Gary Oakley - Destination Wedding Photographer

Besides travel arrangements and linen colors, menus and accommodations, you need to choose a photographer. Should it be the rock star photographer, your nerdy uncle, the stuffy established studio, or none of the above? Don’t take the decision lightly! When the wedding is over, the most common regret is not selecting the right photographer!

Wedding photography is a difficult job, and destination photography even moreso! If beautiful photographs are important to you, take the time and care to make the right choice for you. I’m sharing with you here some words of caution and wisdom, designed to help you make an informed decision. As a professional who has “seen it all,” I hope that this overview will prove helpful to you.

“Aunt Bertha says to find a photographer working for newspapers, commercials or Rock Stars.”

I would have to agree, and disagree, with Aunt Bertha. A good wedding photographer does not need to be one of these types, but they should be competent in all three areas of expertise. A good wedding photographer is competent in photojournalism... anticipating the moment, and telling a story with their pictures. They are also able to shoot details like a commercial photographer, and work creatively, with flair and technique, like a fashion or rock star photographer. A photographer’s specialization in any one of these areas does not qualify them to shoot weddings. Many photographers are entering the wedding business because it is lucrative. Be careful!

My advice: Look at a large body of work, not just model shots! Can this photographer do portraits of your grandmother with sensitivity and grace? Can they anticipate that mom is going to cry while buttoning the dress?

"My third, cousin, Jamie, wants to be a photographer… I think he won an award… He can do it!"

 Don’t do it! Not only is Jamie inexperienced, but he may rather sit and chat with the bridesmaids than take photos! Furthermore, his relationship with the subjects can affect the images (maybe Jamie brings out the “goofy” in just about everyone, or maybe Jamie is too shy to get all the photos he really should take). There is an art to knowing people and anticipating moments that even a good amateur photographer may not understand. A photographer with a large body of wedding experience knows what to epect, what to be ready for, what to hope for, and what can not be missed. Having an uncle videotape the ceremony for audio is one thing, having a relative document the entire event is another.

My advice: For the sake of your photos and your beloved relatives, let cousin Jamie shoot some candids, but don’t let a relative take full responsibility for something as important as your wedding photography.

 “Uncle Bob says that local photographers are the only ones to hire.”

Not necessarily! Often the choice of local photographers is very limited, especially on an isolated island.  If style is important to you, bring someone along who shoots your style. And remember, personality is also important. Yes, the local photographer knows the hot spots to shoot, but a good professional will scope out the locations, and the light, for a day or two before the event with fresh eyes.

 My brother-in-law’s uncle’s grandfather insists that film is still better than digital.

Likely not… For fine art portraiture, film still has a very slight advantage, but that edge is lessening as new digital techniques and equipment become available. The digital age has arrived. Generally, digital is better for destination wedding photography; images can be duplicated on the spot, while film can easily get lost, destroyed, overheated or x-rayed while traveling. Other advantages to digital include larger image size, less grain, ability to convert color to black-and-white, and less equipment to haul around.

(On a trip to Hawaii for a wedding before the digital age, I almost missed a plane because I refused to have my 150 rolls of film x-rayed, so each individual roll was painstakingly swabbed for explosives!)

My niece’s best friend is a photographer, but she can’t find the f-stop on her camera.

Ouch! Make sure your photographer has shot film! Having stated that digital is superior, I must add that this does not mean digital photographers are superior! On the contrary, film photographers are more likely to know the basics of photography and lighting. Many young digital shooters do not! With automatic cameras and instant feedback, some current “photographers” do not know photography!

My advice: Even if a photographer is fully comfortable in the digital age, they should have an impressive background in, and knowledge of, film photography.

“My dad wants us to save money on the photography.” I’m fairly sure your dad does not want you to regret your wedding photos. Pictures are the only thing from your wedding, besides your spouse, that you will keep forever. Wedding photography is an art; it takes a special person to be good at this job, someone who not only knows photography, but who is also spontaneous, creative, calm in the face of a storm, and good with people. While there are plenty of new photographers on the block, with digital cameras and laptops, not many have most, or all, of these attributes.

My advice: Spend more for a professional.

 “I am The Photographer! Now do as you are told!”

Yikes! Your photographer will be sharing with you some of the most important days of your life! Make sure they are someone who can be part of your family, who fits in, and makes you comfortable in front of the camera! Arrogance can ruin your images, and even your day! And you can’t “trade them in,” once they have joined you in.

My advice: Make sure you like them, as well as their photos!

“Dude, I like to travel. Sure, I can shoot your wedding…”

Yes, the young and cool can be creative, but they can also be, well…flaky! Find someone who is fun to be with, but who won’t embarrass you. Find a professional who is mature enough to handle the unexpected. Sorry to break the news, but nothing goes exactly as planned, especially in a destination wedding. There is no lesson like experience. Will your photographer “roll with the unexpected,” all the while staying calm, and professional?

“My sister’s best friend, Marcia, told me to bring Mrs. Rogers, our hometown photographer.”

How exciting to think the woman who took your class photo in third grade might also photograph your wedding? Well, it might be great, if you have a relationship with Mrs. Rogers, but not so great if you don’t like her style. Don’t bring her if you are hip, and she is old-fashioned! With technology, you don’t need a photographer from your hometown. Many photographers are willing to travel, so why not get the best? Many even put album designs in an email to review!

“My father-in-law-to-be says to get the Big Package!”

Big can be good, and sometimes you save money with packages, but what if you hired the wrong photographer and the images are awful? What good are 8 free albums of bad images? Spend more to get good images from the beginning. Remember, you can order albums in a year or so, after the wedding expenses have been paid.

“My mother-in-law-to-be says to save money by getting a cd of the images and no albums.”

Yes, Bob’s Beachfront Photography offers the CD, and it is nice to have the images in case Bob disappears back to the mainland, but will he be there to help with album layout, or will he be lying on the beach? Some photographers give high resolution images to clients, and it can save money, but it is more work for you to make prints and albums. It takes us a week to layout and print an album!

“My girlfriend’s bridesmaid told me to hire a photographer for the ceremony and portraits only.”

Definitely not. One advantage of destination weddings is to have more time with special people in a unique place. If the photographer is coming anyway, hire him/her for several days to capture the entire event, the setting, the relationships, and all the guests having a good time. At the end of the week you have pictures of Aunt Molly riding horses on the beach, wonderful connections between your guests, and Grandpa Joe snorkeling. These are priceless. We also make fine art prints of the setting for the couple’s apartment.

“Johnny the ring-bearer insists that you hire the guy who gives online proofs.”

New photographers can open a business with only 3 items: a camera, an on-line proofing service, and a business card. See that you get some service as well. One of those services is printing paper proofs or proof books. While on-line proofs reach more guests, they are not for everybody; some family members may have old, tired eyes or may be unskilled on the computer.

My advice: Make sure the photographer you choose accommodates your wishes for proofs and prints. I hope this advice helps. Please feel free to send me comments, horror stories, or just beautiful pictures of weddings abroad.

Gary Oakley founded Oakley Photography in 1996 in Boulder, Colorado and now travels the world shooting documentary and wedding photography. To see his work or send him a message visit: http://www.oakleyphotography.com.