What makes each San Francisco city hall wedding photographer different? There are many answers to this question and most of them revolve around Picture Quality, Style and Pricing. Our City Hall Website speaks to this question in more detail. Different clients are attracted to various styles and certain prices depending upon their budget. Overall picture quality is hard to rank because it is so subjective. Each engaged couple may like something different depending upon their individual tastes and background.
Obviously, there are all kinds of budgets out there. Some people have tons of money to spend on their wedding and others don’t even want to pay for a professional city hall wedding photographer. We see people at San Francisco city hall all the time with friends taking pictures using cell phones! While it is possible to obtain a decent picture with a Cell Phone, the device has obvious limitations Again, there are many different opinions, finances and style preferences. There are some standard things to look for in a great wedding photographer though.
One thing that every seems to agree upon is the likability factor. If you do not enjoy working with your wedding photographer, it will negatively impact your wedding day. Without fail, clients want a courteous, friendly and fun city hall wedding photographer. They want to experience an overall positive day and that includes the wedding photography shoot. Having your wedding pictures taken should not be a negative experience. We try to make it easy going and enjoyable. In the photo below you can see my photography partner Toni Bailey with one of our couples.
Wedding Photography with a Smile
Ever notice how much easier it is to smile for the camera when the person taking the photo is smiling too? Try it sometime. Take a photo of a friend or loved one and scowl at them or just act serious while asking them to smile. Take some pictures and store them for future comparisons. Now, take pictures a couple days later of the same friends or relatives, but this time when you take the picture and ask them to smile, be sure to be beaming yourself! Yes, part of your face will inevitably be hiding behind the camera, but your subjects will know. Save those pictures also and the compare the results. What will you see? The subjects in the second set of pictures with the smiling photographer will have more natural smiles and be more at ease. The first group with the frowning photographer will also be displaying smiles. But look closely and you will a difference. More strain and stress, but mostly more fake. This especially works well if you know your subjects well and can easily identify when this friend or relative is faking it.
This has been our mantra since the beginning. We receive more Yelp Reviews on how much people enjoyed us than anything else. Of course, they love the pictures as well! I think there is definitely something to be said about seeing your wedding photographer enjoy what he or she is doing. If they appear to be just doing a difficult job it will rub off on your attitude as well. So when interviewing potential City Hall wedding photographers, be sure to evaluate their personalities and not just the quality of their portfolio. I know it seems to be an unnecessary step, but I really feel it is an important one. I am certainly not suggesting that you have to be best friends with your wedding photographer, but getting along with them goes a long way. It really makes the overall experience a great one.
This is how we run our San Francisco City Hall wedding photography service. We do everything we can to maintain a friendly environment and remain upbeat. We truly do enjoy our jobs and it shows in our attitude during your photography session. Over the years, I have interviewed countless brides and grooms looking for a SF City Hall wedding photographer. Inevitably, it seems that most of them have decided to look elsewhere for a wedding photographer instead of referrals from close friends. When I ask them why they didn’t want to select a referral from a trusted friend, they often tell me that they attended the wedding and did not like the photographer. In most cases, they thought the photos were very nice, but did not want to go through the same experience that their friends did with a rude or uncaring wedding photographer. The same thing goes for San Francisco City Hall wedding photographers. There are many great ones out there who take incredible pictures, but some of them may not be as easy to deal with as others. It’s your wedding so take the time and find a wedding photographer that meets all of your needs including the ability to enjoy the photo shoot itself and not just the results that come after.
Customer Service is More the Just Being Friendly
When we think of a business that provides great customer service, we often remember The Smiling Faces of the people who are offering the service. As mentioned above, this is very important to your overall experience to a bride and groom on their wedding day. We are very proud of the customer service we provide to our couples. We make sure they are comfortable, happy and fully informed of the plan for the day regarding wedding photography. When it comes to San Francisco City Hall, we also help the bride and groom through the entire check-in process for their civil ceremony. By doing this we take a lot of the stress away from them, which allows them to focus on each other. Of course we do this all with a smile and that makes everyone more relaxed and positive. I strongly feel that newlywed couples are entitled to both things… Great wedding pictures and a fun experience achieving them.
