Lessons learned about photography contracts

I thought I would share some of the things I wish I would had known before booking a photographer.

Mostly what I want to share is about paying for digital copies of your photos... Overall, make sure you know exactly what you are getting.

First, make sure you are getting high-res photos. Low-res photos won't do you any good if you plan on printing anything larger than 4x6.

Make sure to ask the photographer whether they put their “signature” or not on the photos – usually it is their name in the corner of the photo. Luckily, my photographer gave us high-res files without her signature.

Make sure you understand whether you are getting, raw, edited or fully edited photos. Our photographer had a sheet explaining what we were getting so I thought I understood. I did not. I was aware that I was getting edited photos but not fully edited photos. I figured this was okay because I know how to fix stray hairs, face blemishes, etc using photoshop. When our engagement photos were ready to see, I loved the one she showed us on her website. But, when I got the digital files in the mail, they seemed not as sharp and the colors had a different tone. I was upset about this and talked with our photographer, Kristen, about the differences. I want to first say that Kristen is amazing and was very patient with me. I hired Kristen partially because I liked the style she edits with and I didn’t get that in the digital photos. She explain that she applied her vintage tint to the digital photos. However, when she finishes editing them, she lightens areas and darkens others - and this was not done on the digital photos. It is a lot of work to do that so I wasn’t happy about having to do that myself. She offered to do a few of the photos for me which was incredibly nice of her. I guess my suggestion to you is to have the photographer show you the difference between a raw photo, a minimally edited photo and then a fully edited one so you can see the difference. Ask whether the photos on your website will the same you will get for your digital files. I still think Kristen did an amazing job with our photos – I mean she made us look GOOD. I ended up editing the photos myself with Windows Photo Gallery and Photoshop. They don’t look exactly like Kristen’s but I love them. Most of the photos I just sharpened them a bit and turned up the contrast. Here’s an example of Kristen’s versus mine.

From KristenTaylorBlog.com

Mine.

From KristenTaylorBlog.com

Mine.

I used these photos to make a photobook for my mother in law that she asked me to do. I did the book on Mixbook.com and used her Groupon deal. I have to say I love Mixbook.com – it offered really cute options and I am so pleased with how it came out. So, if you are on a tight budget, then go with making your own photobook. I suggested to my mom that we make her a book through Mixbook.com instead of her ordering one through the photographer because it will save her, oh, a couple hundred buckaroos. Here’s a peak of our mixbook!

I hope that helps anyone who is hiring a photographer!