I found this information on the BBB (Better Business Bureau) web site and thought it important enough to pass it along.
Tips on Choosing a Wedding Photographer
Among the saddest complaints Better Business Bureaus receive concern wedding photographers who do not deliver what was promised. The vast majority of professional photographers will indeed provide unforgettable images of your special day. But you need to do some research beforehand.
The BBB offers the following suggestions to prospective brides and grooms:
Ask for photographer recommendations from family, friends and co-workers.
Check with the BBB for reports on the photographers you are considering.
Schedule interviews with two or three to get a feel for the types of services they offer, the quality of their work and related fees.
Ask the photographer if he/she is the one who will be photographing your wedding. If so, that should be stated in the contract. If not, request to meet personally with the photographer who will be shooting your wedding and review photos from several events before making a decision.
The price should not be the only determining factor, but you should know what fees you will be charged for what services.
Does the photographer work with an assistant? If so, is that included in the fee?
Ask for references and talk to previous clients. A photographer who is reluctant to provide references is of questionable quality.
Is the photo package fixed or customized? How many photos are included and what about reprints, enlargements and albums?
What is the time frame for delivery of proofs and other products? Is there a Web site to view your images? Can you keep the proofs or negatives?
What type and how many cameras will be used? Is color and black-white photography included?
What is the payment schedule? Is a deposit required; if so, how much and by when?
What types of photographs can you expect – formal, informal or spur-of-the-moment?
Does the photographer know the policy of your church, synagogue or other institution; some have very specific rules regarding photography.
Obtain a written contract that details every service to be provided and the name of the photographer who will shoot your event; the location, date and time length of all events; the type of package; a list of guaranteed prices for enlargements and any additional charges, like taxes or travel fees. The contract should also specify what happens if your photographer doesn’t show up, as well as the cancellation/refund policy.
A few other points I would add is that be sure the photographer or studio you chose is fully insured against liability claims. I would also ask if the photographer includes a CD or DVD of images, in full resolution along with all printing rights, for you to own. Most photographers offer albums or books and of course prints, but not that many are willing to give the bride and groom the images from their wedding. While this is a subject of often heated debates among wedding photographers, a few of us feel that the images, and the rights to make your own reprints, from your special day belong to you.
Above all else, make sure that the photographer you hire to shoot your day is someone that you feel at ease with and trust to capture your event.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Tim & Kylene's wedding
Wow! What a wonderful day and what a great couple!! Tim and Kylene were married just as the tail end of tropical storm Hanna washed through Raleigh. The sun came out, the heat (and humidity) returned, and Tim and Kylene had a beautiful day! I was fortunate to be able to capture it all with my camera. I've posted up a few of the more than 800 pictures I took. You'll be able to see about 300 or so of the best shots in a few days on my website. Just go to the "client log-in" section and use the password that Tim and Kylene gave you. If you don't have the password, you can see about 25 of the shots in my wedding gallery. I expect to have all the photos up for review in the client log in section around Sept. 16.
Tim and Kylene are on their honeymoon as I write this but I'm sure they'll be checking in here at some point. Congratulations to a wonderful couple and I hope their marriage turns out as beautiful as some of their pictures!!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
One very, very long day
I had a quick trip to NYC last Thursday to do a video shoot for one of our corporate clients. I love to travel and don't mind quick trips but this one left me dragging!
My day went like this:
Up at 4am and at the airport by 5am to catch a 6am flight. We arrive in NYC around 7:30 and grab a cab into the city. The $80 cab ride takes about an hour.
I'm traveling light....only a video camera, tripod, monitor, tapes and batteries. I've hired a local grip to supply the audio and light package. Still, I've got about 50lbs of gear to lug around.
We arrive in lower Manhatten and my day of shooting begins. We're shooting in an office building so I grab some exterior shots before moving inside. Our contact has provided us with an unused conference room to shoot our interviews. Naturally, the room is way too noisy due to the A/C so we begin our search for a quiet office to film in. We finally find one that will work and set up to shoot an interview with the main subject. Oh, I should mention that this is a marketing video. The company we're filming uses our clients products and loves them so we're simply shooting customer testimonials.
We finish shooting his interview and I proceed to shoot other footage to support the interview. This includes shots of people using the product and we shoot another quick interview with a co-worker.
Lunch time arrives and we head across the street to look for a place to eat. We stumble on a nice Italian place that, at first glance, looks like a small family place. Once inside, the hostess takes us downstairs where we're greeted by waiters in tuxedos and shown to a table. This place is obviously a bit larger, and more expensive, than we thought! The meal turns out to be wonderful and the bill reflects the quality. $135 for three people. Oh well, it's New York, what do you expect?
Back to work. I finish shooting all the B-roll footage that I can think of. By now, it's around 3:30. Our flight doesn't leave for home until 9:30. We decide to wander over to the World Trade center site and pay our respects. It's very moving to stand there and image all the horror that happened on 9/11.
We walk back and gather up our gear. We say our goodbyes to the customer and my grip. My client and I grab a taxi back to the airport to see if we can get an earlier flight.
At the airport, we find that there are no other flights so we settle in for a long, long wait. Around 7:00 we grab a bite to eat. Did I mention that restaurants are not cheap in NYC, especially in the airport? After eating, we make our way to our departure gate for our 9:30 flight only to be told that our flight is going to be delayed. By this time, I'm feeling pretty tired. I just want to get home. We settle in to wait and I try reading my book that I brought along, only to find myself nodding off.
Finally, around 10:45 our flight arrives and we board. I've never been able to sleep well on airplanes but I manage to nod off a bit on the 1.5 hour flight home.
On the ground in Raleigh finally and it's after midnight. By now, I've been awake for over 20 hours. Our luggage takes forever to arrive but it's finally on the conveyer. I drop my client off at his car back at my office and head for home. My head hits the pillow around 2:00 and by 2:02 I'm fast asleep.
All in all, it was a good day but damn! I'm glad I don't work like this all the time!!
My day went like this:
Up at 4am and at the airport by 5am to catch a 6am flight. We arrive in NYC around 7:30 and grab a cab into the city. The $80 cab ride takes about an hour.
I'm traveling light....only a video camera, tripod, monitor, tapes and batteries. I've hired a local grip to supply the audio and light package. Still, I've got about 50lbs of gear to lug around.
We arrive in lower Manhatten and my day of shooting begins. We're shooting in an office building so I grab some exterior shots before moving inside. Our contact has provided us with an unused conference room to shoot our interviews. Naturally, the room is way too noisy due to the A/C so we begin our search for a quiet office to film in. We finally find one that will work and set up to shoot an interview with the main subject. Oh, I should mention that this is a marketing video. The company we're filming uses our clients products and loves them so we're simply shooting customer testimonials.
We finish shooting his interview and I proceed to shoot other footage to support the interview. This includes shots of people using the product and we shoot another quick interview with a co-worker.
Lunch time arrives and we head across the street to look for a place to eat. We stumble on a nice Italian place that, at first glance, looks like a small family place. Once inside, the hostess takes us downstairs where we're greeted by waiters in tuxedos and shown to a table. This place is obviously a bit larger, and more expensive, than we thought! The meal turns out to be wonderful and the bill reflects the quality. $135 for three people. Oh well, it's New York, what do you expect?
Back to work. I finish shooting all the B-roll footage that I can think of. By now, it's around 3:30. Our flight doesn't leave for home until 9:30. We decide to wander over to the World Trade center site and pay our respects. It's very moving to stand there and image all the horror that happened on 9/11.
We walk back and gather up our gear. We say our goodbyes to the customer and my grip. My client and I grab a taxi back to the airport to see if we can get an earlier flight.
At the airport, we find that there are no other flights so we settle in for a long, long wait. Around 7:00 we grab a bite to eat. Did I mention that restaurants are not cheap in NYC, especially in the airport? After eating, we make our way to our departure gate for our 9:30 flight only to be told that our flight is going to be delayed. By this time, I'm feeling pretty tired. I just want to get home. We settle in to wait and I try reading my book that I brought along, only to find myself nodding off.
Finally, around 10:45 our flight arrives and we board. I've never been able to sleep well on airplanes but I manage to nod off a bit on the 1.5 hour flight home.
On the ground in Raleigh finally and it's after midnight. By now, I've been awake for over 20 hours. Our luggage takes forever to arrive but it's finally on the conveyer. I drop my client off at his car back at my office and head for home. My head hits the pillow around 2:00 and by 2:02 I'm fast asleep.
All in all, it was a good day but damn! I'm glad I don't work like this all the time!!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Catalog cover shoot tomorrow with gospel singer, Shirley Caesar
I'm excited about a shoot I'll be doing tomorrow with gospel singer, Shirley Caesar. The shoot is for the cover of a woman's clothing line catalog, Tally Taylor. I first met Ms. Caesar nearly 27 years ago when I was a cameraman for the tv show, "PM Magazine". Shirley was an up and coming gospel singer back then. I'll post up some pictures after the shoot.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
some of my favorite photography websites
Since my blog is linked to my website, and my website is all about my photography, I figured that I'd post up some of my favorite photography related web sites. I hope you find these useful.
www.fredmiranda.com/forum
www.photography-on-the.net/forum
and just in case you found my blog but not my website
www.jcolmanphotography.com is my site. Please check it out and let me know what you think.
Finally, here's a link to my 9-5 job. I think we do a pretty good job of making "little movies"
www.horizonvp.com
www.fredmiranda.com/forum
www.photography-on-the.net/forum
and just in case you found my blog but not my website
www.jcolmanphotography.com is my site. Please check it out and let me know what you think.
Finally, here's a link to my 9-5 job. I think we do a pretty good job of making "little movies"
www.horizonvp.com
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
A blog!?? Me?? who'd have thought. Well here it is. Congratulations. You are the first to view my ramblings. You win a cookie.
Ok, so this wasn't too difficult to set up despite my nearly non-existent abilities concerning all things web related. Now the question is...what am I going to do with it? I'm open to suggestions. Feel free to leave me a comment or topic and I'll get the ball rolling, so to speak.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
