7 Things to Consider When Shopping For a Wedding Photographer by Mohamed Boraie

Many couples look at style and cost first when selecting a wedding photographer. While this may help narrow your list from the thousands of potential vendors, the below are a list of considerations that couples should keep in mind before making the investment in a wedding photographer. I put together this list to sum up my years of experience and to help couples navigate their decision making process.

Regardless of the style and the cost of the photographer, there are certain factors you need to keep in mind when are shopping for a wedding photographer:

1- Registered and Insured Business.

You’re paying a large sum of money and you should make sure you get it back in value! Make sure that the quoted price includes all forms of taxes. Working with a registered business guarantees that whatever contract you have in place will be followed.

In addition, more and more wedding venues require an insured business (liability insured photographers) to operate on their property.

Ask your wedding photographer if they have liability insurance and if they are a registered business

2- Rights to Print

These are your wedding pictures and I believe that every couple has the right to print their wedding pictures and access the edited high resolution digital images of the wedding day. Regardless of the products that any photographers offers, make sure you are getting the digital images and you have the right to print.

Ask your wedding photographer if they will give access to digital images and right to print

3- Back Up

Equipment back up is a vital differentiator between an amatuer and a professional wedding photographer. Making sure that your wedding photographer has another set of equipment (e.g.., an additional secondary body and additional set of lenses and flashes).

In addition, ask your photographer about his/her back up plan in case of sickness or other emergency. A professional photographer will have an emergency backup plan for your day and should present the plan clearly to you. Your wedding happens only once in a lifetime and if any equipment malfunction or emergency happens, your photographer needs to be ready and prepared for it.

Ask your wedding photographer if they have backup equipment and emergency plan

4- Consistent Quality

With the start of digital photography, it is a lot easier to take quality pictures with your digital camera. However, only professional wedding photographers can provide a consistent quality throughout the day from the moment they start till the end of the reception. Since photography is dependent upon lighting, ask to see the different low light situation pictures (inside the dark church or inside a reception while guests are dancing). This is the best way to judge the quality of the photography and his / her technical ability to produce good quality artistic images in difficult lighting situations. I encourage all couples to see at least 2 full weddings (yes, the 500+ pictures) to make sure the quality is consistent throughout the day.

Ask your wedding photographer to see two full weddings that are similar to your wedding (vineyard, outdoor, barn wedding, ballroom….etc)

5- Reviews

It is important to read all the online reviews about the photographer. It is a great indication about the experience that other couples have had. In addition to online reviews, I encourage couples to ask their photographer to speak with previous clients to ask questions and share their experience and notes.

Ask your wedding photographer if you can speak with a previous couple who shares a similar style wedding

6- Contract

A contract is an agreement between you and the photographer outlining all your expectations and the deliverables. Having a clear timeline for the delivery of the image is an important point to have in each contract.  

Make sure that above points 1, 2, and 3 are also included in the contract.

Ask your wedding photographer to review a sample of the contract to make sure all the details that you discussed are included.

7-Personality

Imagine getting stuck during the most happy day of your life with someone you don’t feel comfortable following you around with a camera? NOT COOL!

It is really important that you feel comfortable during the consultation meeting with the photographer. The wedding photographer is another guest in the wedding and you need to make sure you actually would like to invite this guest to your wedding.

Ask your wedding photographer to meet with you before the wedding and make sure your personality is good match.

Best of luck planning your wedding!

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Why Google Plus for business is important for every photography business? by Mohamed Boraie

According to Google “business is about people,”  so what is better that using Google's own product, Google Plus,  to connect with future clients who are going to look for photographers through Google's search engine!

So why should I use it ?

Your images just look better. It is the best social network site that I have used so far that allows your pictures to look as they are supposed to look without any changes. As a photographer that is very compelling.

Other than the amazing image quality of Google Plus, here are some additional reasons to consider Google Plus for your business:

1- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Once your page is up and running and you are keeping it updated, Google will be better in determining the relevancy of your website and thus allow you to reach your target audience . In other words, having Google Plus connected to your website improves your ranking on Google search results provided that you are updating both your website and Google Plus with relevant content.

2- Location

It is a great way to show up on Google maps when your potential clients are looking for a photographer in a specific geographical location. For example, most of my potential clients begin their research on Google before hiring me to compare prices and to survey the market. Having my website and my studio address pop up on Google search results on the map section puts my business ahead of other photographers in my market who do not show on the map.

3- Connect with Customers

According to US Today in 2013 , Google Plus attract around 500+ million users. The New York Times reported in 2014 that Google Plus is no longer the ghost town. That makes Google Plus the up and coming platform to connect with your clients. Every client who has an Gmail automatically has a Google Plus page. In addition, Google Plus helps photographers update their clients base/ fans/ followers with pictures and recent news from your business. The Google Plus platform is based on following rather than friends making it easier to connect with customers. 

4- Reviews

It is a great platform to ask for reviews. Your reviews show up every time a potential client searches for a photographer in your area. The higher your reviews the better the chance of your business/ website getting featured on the top list presented on the Google search engine map (if client searches using a desktop or Google Maps app).

As a wedding photographer, I integrate reviews ( I call it raves! ) in my website and it has been a great way for my potential clients to see what my previous clients  have to say about my work.  Having Google Plus will be a great tool to collect authenticated reviews and then showcase it to my website.

So How Do I utilize this amazing product from Google ?

1- Create your business page on Google Plus. Here is a link with details steps to set up your brand.

2- Make sure you verify your Google Plus page.  Google will send you a code in the mail that you need to input to make sure your business is verified and your address is correct. 

3- Link your website to your Google Plus.  This way you potential clients can see your website mapped geographically. According to Google, linking your website to your Google Plus page will “ provides Google with information that we can use to help determine the relevancy of your site to a user query on Google search.”

How do I link it ?  Link

4- Set up your unique brand and make sure you follow relevant brands and other companies in the similar market.  Be an active user and do not spam! Remember Google is very smart!

5- Post consistently!  "Slow and steady win the game" in social media so make sure you have a post once every hour, day, week, month...just be consistent!