Most people see someone carrying expensive SLR cameras at weddings and are immediately struck by a sense of awe and respect, getting out of their way to let them take pictures of anything they like. SLR cameras have a distinctive look; the large barrel, the popup flash. They look like they mean business, unlike the slim point and shoot cameras that are designed to fit as much ability as possible into your pocket.

I own both an SLR and a point and shoot. Personally, I find that with a good enough point and shoot camera, the knowledge of how to use the manual settings is all I really need to produce a picture as good as one taken with the SLR. In some cases the picture may even turn out better, because my point and shoot has auto-focus and anti-shake technology built in. The limited ability to change exposure and aperture manually even helps, because it refuses to allow me to use a setting that will create an overly dim or overly bright picture.

Together, this means I can focus on creating the best frame and composition for each picture without worrying about whether it will turn out blurred, too dark, or too bright. With my SLR, I find myself taking the same picture over and over, adjusting settings minutely each time. Of course, given enough time and a tripod, say with a landscape scene, I can adjust everything until it produces an absolutely gorgeous picture. But in a wedding, where every moment is special and only occurs for an instant, I simply cannot afford the time to adjust my settings between each shot. It’s a balance between leaving the camera on one setting and hoping it works for every shot I take, and risking missing out on something important as I adjust exposure and aperture. With a point and shoot camera, I let the camera worry about the basic settings, trusting it to adjust for light for me, and focus on capturing the events of the day in the best composition I can.

Besides, I would believe most brides would care more about the photographer catching the absolute joy on their face as they say “I do”, than about how exact the light balance is in the background, as long as it is not completely wrong. The point and shoot camera can guarantee that my backgrounds will always look alright.

So why do so many camera companies sell the idea that an SLR is better than a point and shoot? For that matter, why do I own both? Well, as I said, when taking photographs of things that are not going to change significantly in the next 5 minutes, such as flowers or even models in a photoshoot, I can spend time fiddling with settings and produce National Geographic-worthy pictures. It’s also far better when I want to take artistic shots or play with focal lengths and perspectives, because I can force the camera into settings a point and shoot will never allow, creating all kinds of interesting and unusual pictures. Every once in a while one of these pictures will be stunningly beautiful and artistic. But at an event where every moment is different yet important, I prefer to use my point and shoot for the reasons I detailed above.

Camera companies are not completely wrong to say an SLR is better than a point and shoot. The SLR has the potential to produce pictures of amazing quality, perspective and artistry that the point and shoot will only be able to imitate. But that’s all it is, a potential. What it comes down to is the ability of the photographer to maximise the ability of his camera. In the hands of someone who knows exactly what setting to use for every shot, every possible scenario, every possible balance of light and shade, a point and shoot can produce better pictures than I can, stumbling around with my SLR.

View different photographers’ portfolios and read about their experience and approach — from this, you’ll quickly be able to tell if this is someone with whom you share a similar vision.

Ask how many weddings the photographer has done and whether or not he or she has photographed at your wedding venue. Familiarity with the space ahead of time will allow for more efficiency on the part of the photographer, who will be able to plan for different shots and situations unique to that venue.

Also, make sure that the photographer you choose will be the one who will actually be photographing your wedding. If you’re dealing with a large company who has several photographers available, they may send whomever is available on your wedding date. Be sure to get this in writing, as part of your contract with the photography company.

Vera Wang Love Knots Photo Album

Once you narrow down your list and choose a photographer who meets your needs and style, talk with him or her about the various wedding services that they offer. Typical services include:

• Engagement Portraits
• Wedding Proofs
• Wedding Albums
• Parents’ Albums
• Extra Prints
• Negatives

The cost for each of these services varies greatly from photographer to photographer. Decide what you need before interviewing someone so that you have an idea of what the total cost will look like after ordering extra prints, purchasing the negatives, etc.

Note: Most experienced wedding photographers will charge quite a bit extra for orders of additional prints and/or for selling you the original negatives. Some photographers won’t sell the negatives at all. Find out up front what these costs are, and what your photographer’s policy on obtaining negatives is.

Some final questions to ask include the following:

1. What is the payment/deposit procedure?
2. What is your cancellation policy?
3. What is your policy/cost for overtime, should my wedding run longer than scheduled?
4. Do you have a standard list of photos/poses that I can choose from? (Ex. Bride and Father Dancing, Exchange of Rings at Ceremony, Cake Cutting at Reception, etc.)
5. How soon after the wedding will I be able to review the proofs? How many proofs will I receive?
6. When will I receive my wedding albums?
7. Do you have a website where our family and guests can order additional prints?

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Synopsis:

Nice photos. Good binding,good fonts and layout.Enthusiastic prose. For me it was maybe a little too basic compared to other intros. A reasonable introduction to digital photography from Lark Press and a good value for sure,but there are other choices. My preference would be for anyone who wants to get seriously,not skimmingly,an introduction and more enticing details, into digital photography would be to check out the four soft- cover series (also from Lark/Sterling) by Michael Freeman. Freeman’s “Complete Guide to Digital Photography” ISBN1-57990-534-X,first volume, was,in my evaluation, a superior introduction to the canvas of topics. And Freeman has two or three other books in the series (caveat: the others have a hard to read light font), all under twenty dollars from FantasticShopping, an Amazon affiliate. Buy the Freeman Complete Guide and the above volume and use the two as you gain confidence and want more meat.