Choose the Right Photographer for your Wedding Day: The Problem with Wedding Photography 'Agencies'

Wedding Photography 'Agencies' - let's talk about them! Have you come across one!?

It's no secret that the demand for wedding vendors is high at the moment - thanks to two years of delayed and disrupted weddings in 2020 and 2021. The demand has never been higher, and that includes photographers. According to the market leader 'Easy Wedding's', they themselves proclaim that the wedding boom is coming; I think it is safe to say the boom is already here.

If you are planning a wedding - or know someone that is - you know what it is like right now to book a wedding vendor. How many replies have you got that starts with:

'I am so sorry but...'

or

'unfortunately we don't have your date available...'.

I have a few friends at the moment in the process of planning weddings (which is hard enough), let alone with the added pressure of having to rush, or maybe feel little rushed to book a vendor so they aren't left without.

However, what is really concerning is the amount of vendors who are in turn agencies - who you book to photograph your wedding and they outsource someone else to work your wedding. I use the word 'work' intentionally, because there is a difference in someone who is invested in your day vs a company that just sends someone out to uphold a contractual agreement.

Humour me for a minute. Have you seen one of the following in a photography company's marketing/packages:

•20% or x% off sale.

•End of season / off season deal.

•Book now and save 25%

•Photography from a *insert company name* certified photographer (this is the biggest red flag of them all 🚩)

All of these phrases or sales tactics are exactly that - tactics! They are trying to get your sale. And when you're planning a wedding, let's face it - its expensive. The temptation in there, a deal that looks fantastic. You might even speak to someone on the phone and it sounds great, but then they will send someone else. I know this, because it (regrettably and embarrassingly) happened to me. You can read more about that story here.

Here is a simple truth:

If they care about the sale, they care less about YOU.

A company that does a massive Facebook and Instagram marketing campaign which keeps coming up in your feed, is more interested in booking you than looking after your precious moments that you can't repeat (trust me, I know. It's what drives me). Companies like these do one of two things:

1.They outsource your wedding to someone, who you haven't spoken to, doesn't know you or whats important to you on the day; or which great Aunty has flown in from Scotland and which table she's sitting at and at what time you'd like a photo with her before she has too many wines and starts dancing.

or

2.They don't care as much. They are more concerned with your money, rather than looking after you and your precise memories.

I am so passionate about this. I tell everyone who enquires with me that, please do your research! It is natural to shop around and look at multiple vendors/photographers, but make sure you are dealing with the same person from start to finish (from the initial enquiry phase, the actual wedding day, the editing, all the way through to delivery of your photos). My wife and I pride ourselves on running our business this way.

(A friend of mine recently asked these sorts of questions when booking her wedding photography from a very well known photographer in Sydney. They had to haggle to get the founder of company to photograph their wedding. You guessed it, they were going to outsource their wedding! Crazy! 🤯)

Ok, enough with the long winded opinions. A few tips:

•Be wary of '25% off' or winter sale - the company is purely trying to make sales.

•The phrase 'Photography from a *insert company name* certified photographer' in any photography package translates to =

we will outsource the shit out of your wedding day. 🚩🚩🚩

•If your photographer doesn't ask you 1000+ questions about your wedding day, from the who, what, where, whens and why's down to the finest smallest detail - your investment in them may not match the investment they put in you.

Choose someone who will be obsessed with capturing your wedding. I hope this helps.

Jake x