks alone — We just had to meet our potential photographers in person. We like what we see on their sites — and their fees are in our ballpark range — we emailed to see if they’re available for our wedding date. We were thrilled to meet them. Marine Parade (at a foreign mall) and 8pm! We had to be prepared to talk about our potential venue, our wedding style and what we envision for our photos.
(4) See their Wedding Albums (in person)
We were glad that Fotorika brought their most recent wedding albums for us to see! For good reason, they show us (prospective clients) a portfolio of their best pictures, all from different weddings, so we’re seeing the best of the best. And I must say, “We were impressed”!
(5) Make sure that OUR personalities MESH
What do we mean by this? To me, don’t ever underestimate the importance of liking and bonding with our photographer. Is the photographer excited by our vision when we describe it? When they make suggestions, do they present them in a clear and respectful way, or are they timid? Are their mannerisms off-putting? In order to get the best photos, go with a pro who has a firm grasp of social graces but is bold enough to go out hunting for great images and who, above all, puts you at ease and doesn’t irritate you in any way. Remember: They’ll be shadowing our every move, and the more comfortable both of us are with the photographer, the better the photos will turn out. Likewise, we don’t want the photographer to offend or annoy any guests, but to shoot them in their best light in an unobtrusive way. To get the best photos, our photographer needs to be assertive enough to seek out great moments, cajoling enough to coax relaxed smiles and natural stances from guests and calm enough to be a positive force. So, Rawandi and Esah have great chemistry and so are we when we interacted with them. Such easy-going couple. And particularly, i trusted Rawandi – he seem, to be someone who has a heart, someone who would go all out for his masterpieces. For a moment there, we knew we wanted them. And yes, we downpayment for it there and there, without further delays.
(6) Confirm our Shooters
In our case, we only have Rawandi and Esah. In the hope that he can rope his friend ‘Ushrough’ for Videography from Pixelwave because I am a fan of his work. Do you know that Rawandi actually made a courtesy call to his friends on the spot just to make sure his friend take up the project?! Crazy!
(7) Ask about our Rights
Well, most contracts stipulate that the photographer owns the rights to all photos taken at the wedding, even the ones of you. In other words, the photographer can use them promotionally (on their website or blog, submit them for publication and even use them in ads). That also means that we can’t just post the digital proofs they send you -most photographers have a policy that you can only share watermarked images or images with their credit on them. Clearly, it’s their hardwork la. Don’t they deserve some credits too?
(8) Get the Post Production Details
It usually takes at least a month to get all those photo proofs back from a photographer. Why? Photographers are shooting enormous raw files far bigger than your typical JPG. Shooting raw files gives our photographer greater ability to correct the photo, but it also takes a longer time to upload, process and edit all those files (in order to correct color levels and so on). It varies, but many photographers say that they spend an additional 40 hours editing images from a single wedding, so it can take up to six to eight weeks (or longer, depending on the photographer and how busy they are) to get proofs back. In our case, we have to wait for about 3 months for the finished products. 🙂
So, look at their photos – don’t you believe in love? Just too surreal now. Slowly but surely, I am marrying my best friend.
PS: We truly wish you Fotorika, all the very best in your future endeavours. I am sure you will one day be recognised for all the hard work, dedication and such stunning shots you have there!
