Event Photography

How Do I Find a Good Event Photographer?

The most important things to remember is that there are a lot of "photographers" that come up in search engines or that post on Craig's List. The first thing you'll want to do is spend an hour or two looking through portfolios to find someone who’s style and skill match your expectations.

Don’t settle for one or two lucky shots, insist on seeing proofs from at least two recent events so you know exactly what you can expect from their work. Decide ahead of time if you want someone to orchestrate the process or a more photojournalistic photographer that captures candid moments unobtrusively. Lastly, get references from recent clients... that's a must.

Can I Get all My Photos on a CD?

A digital negative is the electronic copy of the image, and is usually offered by photographers as a low-resolution file (ideal for emailing or posting online) and a full-resolution file (ideal for printing). While some photographers may offer the entire event collection on one CD, most professionals structure their rates to offer the best value for the coverage itself and rely on sales to cover the additional cost and time spent preparing images for prints and products. A full-resolution negative of a single images is worth purchasing if you know you’ll want to make many large prints of that image, especially over time. Of course, many professionals offer discounted packages for multiple prints.

Should I Really Be Paying This Much for an Event Photographer?

Not everyone advertises their rates upfront (that can sometimes be a red flag), but you'll quickly notice there is a wide range of fees. Hiring a talented photographer is a substantial investment, but truly great photos of your event are priceless. Shop around to get a sense of the range, consider what you can budget, and make sure you know what's included. Of course, the lowest bidder isn’t always the best choice when it comes to finding a professional than can deliver every time.

Ask what kind of equipment the photographer uses. You want to make sure that your photographer owns at least two high quality cameras and a mounted flash (that's not the one that comes build into the camera).
Keep travel and time in mind. Coverage generally includes travel to and from the event, though additional expenses may be required for longer trips. In additional to the event itself, meetings before and after, preparation, travel, and many hours of post-production work should be part of the package. For five hours of coverage you can expect about 20-25 hours of working time.
Find out what is included in the price. Are you paying only for the event coverage, or does the fee include prints, proofs (previews of your photos), or digital negatives? Do you get a hardcopy of your image proofs, or are they displayed online? What level of post-processing is done before you see the images?
Make sure you get the price of prints, products, and digital negatives in writing. An 8x10 print from a professional photographer usually costs between $15 and $30. Some photographers will include digital negatives (the high-resolution files) in a package, while others do not offer them at all. What you have to keep in mind is that you're not just paying for the print itself, but for as much of an hour of fine-tuning with professional software for each image that is printed. The point is to avoid surprises... you're not saving money if you're paying less up front for coverage but you're paying double what's reasonable for prints.