What Kind of Experience Will I Have? | Grand Rapids Wedding Photographer
If you're out searching for a Grand Rapids wedding photographer (or any photographer for that matter), one of the biggest obstacles you face is knowing what kind of experience you're going to have on your wedding day. In the world of photography you hear about the horror stories don't you? You see the YouTube videos of craziness happening with the wedding photographer or you hear the horror stories from your friend about how they hired a "friend of a friend" and after 3 years they still haven't seen their wedding photos.
We know that experience well, so please don't make the same mistake we made.
The other option is to educate yourself about the world of photography and then make a decision based on the data you collect, your wants, needs and budget.
Three simple tips that we give every couple we talk to about photography is choose your photographer on the following criteria:
Personality - Make sure you LIKE them as a person Whoever you pick to be your photographer is going to be around you and your family for many hours on the best day of your life. So you want to feel comfortable with them and most of all, be able to TRUST them.
Portfolio - Ask to view an ENTIRE wedding, not just their "greatest hits" Any photographer can show you a slideshow of their best 50 photos they've ever shot and you will be impressed. But that won't give you a good sense for what your wedding photos will look like. You want to make sure they have good quality photos throughout the course of one entire wedding.
Price - Ask them to work WITHIN your budget Every vendor you hire for your wedding day is a small business owner. If you love what they do, remember you're hiring an artist with a specific eye and heart. Make sure you resonate with how they see and capture the world around them. Be upfront with your budget and see what they can work out. We've had couples move their weddings from a Saturday to a Thursday to afford the photo package they wanted.
We are so glad when couples choose us for their wedding day and if you're wondering what it's like to work with us, check out what Lily and Matt said about us following their July 2015 wedding!
So much more than photographers
Russ and his wife clearly love what they do and they are total pros. The knew the venue of my wedding backwards and forwards, so they knew what to shoot and where and it shows in the final photos. I honestly was not looking forward to an hour of taking photos while the rest of my guests enjoyed cocktail hour upstairs (in fact I was quite bitter that I wouldn't get any of my appetizers). So I was very pleasantly surprised when we got to the area where we took most of the bridal party photos and a tray of appetizers and two bottles of wine were waiting for us. The two of them kept us all relaxed and laughing the entire time. I really love the photos they took. Russ made us a wedding website. My one regret is that I made (and put on my invitations) a wedding website through the Knot before contacting Russ because a custom wedding website was included in the package I bought that would have included all the features of the other one AND the pictures after the wedding. So don't make the same mistake as me! Nonetheless, the website is now up and looks great and I am looking forwards to a hard copy of my wedding album!
002_IMG_2781_blog
Tiberius Images is a Grand Rapids photographer that photographs people, places and events. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they serve clients throughout the world and are available for travel.