Winnipeg Wedding Photographer

Winnipeg Wedding Photographer Chris Jensen offers Winnipeg brides the very best in Winnipeg Wedding Photography.

Are you getting married in Winnipeg? Who will be your Winnipeg Wedding Photographer?

Here is a list of some of the things you should consider when looking for a Winnipeg Wedding Photographer.

1. Personality

When selecting a Winnipeg Wedding Photographer, you are selecting more than just a wedding photographer for your wedding day.  You are hiring a wedding photographer that will be with you, your family, and friends for the entire day of your wedding.  Personality is a huge part of the selection process and should not be overlooked or discounted in any way.

Your Winnipeg Wedding Photographer’s personality can set the tone of the entire wedding day and your bridal party.  Ultimately it can impact your wedding photography altogether.  The last thing you want is someone barking orders, yelling at you and not listening to what you want and where you want to go on your wedding day.  These are your pictures, and you should get what you are asking for.  You will usually work with your wedding photographer for a year or longer in some cases, by the time you factor in your meetings, engagement photos, wedding day, post wedding meetings and album design.

You not only want you to love your wedding pictures, but also love the experience you had when working with your Winnipeg Wedding Photographer.   You may find the greatest photographer in the world, but if they are miserable to be around, every time you look at your wedding photos, then you won’t see the beautiful pictures, you will only remember the bad experience you had with your photographer.  When you hire your Winnipeg Wedding Photographer, not only are you buying beautiful photographs of your wedding day, but more importantly you are buying an experience.  And it should be an amazing experience you will always remember.

2. Contract

When choosing your Winnipeg Wedding Photographer ask to make sure there is a contract to be signed between you and your photographer.  The contract should state some very important things, such as pricing.  Once the contract is signed, there should be no surprises added to the final amount owning for the day, unless added by the couple.  Even if package prices are increased or the dollar fluctuates depending on where your photographer buys his products, this should not impact your agreed upon price at the time the contract is signed.  Another clause that should be mentioned in your contract is what if your photographer is sick?  While it is unlikely this will happen, it should still be mentioned, and is crucial that the photography studio does something to take care of the situation in case of illness.  Another thing that should be in the contract is how the images will be delivered and if there will be any type of Post Production to them.  Post Production means any type of editing, from fixing the white balance, creating a black and white, colour correcting or any special edits, such as Winnipeg Wedding Photographer, Chris Jensen Studios creates a Signature Edit.  These are special edits that are manipulated in Photoshop and other editing software to come up with specialized art work for your home.  These edits can take several hours to create.  Chris Jensen Studios also hands develops each photo, so each photo you receive will be perfect and look professional.  Be extremely careful, as many studios don’t post-produce your images, rather they give them to you unfinished and straight from the camera. In this situation, you are not receiving a finished and professional product. Since colour correction is the basic post production, it should be used on every single image. Many photographers will not colour correct any, or will only colour correct “select” images from your wedding. This means that you may have a lot of pictures where your skin tones are orange, yellow, red or even blue.

3. Backups

What kind of backups does your photographer use?  Do they have backups?  One of the worst things that can happen at your wedding is your photographer’s camera decides that it will stop working or break, and he doesn’t have a back up camera or flash, or lens to continue shooting your wedding.   What now?  Don’t think it won’t happen to you? No matter how expensive the equipment, camera’s, lens, flashes, ect are mechanical tools and are prone to break.   Your photographer should always have at a minimum of 2 camera bodies and multiple series of lenses, all capable of continuing the day when one goes down, and at minimum, 2 flashes, more is better.  Chris Jensen Studios always has 3 Professional Nikon Camera Bodies,  7 Pro-Level Lenses (70-200mm f2.8 VR II, 24-70mm f2.8, 16-35mm f4.0 ultra wide angle, 85mm f1.4, 50mm f1.8, 60mm f1.8 macro, backup 24-70mm f2.8), 6 Nikon Flashes, Pocket Wizards for Off Camera Flash, 2 Pocket Wizard Triggers, Light Stands for Off Camera Flash, many sizes and shapes of Reflectors to bounce light or block it.

 

4. Price

While price is always a factor when selecting your Winnipeg Wedding Photographer, it should not be the only thing that matters.  All too often we hear horror stories from brides who made a decision for their wedding photography based on price.  After the wedding is over, what will you have left to remember one of the most important days of your life? Your wedding pictures and the memories they will bring back.  Everything else will be forgotten, eventually remembered only though your photographs.

According to a recent survey run by the largest online wedding website, the number one regret couples had is that they wished they had spent more money on their wedding photography.  Shopping for a wedding photographer is like buying a house; you get what you pay for.  In both cases, the purchase is based on emotion.  Buying a little more than what you can afford is always a wise investment that you won’t regret as long as you have put in the time to find the perfect one for you.

With that being said, it doesn’t mean there are not ways to get the most for your dollar.  One way is to buy all the albums, portraits, metal prints, canvases, or acrylics you may want up front as part of a package instead of buying it  a la cart afterward.

Avoid hiring family or friends.  It may be tempting to hire someone you know to be your wedding photographer. You may think that they know you and you may trust them with your wedding day, but will they have the experience and technical skills to give you the best photos?  What if something goes wrong, can they handle the unexpected changes, are they experienced enough to shoot in a dark church or harsh midday light?  And would they be happy to spend 8-10 hours, behind the camera and not enjoying and participating in the wedding as a guest?  Winnipeg Wedding Photographer, Chris Jensen Studios has different packages at different price points to suit any couples budget.

5. Attire

Even though the wedding photographers are a big part of the wedding day, it’s important that they are not distractions. As such, it’s important for the photographer to blend in as much as possible. Furthermore, for religious or cultural ceremonies, there may be certain colors that are considered taboo. Make sure your photographers will be dressed appropriately for the occasion.

6. Start Looking Early

Booking your wedding photographer should be one of the first things you do after you have booked your venue, sometimes the higher end photographers are booked before the couple chooses a venue.  The good Wedding Photographers are in high demand, especially during the busiest times of the year for weddings, and many of the best ones will be booked up a year or more in advance.  Chris Jensen Studios has been consistently booking 2 to 3 years in advance for key wedding dates.

If you are having an out of season wedding, or perhaps on some Sundays in the early spring and late fall, a top photographer may be easier to find at relatively short notice.

For weddings at the most popular times of the year, start looking at least a year, sometimes more in advance. For weddings on less popular times, eight to six months maybe be enough time.

Once signed you have your wedding contract, even if prices do go up, you will be protected from this price increase, and you will have who you want, and not what’s left over.  Ask your photographer if you are protected from price increases once signed.  If you’re not, it may be time to find another photographer.

7. Coverage

Something overlooked when selecting your Winnipeg Wedding Photographer is the number of hours that will be offered during the coverage of your Winnipeg Wedding.  Typically you will want your wedding photographer to be with you to document all the moments of your wedding day.  After all, that’s why you are hiring them.  That being said, typical coverage requirements for your wedding should be 8 to 10 hours.

Be careful, some Winnipeg Wedding Photographers offer cut-rate prices by offering you less than adequate wedding coverage for your day.  These become hidden costs and once you realize it, it’s often too late.  You don’t want to be surprised when your wedding photographer asks for an additional $1000 before they release your pictures to you.  Even worse, you don’t want your wedding photographer to just pack up and leave when their time is up.

Chris Jensen Studios offers Full Day Coverage for all of his Wedding Packages, which means we are there for your getting ready photos, we will capture your full ceremony and full reception, so every important moment in your wedding day is captured professionally.  Most wedding photographers make the couple fake their first dance, fake cutting their cake, and are gone before anything really fun happens.  Chris Jensen Studios is there to capture the true emotion, fun and unexpected moments of your day.

8. Testimonials & Personal Recommendations

The best photographers will tend to develop a reputation, and may be known locally to your friends and family.  Ask them if they have any experience working with them, either at a wedding or other event.  Ask how the photographer was dressed, how he conducted himself, was he drinking while photographing the wedding, was he polite and engaging to the couple, wedding party and guests.  Was he able to take control and easily direct people and help make the day more enjoyable?

Look to see if your photographer has a Testimonial page on his website.  if they do, read through it and see what past couples and clients had to say about working with him.  Also, your photographer should be able to give you a few names of past couples to contact and to ask questions.

9. Wedding Albums

What will you do with your images from your wedding photographer?  Most people opt to place them in a beautifully designed wedding album that your wedding photographer should provide for you.  Don’t underestimate the importance of a wedding album from your wedding day.  This is your first family heirloom and your one keepsake you will have forever to remember your Winnipeg Wedding.

When selecting a Winnipeg Wedding Photographer, you should look for an album that best represents you and your new family.  Wedding albums come on all shapes and sizes.  Questions you should ask your Winnipeg Wedding Photographer are: How many pages comes in the wedding album? How many images will be in the wedding album?  What cover and paper options are there available for my wedding album?

10. Turn Around Time

Each wedding photography studio varies in the time it takes to produce and deliver your pictures. Studios that do not do any post production or color correction may try to entice you by saying your photos will be ready within the week, or even the next day. However, most studios that develop and produce their images will take anywhere from 4 weeks to 10 months. At Chris Jensen Studios we pride ourselves on fast turnaround times.  Every photo you receive will be professionally hand developed.    Average turnaround times for Engagement Photos, Family Photos, Anniversary Photos, Children, Glamour and Boudoir Photos are between 2-3 weeks.  We can usually have your wedding photos, all professionally edited, with various types of edits, such as black and white, textured, and at least one Signature Edit, back to you within a month.

Chris Jensen Studios is a Winnipeg Wedding Photographer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, offering wedding photography in the Winnipeg, Brandon, Kenora, area, Vancouver, Toronto and destinations worldwide.

For more information about this Winnipeg Wedding Photographer, please visit http://www.chrisjensenstudios.com or call 204 990 7395