Gerry Costello Photography

Painting.

2011-10-25T16:39:00.000-07:00

Its a new one for me but tomorrow I photograph a painter !

No ...... not the painter and decorator type but the artist type. She wishes to have a portfolio of herself at work in her studio. Mood will be a key factor and I need to portray her personality and style of artistry in the shots.

I plan to just talk and sort of interview for a few hours just to get a feel for what she is about and then shoot some casual and finally the posed stuff I have in mind if all that works out.

Wish me luck !!

Hospital Beds from a different angle !

2011-10-25T16:23:00.001-07:00

Spent 2 days photographing some new hospital beds for a manufacturing company. One has to go through the process to see what they can actually do and the little hidden parts that can now make the bed more versatile and be of better service to both patient and carers.

Sign of the times.

2011-10-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

The past few years have been difficult for so many people and for so many traders also. This year alone I notice that five of my colleagues in the Galway and Mayo areas have gone out of business. Even worse still, they are the ones that would have been doing so well when times were good and were doing the lions share of the work. These were the good, solid reliable operators who ran a good business and an excellent service.

It makes one feel lucky to be still working and making ends meet.

Camera Vault finally in place

2011-10-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

Finally managed to acquire a fireproof vault for the studio cameras and managed to get it in place today. At almost three quarters of ton and just 2cm to spare getting it in the door, it was no easy job. But its in now and takes all the cameras, lenses and back-up hard disks so that's another requirement filled.

Has it been this long ?

2011-10-11T13:42:00.001-07:00

Wow! ........ I cant believe it been so long since I updated my blog. I must really try harder to update more often. The recession has drained much of the enthusiasm from all of us but now that there seems to be a "settling down" happening its time to get on with life and kick ass again. Its great to see the portrait business has really picked up and seems busier than it was in good times

Heading again towards the year end !

2010-08-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

Galway races over is the first signal that the year is much more advanced that we think.

I also see the increase in wedding inquiries for 2011 & 2012 and the bookings are now happening.

There is excellent value to be had from all suppliers now and for the next year at any rate. I notice a trend for 2012 to be much busier than the last 2 years judging by the amount of bookings coming in for it.

Anyway ........... here's to better times ahead !

Summer !

2010-06-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

Great to see the good weather for such a long period. Makes Ireland a very attractive location to live in regardless of the Economic downturn. Anyway ...... things are looking up ........... lets all be positive again - to hell with poverty !

Was on a very good business course recently and came away with a much improved attitude.

Working on my first newsletter which should be doing the rounds in mid-June.

The Studio has been busy of late and I'm increasing the commercial side which I've neglected to market for many years now.

I've promised myself also to make much better use of my free time and get some work done around the house.

More to follow soon !

Ricky Stevens R.I.P.

2010-04-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

It is with deep sadness today that I heard of the passing of Ricky Stevens, a great photographer, a great adviser, a wealth of information and help, and a great friend to me for well over 20 years. I first met Ricky on joining the IPPA and together with Robert Allen was given a warm and friendly welcome and was immediately made part of the group that I had always thought I was not worthy of their membership.

Ricky worked tirelessly for the IPPA as an association, for Irish Photographers who were his friends - one and all - (regardless who you were or how little you knew, Ricky was there to help and advise) and for photography in Ireland which was his passion.

Some years ago I watched Ricky get suddenly ill and thought "this is it" but while it may have done its best to slow him down it failed, and Ricky together with his trusted walking stick still attended the various events where he met and chatted with his friends and colleagues and anyone whom he met.

It was truly inspirational for me to see at first hand his enthusiasm for his beloved industry, his unyielding strength and determination to fight his illness, his love for life and that warm, strong handshake and welcoming smile for all who met him and knew him.

I know that while he will be missed greatly by his family he will be also greatly missed by all who knew him and had the good fortune to be associated with him in any way.

Ricky, from your golden seat in Heaven, comfort and protect your loved ones and look kindly and intercede for your friends and colleagues and your beloved industry that you worked so hard for.

Ricky, May you rest in peace and reap the rewards of your harvest.

Gerry

Recession Ends !

2010-04-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

I have been reliably informed that the recession officially ends on Tuesday, May 18th.

It's great news and do spread it around. Lets get positive again and live life to the full.

A Year moving on !

2010-02-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

February is around again and while the industry is still in "quiet" mode things are beginning to happen. Had some very successful commercial shoots in the past few weeks and its great to get this type of work as in times past it was reserved solely for the big names, more expensive photographers but times of recession have meant that the commercial client are looking for better value for money and are willing to shop about more.

Another year !

2010-01-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

Another year begins and it looks like it will be quiet but probably not as quiet as last year. The commercial and portrait side of my business is starting off nicely and is busy at present so that will hopefully see the first few months of the year sorted. There also seems to be some interest in some art-photo work I have been doing and most amazingly my landscape work is selling !

I am looking at the posability of having some of my work published later in 2010 -- fingers crossed !

Free Studio Portrait Sittings

2009-11-09T13:20:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is day one of my latest promotion of portraiture. As we face into the 10th year of the "new" century I am a little surprised when so many people tell me that they have not had a family portrait taken in years. It seems they were too busy during the so called "boom" years and during the recession they could not afford the cost.

With this in mind I am offering free studio sittings (normally €60.00 !) until January 31st 2010 where you can make an appointment, have your portrait commissioned or family sitting done and see the results via a secure link on my website.

From there you can chose to buy whatever you wish.

Call (090) 9684770 and book your aitting now !

Wedding Brochure

2009-10-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

Just launched my new Wedding Brochure today. Never had a proper one before so I'm well pleased with my efforts. It looks well and hopefully it will promote the business in the way I feel it should.

If you need one just give me a mail with your postal address and it will be in the post shortly !

The down side of Wedding Photography

2009-10-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

This is probably something we will see more and more of as time goes by. The "in" thing right now is "reportage" which is a fly on the wall approach to wedding photography. This is casual shooting without setting up any formal photographs with "arty" type twists and turns. Done properly it can be interesting but can be dangerous. While a photography judge at a competition will see a photograph and deem it was taken in an interesting pose at, say, a 33 degree angle a judge in court may see it as a poorly taken photograph.

So many people will ask for reportage and describe it as "unposed, casual photography" .............. if you question further you will discover what they really mean is simular to the ones that appear in the glossy bridal magazines. Truth be told all the photographs that you see in these magazines are done under ideal conditions using models who are posed to look like they were just standing around looking beautiful. Hours of work goes into these shots.
This word "reportage" seems to mean different things to different people and the customer and photographer may see it differently.

Anyway ............ that does not seem to be the case below. By NOT doing the posed family and bridal party shots which are part and parcel of every wedding and family event a photographer is leaving themselves wide open to end up like this one has done.

Read on ......

By Paul Stokes (Tuesday October 06 2009, Irish Independent.)

A newly-married couple have successfully sued their wedding photographer after paying £1,450 (€1600 ) for a "woefully inadequate" service.
Marc and Sylvia Day were presented with a disc full of pictures from the big day with heads chopped off, inattentive guests and random close-ups of vehicles and of the 400 images ...... only 22 met with their approval.
In a further insult to the occasion, Gareth Bowers, of Fresh Images photography, misspelled their names on thank you cards, bearing a variety of the pictures, which read: “Thank you Slyvia and Mark”.
They have now been awarded compensations by a judge after winning a case for breach of contract against the photographer.
Mrs Day, 50, a shop assistant, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, said: “He seemed very reasonable, very polite and professional.
”But we were left with no alternative but to take this man to court because the service we received was absolutely appalling.”
Deputy District Judge Keith Nightingale, found in favour of the Days at Pontefract county court and criticised Mr Bowers for providing “inappropriate” photos and a “woefully inadequate” service.
Mr Bowers told the court he had been in business for four years and in that time covering just 20 weddings.
He ordered him to pay back £500 from the £1,450 to the Days with £450 in damages, £100 for their loss of earning and £170 in court fees.
Judge Nightingale told him: “It is not just the quality of the photographs, but the subject of the photos is unworthy of wedding photographs.”.
Mrs Day said things went from bad to worse after a different video operator turned up at her home on the wedding on August 24 last year and she “broke down in tears” when she saw the photographs.
She said: “There are no nice group shots with the usual, bride and groom and family and bridesmaids".

Mr Day, 48, described his experience with the wedding photographer as “a car crash” from start to finish.
He said: “Some of those memories we will never get back again. He is the Don Quixote of wedding photography - he just doesn't believe that he can't do it.”
Mr Bowers didn't wish to comment.

- Paul Stokes
© Telegraph.co.uk

Where does the time go ? ............. on your wedding day !

2009-09-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

It's a question that many people ask afterwards.

Well, I recon the answer is that you have so much to fit into the few hours allocated in the "time allowed" that you just dont have time to think ......... so the average wedding day is like a ten minute event to many couples.

Time planning is one of the most important things you must do if you wish everything to run smoothly. After many years of watching and many, many weddings attended, this is generally how the timings work out.

Church Wedding Mass is 1.25 hours .......... maybe a little more - never less.

Signing register is about 15 minutes.

Greeting guests and congratulations at church door is 20 minutes for each 100 people.

Group shot outside church is 10 minutes

Family shots take about 30 minutes by the time all necessary people are found and located.

Travel to reception is on average 40 minutes depending on the location and the time of day.

All of that adds up to 3.5 hours ......... so if it the wedding is at, say, 1.00pm and you have, say, 220 guests then by the time you reach the reception it will be in or around 4.30pm !

This is assuming the ceremony begins ON TIME. If the bride is late walking up the aisle then add that amount of lost time on.

We have not added time for visiting a scenic location on the way for some photographs so this is an extra portion of time also and there are still bridal party photographs to be done !

My best advice is to begin on time and allow 4.5 hours from start of ceremony time to sitting down time. If guests are not ready to sit on time then the quality of the food is going down while its being kept hot and its not exactly fair to the venue or other guests to be kept waiting.

This also applies to us photographers. Its not "our day out" and keeping everybody waiting while we demonstrate our abilities and egos is simply not on either. The greatest complement that I ever get is when the couple send a card to say a special "thank you" to me for "making the day so easy and enjoyable" .......... when the priest says that I was hardly noticable in the church or when the hotel manager says thanks for getting finished on time.

A wedding day is not about photographs and many other people have parts to play in the success of the once in a lifetime event and we as photographers should never be the cause of having events running late because we are desperately trying to capture the next "award winning shot".
So ....... there you are ! ........................ Hope this is of help to some of you out there !

Gift Certificates

2009-09-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered what to give the friends who have everything?
A gift voucher for a portrait sitting, as a wedding gift to help towards their wedding photography has become an ideal and very popular gift.

It's worth thinking about !

We offer gift vouchers for Weddings, Birthdays, Mother & Father's Day Gifts, Graduation, First Communion's, Confirmation's, New Born Babies, Christenings, etc. The list is endless and you will be giving them cherished memories which will last a lifetime.

A Couple of recent Weddings

2009-08-08T05:02:00.001-07:00

Ollie & Laura in Glenamoy Church, Co. Mayo.

Javier & Valerie In Carna, Co. Galway.

Laura & Seamus in Menlo Church

David & Kathleen in Fahy Church, Westport, Co. Mayo.

It's happened again ! ........... Be very careful !

2009-08-05T04:42:00.000-07:00

For the sixth time in the last year I've got that telephone call again today. A girl in tears telling me she is getting married next week and she can't locate the photographer she booked almost a year ago.

Yes ..... the website is still up and the mobile phone number is there but it can't be reached. Yes ...... she paid a deposit at the booking but no contract was signed and given to her.
Yes ......... she knows where the photographer lives, she has called there but there is nobody at home and the place looks like it has been vacent for some time.
No .......... the address is not on the website. No ......... there is no landline number on the website.
Yes ......... she had viewed some work that was shown to her at the booking stage and she was happy enough at the time of booking. Yes ......... she booked the photographer because the price was cheap and it looked like a good deal. No ........ the photographer was not a member of the regulatory bodies (IPPA or MPA)................ "did this matter" she asked.

On checking up later I found that the photographer was not registered and the business was not registered either. She now has no photographer for her wedding and is desperate and panicing !

What can she do ?

The long and the short of all this is that the photographer has gone out of business or "done a runner" to some other location and is doing the same thing there and will not be back. She has been had and will unlikely get any of her deposit back. She knows this now and is just trying desperately to get another photographer to cover the wedding.

The only advice I could offer was to report this to her local Gardai but beyond this there is little she can do but write it off and move forward. The photographer is unlikely to have insurance or bonding of any kind and as no contact can be made it would be difficult to do anything about this mess that she finds herself in.

She will be really lucky to get anyone at this stage to cover her wedding as its a prime date and everyone worth their salt will be booked long ago. Its a sad situation and the worst of all is that it reflects on the industry and gives it a bad reputation. We all suffer as a result.

What can you do to prevent this happening to you ?

(1) Only book a registered, qualified and insured Photographer for your wedding.

(2) If you use the net then be sure that the site you are looking at has a business address, a
landline number and a business registration number.

(3) Make sure that the photographer is qualified ie. holds the distinction of LIPPA or LMPA

(4) Ensure that the photographer is insured as you can no longer take photographs at any OPW
scenic location (Parks, Castles, Woodlands, Old Abbeys, etc.) without your photographer
having the appropriate amount of Public Liability Insurance. (All members of the IPPA
must, as part of their membership, carry €6.5 million public liability cover).

(5) When you make a booking and pay a deposit ensure you get a signed contract. Remember
that unless a deposit is paid then no booking exists.

(6) Always use a business that has a reputation and history record.

(7) Remember ........ if the price is too good to be true then it probably is !

(8) A good idea is take all the prices you get and work somewhere in the average of this. The cheapest is never the best unless you dont mind poor quality, poor service, corners cut,
no after sales service, no backup, etc. etc.

Don't get caught out ................... it's now more common than you think ! !

This is not unique to the photographic industry ........... it's in every industry across the
board ...... EVERYWHERE !

So ....... be careful and then be extra careful !

Jonathan & Aisling

2009-07-26T16:54:00.001-07:00

Jonathan & Aisling at the Claregalway Hotel following their wedding ceromony at Ryehill Church.

The Bridesmaid in natural green !

Recession "bottoming out"

2009-07-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

Its begining at last to seem that the recession that we've really seen here since the second quarter of 2008 is hitting the rocks and certainly for the smaller business its beginning to look a little better. It will, no doubt, be ages for a reasonable recovery to take place but things seem to be on the way back.

2010 will still be a great time to do anything (if you have the money!) as prices are now at a low and good value is to be had on all goods and services. Its worth thinking about !!!

However ....... remember that the cheap price is not always good value and its much better to hit somewhere in the mid point between expensive and cheap. The pointer still holds true that "you can have it GOOD, FAST, CHEAP, ................ Pick any two !

Horse & Carriage

2009-07-21T17:36:00.001-07:00

Recently had this delightful Horse & Carriage at a wedding I was photographing. It was a really nice touch and the combination of horse, carriage and driver was superb. If you are into this kind of travel on your wedding day then this is worth taking a look at.

Contact Tony McKeigue at (090) 9685708

Tomás & Louise at the Abbey in Claregalway

2009-07-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

Relaxing after the Ceremony in Ryehill Church and just "stopping off" at the Old Abbey on their way to the Clayton Hotel.

Cold Sales Calls

2009-07-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

If you have been one of the "poor sods" that have been calling me on my business line trying to get me to subscribe to some advertising pitch or to get me on the "top of Google" or if you were flooding my email account with "special offers" for "God knows what" then you've been wasting your time and energy. Sorry for being the bearer of such bad news.

During the best of times I am a pretty bad customer for cold calls and certainly since the present economic crisis began I'm as strapped for cash as the next and there is simply no way I can even afford any extra outlay ............ on ANYTHING !

Anyway ....... how many can fit on the top of Google ? Used to be one when I went to school a long time back so I cant understand how roughly 400 odd photographers can get to be on top of the list.

I did allow one guy to explain to me one day for almost an hour how it would be done. I put the phone on speaker and just continued working away at the desk just giving the odd "Yea" and "what was that?" and "Aye" ................... but I still did not figure out how he would get us all up there on the top ................ but he certainly assured me it was possible.

Needless to say I had no intention of "buying" anything and as he was paying for the call and since he seemed to love to talk I felt it was no skin off my nose. " Let him off" ..... "Bring it on !".

"HEARTLESS !!!" ..... you may say.

Well not really ........................ I felt that while I kept him on the line I was saving some other photographer, with a lot of work to get out, the bother of insulting him by telling him to "bog off!". I was thinking ............"while the burgler was trying to raid my premises then he could not be down the road trying to raid a neighbours premises".

Anyway ........ I love to watch an artist at work and this guy was a fine artist ........and I wanted to make sure he had finished the canvas but still have the paint wet before I allowed to birds to fly over it.

Shane & Lorraine

2009-07-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

Shane & Lorraine looking splended on their Wedding Day at the Claregalway Hotel

The Wilson Sisters were truly magnificent in the Church. These girls are really worth seeing and hearing.

Top Brass Showband - A really brilliant Wedding Band

2009-07-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

I have come across this band at a few weddings I photographed in Athlone over the past few years. I had a better chance to sit and listen to them at a recent wedding I photographed at the Keadeau Hotel in Newbridge, Co. Kildare.

The sound is really great and they are excellent at keeping the crowd dancing. Have a listen to them on the link below

http://arecks.net/topbrass.htm

The sound they produce live is as good as the sound you hear on the link !

A really brilliant Wedding Band !!!

Updatd Web Site

2009-07-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

Have just updated my Web Site again to include an on-line ordering and viewing system.
Hope it will be of use to many customers for years to come !

Laura's Wedding

2008-10-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

Laura and her Bridesmaid, Mary, in Portumna's Old Abbey as the Autumn leaves fall.

Wedding of Denise & Con

2008-10-23T03:40:00.000-07:00

Denise & Con taken at The Meadow Court Hotel

Some Recent Weddings

2008-10-23T03:19:00.001-07:00

Kieran & Tatiana at The Galway Bay Hotel

Adrian & Claire at UCG

Enda & Lisa at The Meadow Court Hotel

Liz at

The Oranmore

Lodge

Andrew & Rita at

The Keadeau Hotel,

Co Kildare

Adrian

And

Claire

at UCG

On-Line Surveys

2008-10-21T02:28:00.000-07:00

Wonder if anyone else has noticed the increase of on-line surveys that are happening right now. Its almost annoying when you try to go on to a site or a search engine and you must first "take this short survey". The questions are usually worded in a slick way and I find sometimes my negative imputs sound positive by the time I have finished. There are never spaces provided for you to give your true imputs and comments.

Wedding tips for the Bride & Groom ........ and even a few for guests

2008-10-18T03:23:00.000-07:00

As a wedding photographer I attend more weddings each year than most people, and as a result I have learned so many simple things that will help your day run smoothly. These tips are just little things that I have discovered along the way that you might find useful:

Bridal tips
-----------

When you're having your hair styled on your wedding day, wear a shirt. Many brides wear a t-shirt, then struggle to get it over their newly coiffeured head. If you wear a shirt it can be unbuttoned and will not damage your hairdo.

If you have a dress that goes over your head, get a pillow a silk underskirt to put over your head first. This way your dress will slide on more easily with damaging hair or getting any make-up on it.

One little thing about make-up .......... ensure that your make-up artist dulls the makeup - don't leave it shiny/oily as it will reflect light from flash, windows, etc and does not make for good photographs. Ensure also before the day that make-up used does not re-act with your skin, sot try it out first.

Remove labels on the underside of shoes in advance of your wedding day.

If your dress has laces or buttons, ask a friend to come and help you dress. Often a bridesmaid or family member will be there for bridal preparations, but it is likely that they may also have false nails for the occasion. If you have a friend present who isn’t in the bridal party they will be able to help the bride to get dressed.

Dress the bride first. Lots of people dress the bride last so everyone is ready to help, but if plans start to run behind it will be the bride who is in a rush to get dressed. If you dress the bride first she can get ready at her own pace, feel relaxed and have time to make any adjustments to her dress for maximum comfort. It is not the bride’s job to dress the bridesmaids or any children – make sure you have plenty of helpers to do this so that she can enjoy her wedding day.

Guys – you need to plan ahead also!
--------------------------------------

This may seem obvious, but remember your socks! Far too many grooms get married without socks and it can sometimes be seen on photographs.

If you usually have your head shaven don’t do it on the day of your wedding or you will look bald or shiny on photographs. Have your head shaved at least one week prior to your wedding to allow time for some of it to grow back.

As with the ladies – if you have new shoes then take the labels off the sole before your wedding day.

Your buttonhole is traditionally worn on your left lapel and do ensure that you and your best man/groomsmen all wear their buttonholes on the same side.

The most important thing for both bride and groom is to forget about everybody else on the day and enjoy your wedding day! The planning is complete and it’s time to have a great day. Whatever happens you need to take it in your stride – don’t dwell on minor mishaps, but laugh at them and enjoy yourself. Never lose sight of the reason you are there – to become husband and wife. If there are minor mishaps only you will know about them - the guests never knew the plan of the day so they will not notice if some little thing goes wrong or you forget something.

A word to the Guests;
-----------------------

Remember you are there at the invitation of the Bride & Groom. They could have asked anyone of probably hundreds of people that they know and, indeed, they made a hard decission to omit many from their list that they would dearly love to have there but it was just not practical to have them because of number constraints on the reception venue. So they thought long and hard and invited you over so many more. You should be honoured that you were invited along and you should behave accordingly.

Some pointers on "good manners" and common courtsey;

Be on time as invited. Don't wander in half way through the ceremony.

Do not stand about outside the church waiting for the bride to arrive. This is the height of bad manners as every bride wants to be seen for the first time as she walks up the aisle. I have seen brides cry when they arrive at the church because they expect people to be in the church. Do not add to the stress of the day for your bride.

When you are asked to stand into the group photograph do not refuse and walk away. You were invited and its part of the day and the occasion. If you do not appear in the group shot then it will look like you could not be bothered to attend the ceremony and just went to the reception for the food and entertainment.

You were asked to attend the wedding as a guest. The photographer was hired to take the photographs. Do not mix up the two ! ! ! While most photographers do not mind you taking the odd photograph they will not tolerate anyone moving in and taking over the couple. Never get in the photographers way. The Couple are paying good money for their photography and nobody should interfere in the process. You would never disrupt the Celebrant at the ceremony or arrive at the reception and begin to cook your own food so why disrupt the photographer and start taking your own photographs. It is manners to ask and then be unobtrusive.

Be on time for the Meal Sit-Down. Its surprising to see people walk in as the second course begins and expect to be catered to as if they were on time. Proceed to the reception after the ceremony. The drink is the same there as in the many pubs you pass along the way.

Above all else, don't get drunk and become a nuicence. Thats the worst of all !
====================================================================

Gold Award Winning Photographer

2008-10-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

In August I managed to win my first IPPA Gold Award. I was "arm twisted" and "forced" to enter the photographs by RTE Make-Up Artist, Joey Keegan, whom I am doing an ongoing portfolio of work for. If you get to know Joey not only will you have a great conversationalist but also a lady who does not take no for an answer - so I thought it best to enter the photographs.

Good for me that I did. Thanks to Joey I am now among the IPPA Members who hold a Gold Award.

This is the press release that appeared on the occasion.

New Website

2008-10-16T16:09:00.000-07:00

My new Website went live today. My old one was long overdue a facelift and I have to say a big "Thank you" to my good friend Dee (Deirdre) Organ for putting the whole thing together and coming up with the design to suit the logo which I was already using. She has been so patient and helpful with her ideas in design and in the choice of the photographs used.

Dee thank you so much and hopefully we I can help in return.

So, hope you all enjoy the site !

Choosing Your Wedding Photographer

2008-10-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

Your wedding day is one of the few occasions in your life that you will comission the services of a Professional Photographer. You will need someone whom you will be at ease with and who will help to make your day become "your day"! So many photographers think that a wedding is their day out to grab that award winning shot and will stop at nothing and will take all the time in the world to get the shot. This practise is not practical on a weding day. There is a time slot between the ceremony time and sitting down time at the reception venue and this is the allocated time for photography

Your photographer will be with you for the best part of five hours and you will need him/her to be friendly, helpful, guiding and most of all able to get on with the guests, priest or minister and the reception venue management. It is a good idea to ask the reception venue co-ordinator which photographers are most helpful when they arrive. Basically mention the name of the photographer you are thinking about and ask your co-ordinator for an honest assessment. They are dealing with photographers every day and know who will be easy to work with and who will break your heart on the day. The most important thing is that you have a full-time professional photographer cover your wedding who is qualified, insured and business registered. This is not only for your peace of mind but also for your protection also. What if a guest falls over the photographic equipment and gets injured? If the photographer is not insured you may well have a claim on yourself as the person who invited the guest and therefore you have a duty of care towards your guests.
More and more venues and all public parks and ameniety areas now demand that all photohraphers entering for the purpose of taking wedding photographs must have public liability insurance to the value of €6.5 million.

Some tips when booking a Wedding Photographer:

1 Make sure your Photographer is qualified and is a member of a recognised Association. In Ireland the Irish Professional Photographers Association is the main regulatory body. The Master Photographers Association is also another good association.

2 Make sure they have a base or office where you can visit.

3 A proper land line telephone number is also an indication of a good business.
A mobile number only looks a bit "doddgy".

4 A business address is also vital. It has been my experience over the past two years that some photographers set up a website and give a mobile number, take deposits and dissappear into the night.

5 Make sure the photographer you book is the one covering your wedding and the samples you viewed are the ones done by your photographer. It can be a nightmare to find a staff photographer whom you do not know attending your wedding.

6 Your photographer is the person you should be dealing with person to person both before and after your wedding. Its a professional service and when you visit your professional such as the accountant, solicitor, advisor, doctor, etc. you expect to talk to them and not their wife, secretary or housekeeper. If you can't get access to your photographer then its not a good service.

7 Know exactly what is covered in your chosen package and that there are no nasty surprises or hidden extras that you were not told about in the beginning.

8 By choosing a qualified, registered professional photographer you will be drawing on their wealth of expeirience and you can rest assured that your Photographs will be something special that you will treasure for ever

Your wedding day is one of the most important days in your life. The wedding photographer is responsible for photograpohing ordinary people of all shapes and sizes and from every walk of life who generally are not used to being photographed and often don't want to be photographed. I have mentioned most of this above but just consider the following points before you choose your photographer...

Is your photographer a full time professional photographer?
Have you seen more than one complete wedding in order to assess his/her work?

Is the person(s) you met the one(s) that will be photographing your wedding? If not, you will want to meet and see the work of the person who will be your photographer.
Is he/she a member of a professional association?
Does the photographer have Public Liability and Professional Indemnity Insurance?
Do you get on with the photographer? Have you seen them at work at a wedding?