How to choose an event photographer. Continued

So, what do these different types of event photographers have to offer the customer?

As a customer, you will be looking at several factors in your decision-making; quality, speed, reliability, professionlism, and price. You will also be interested in how the photography company will be assisting you in meeting your goals for your event. There may be other factors that you will want to consider, but these tend to be the ones most clients that we have worked with focus on.

If quality is important to you, there are a few things that you may want to keep in mind. Quality photographs can be produced onsite using only two methods, inkjet or dye sublimation. Both of these printing methods require high-quality input. In other words... photographic talent and professional cameras will be needed regardless of how good the printer is. Assuming that the person taking the photographs has a good eye, and they are using professional capturing devices, then either inkjet or dye sublimation printers can create a quality image onsite. However, there are two major differences between the two that must be considered. The first is that dye submlimation prints are produced in such a way that they are much more immune to handling and water damage (an important consideration if you will be having alcohol served at your event). The other factor, and most important for your purposes, is speed. Ink-jet printers take a long time to produce an image. The dye sublimation printers that we use produce a 5x7 in less than 15 seconds.

For the photographer this choice usually comes down to cost and features. A professional photographer who owns a studio may select an inkjet printer because of the flexibility it offers them in their studio. Inkjets can print photos in many different sizes and paper types making them a better choice for someone who owns a storefront. The inkjet printers are also usually much less expensive. However, a professional event photography company that delivers photographs onsite would only use dye sub. The speed of these printers keeps the photography line moving quickly, the delivery process seamless, and the quality of the image as high as possible. Inkjets simply can't keep up with an event that needs a high volume of quality photographs to be produced.

In my next blog I'll continue with the other factors I listed above.