Ask to See Photographer’s Full Wedding-day Galleries

When choosing a professional luxury wedding photography studio to document your once-in-lifetime wedding day there are important reason why the wedding bride and groom would want to see full wedding galleries by prospective wedding photographers they are interested in. Two main reasons this is recommended practice for the Houston bride and groom is: 1) stylistic reasons; 2) ensure that photographer is capable of successfully photographing your wedding (because possibly…the few pictures that caught your attention are the highlights and they actually don’t have the entire gallery because that client was not theirs).
Have you ever heard the saying: a wedding photographer is like a Lawyer…they’re a dime a dozen. What does this analogy mean? There’s a lot of people who claim to be professional (and they may be), but there’s many more who also claim to be better than the next guy down the street.

When choosing the top 5 wedding photographers in Houston and The Woodlands. Ask to see full weddings, opposed to, seeing parts of those weddings. Why?

In professional wedding photography. There are photographers who have different styles of creating pictures, use lighting or do not use lighting at all (natural light photographers), pose the client in candid, photojournalistic ways, do no not pose the bride and groom at all, editorial poses, they are super nit-picky about posing and fuss over every detail (be assured…this isn’t my style. So I won’t annoy you lol), are more expressive and pose through motion, and there are professional Houston wedding photographers who use a little bit of all of the above and are able to learn your unique style and connect with you to create what you prefer and what you would prefer, rather than, posing you in a way you would not prefer.
There are many important roles which must be assumed by an individual. There are Lead Photographers, Second Photographers, Third Photographer, and Photography Assistants. Each of these distinct roles is not more or less important than the other. Like an ecosystem and an organism. There are many parts that contribute to the whole.

The Lead Photographer is the individual who possesses the most professional experience, adroit knowledge and abilities, have perfected their craft over many years and photographed over 100’s of weddings, photographed in many different types of venues, should be familiar and comfortable creating in darker, more luxurious and difficult to light Houston wedding venues, like The Astorian Event Venue, has invested in their own learning, continued training, and consistent practice to keep their skills accute, and has been around the block in professional photography and professional wedding photography. So, they have seen a thing or two, and are familiar and comfortable working alongside other wedding vendors, leading difficult clients, particular clients, and easy-going laid back clients. Yes…there is a different between difficult and particular clients…

Notice above when I explained characteristics of a Professional lead wedding photographer I didn’t describe them by age. Depending upon the socio economic class that wedding company serves. I have seen young Lead photographers who photograph cheaper weddings where the clients are not as particular as our normal luxury clients who invest $4,000 - $6,500 for their professional luxury wedding photography for photo coverage. The clients I serve come to David Baker Studios because they are looking for the best all-around experience. Because they know that I am able to lead them successfully during their wedding day, lighting and posing our specialties of mine, and they know that they can trust me because I have taken ample time to get to know them in a non-salsey way; I take the time to actually connect with you, instead of, treating you like a number.

This is why when wedding couples come to me looking for a professional wedding photographer to capture their once in a lifetime wedding day. They may or may not ask me to see full wedding galleries because they may not realize these distinctions I am discussing in this article are important signs of experience vs non-experienced. Even if they don’t ask me during our first consultation when we meet and greet each other and see if we connect and vibe well with each other to get to know each other, and learn how I will solve their wedding day problems. I am prepared to show them albums I have delivered to past clients. I believe in a transparent relationship with the client and Photographer. Because after all… That Photographer is going to lead you through your once in a lifetime wedding day, around your loved ones and family, and help you if things get difficult. You’ve got to like this person, get along with this person, share with them intimate personal details (what if there are family issues, and your photographer would be able to better lead and take the lead on certain times of the wedding day being aware of this - because if the client were to attempt this same action they may be perceived as being bossy?) with them, and you’ve got to trust them when they tell you this is the appropriate course of action.

So, ultimately, ask your chosen professional wedding photographer to see full wedding galleries. Because going back to where I talked about the second, third, and Photographer assistant. All of those different roles in the photography community… those individuals are also “wedding photographers” and are trying to get wedding clients. But… they are in those other roles because they are probably trying to get their portfolio together. So, if you see highlights or snapshots that are really good and prime pictures of the wedding day, but you don’t see those in between moments or family moments, or even wedding portraits or getting ready pictures. Be weary if those pictures were photographed as a second photographer, third photographer and even sometimes… The lead photographer will allow the assistant to photograph, while that Lead photographer puts together a wedding slideshow for the couple during the reception if the couple added Same-day Wedding Slideshow to their wedding package.

Because, again. The reason I stress seeing the photographer‘s full gallery and judging their work for yourself is because “professional wedding photographers” are not the same in the above portion discussed above. When you invest $4000 for your eight hour wedding package at the modern luxury Astorian Events Venue. You want to be sure that Photographer is the photographer who created that work they have shown you, they are able to successfully create the same or similar pictures (they may be able to create the same pose but your picture may look different because of lighting, venue and location, or the wedding day gets so crazy a particular moment was not created because of no time left, or the client said they didn’t want that moment - I’ve had clients tell me they didn’t care about certain pictures being made during Bride getting ready…weird, I know) used on their website or in their sample albums during your wedding, and you must be certain they have the knowledge, experience, and abilities necessary to successfully lead you through your wedding day and photograph your wedding day from wedding day details to sparkler exit and all moments in between.

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