Once you and your chosen photographer have decided on a mutually agreeable contract, it is time to reserve the photographer. The formal way to engage this commitment is by providing a deposit to the photographer. This is usually anywhere between 10-50 percent of the final quoted price.

The basic expectation for a photographer is that no other weddings will be booked for this day, as they are counting on your business to keep them busy. If you cancel your wedding for any reason, you should not expect the deposit to be refunded. Chances are, the photographer has already taken a loss and, depending on the contract, you still may be liable for the full balance.

If the photographer cannot make the wedding (family death or illness, etc), you should expect a full refund of any deposits so you can make alternate arrangements.

Most deposits will be in a secured form, either cashier check or money order. Depending on your photographer, personal checks may be accepted. Do not ever use cash or other means which do not maintain a legal paper trail of your transactions.

Choosing a wedding photographer may be a very intense process. You need to make sure that a contract clearly stipulates your expectations so all that hard work doesn’t go down the drain.

Each contract is different, but here are some key items that should be included in your contract:

-Date of the wedding;

-Time you expect the photographer to arrive and depart;

-A minimum number of images and other deliverables (books, DVDs, etc);

-Location of all events;

-Extraneous expenses (travel, tolls, materials);

-Style of photography;

-Date materials will be ready for delivery;

-Payment methods;

-Due dates for deposits and final payments;

-Price

You do not need to have a contract notarized, but witnesses will surely help. Secure ‘duplicate originals’ which are copies but with original signatures. Be sure you retain one of these copies for your records.

If any item in the contract seems odd, you can always consult a lawyer but that should never be necessary.

It may be blatantly obvious, yet necessary to emphasize. No two weddings are ever alike. And, just like lighting that never strikes twice, interesting and unforeseen things are bound to happen.

And, just like the old cliche, you’ll laugh about it all….someday.

And, when that someday finally arrives, you’ll have the entire day documented by a professional photojournalist.

Photojournalism flies in the face of ‘traditional’ photography. There are very few posed shots…very few shots where people even see the photographer. You get the real, organic, honest recollection of the day just as it happened.

With photojournalism you can expect uniquely framed images, images which may not be centered or even in focus. You may have deliberately over or underexposed images to capture an emotion.

The bottom line is this – with Photojournalism you will get a story. With traditional photography, you get a guest book.