Sacramento wedding photographer Doug Miranda Photography has been capturing photos of newly wed couples in the greater Sacramento area since 2007. After receiving his BA in professional photography from Brooks Institute of Photography he moved back to the Northern California area to start up his photography business. He has been loving every second of it since. Sacramento and the Northern California area, which encompasses cities, Napa and Sonoma Valley along with Lake Tahoe are dream locations for wedding ceremonies and receptions. Thus making this area such a popular destination for couples and photographers to capturing images of these special life events.
For a couple that is newly engaged it will seem like Information overload when you google Sacramento wedding photographers and see the pages upon pages of websites. Just going through two pages of sites you’ll most likely have you burnt out on searching for your photographer. Besides this I’m sure that the venue you are hosting your special day at has already given you a list of preferred vendors to work with, which adds to the confusion of who to hire. One of the first things I would recommend for couples to look for in a photographer is to see if their images speak to them. I know this seems lame, but if someone has amazing reviews and is recommend by venues and other professionals but you really don’t like the photographs they take then please move on. This is one of the most important days of your lives and you should really find someone that you immediately fall in love with their photography.
Another thing to consider when looking for a wedding photographers is to see if they’ve taken pictures at the venue you’re going to get married at. Even though you should consider this I personally don’t see it as a good or bad thing. I think both camps are good if they’ve photographed at your venue or not. The pros of finding a photographer that has worked your venue before. Is that they are familiar with the location and grounds. Most likely they already know where the good locations are for having your portraits taken at and when certain areas are in good light. They also might understand how the flow of the wedding happens at that particular event center. Then the pros of finding a photographer who hasn’t worked at your wedding venue is that they can photograph your wedding with open eyes and not have a clue of hitting up the same popular spots to take your photos at that others do. This means they can find new and interesting locations and lighting that will give you super unique pictures on your wedding day. They are also more apt to take chances to get you great photos then staying in the comfort zone that most wedding vendors do who work the same location over and over. So that’s why it’s not that important to having to find someone who's worked at your venue before.
Here’s a list of favorite Sacramento area wedding venues that Doug Miranda Photography loves to work and document wedding photos at.
Does your perspective photographer’s personality mesh with yours is one thing to think about. This is actually a big one to think about when hiring a vendor that you’re going to be around on your special day. Besides a wedding planner if you hire one your photographer will be around you the most out of any vendor you hire for your special day. If you don’t like the vibe that they give off but love their work you should look else where. That photographer took those amazing photos you love of other couples because their personalities were alike. If you don’t mesh well with them you are not going to get those amazing photos you dreamed of.
One other factor in finding a photographer to photograph your wedding is how long they’ve been in business for and how many weddings have they actually have photographed. I know when I first started out this one was one of the main reasons I didn’t book jobs because clients wanted someone who had more knowledge and time under their belt photographing weddings. When I was younger I thought this deal breaker was a bunch of bull, but now I completely believe this to be true. On the wedding day things are happing so fast that if you are unexperienced and don’t know how to solve problems on the fly things can go south really quick. This could have a great effect on the wedding day or how your wedding pictures turn out. Sometimes it’s small things like knowing when to leave a room when someone is really stressed out before the ceremony or having back up camera equipment just in case something important breaks during the day. Trust me something will eventually break and you’ll need a back up in order to finish a couple’s wedding day. It’s happened to me a couple times before and thank god I always have had backups to still be able to create images for my couples. Another thing that comes with hiring an experienced photographer is they’ll know the flow of a normal wedding day, what pictures to take, know when the best lighting will happen and be able to anticipate important moments that happen during these events. The other common place thing is knowing if they actually have a business license and business insurance. You think this would be something that you would do first off when starting a business, but there are many people out there who have been operating for years without both these important items.
Booking a wedding photographer can be a long process, but once you find those photos that speak to you, you’ll know that photographer is probably the right person for your big day.
Here are my top 3 factors that go into finding the right Sacramento wedding photographer for your special day.
Number one deciding factor is does their wedding photographs speak to you i.e. do you love their work.
My second factor is how long they’ve been in business for and their experience level with photographing these kind of events.
The third factor is do you like their personality or do both your personalities mesh together. You are not going to want to hire someone you don’t like since they will be around you most of the day.
The fourth and final factor when picking a photographer is have they photographed at the wedding venue you are getting married at? Please read the text above to find out my opinion on this one, which can go both ways.
Contacting Me and Pricing Information
Please fill out the contact form on this website in order to find out more about my wedding photography services and pricing. I also offer custom wedding packages for weddings that don’t fit into one of my offered packages or if you need an elopement photography package. You can also call me at 916-422-2256 or email me directly at doug@dougmiranda.com I look forward to hearing from you and learning about your wedding day.
Here's links to my Sacramento Senior Portraits website, Sacramento Headshot Photographer and Sacramento Family Photographer website.