How To Choose The Right Wedding Photographer For You

How To Choose The Right Wedding Photographer For You

Okay, guys buckle up, this is a big topic. It can often be a confusing and complicated situation for many brides and grooms.

You’ve just really started to sit down and start planning your wedding. You’ve found the venue, which is often the biggest piece of the puzzle. The venue sets your scene, more often than not your vibe, and your wedding date.

If you’re lucky the venue will also tick off food and beverage from your list, so what’s the next big thing?

For most people its the photographer.

But with so many options out there how do you choose the right photographer for you?

How do you know you can trust this person with your family’s memories?

Listen if you google photographer and [your local area] I can grantee you millions of results will pop back. Everyone has something different to offer, everyone’s style is different (and no I don’t mean how the photographs just look).

Do you go with the family friend referral? Or, do you venture out on your own to find that amazing photographer that will make all your wedding dreams come true! How do you choose the right wedding photographer for you?

The answer isn’t entirely easy, I’m sorry to tell you. But here are a few helpful tips from your friendly local photographer to hopefully help you out on your search.

I get asked a lot, with planning my own wedding,

“Wow, you’re a wedding photographer! How did you possibly pick who is going to shoot your wedding?” On the surface the answer is simple. I picked somebody who’s work I liked!

But let’s dig a little deeper because that’s what we’re here to do, the other reasons behind the simple answered small talk that I make with other people out of kindness. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty!

It’s not just the style of the photographs.

“What do you mean it’s not the style of the photographs?” you may be asking yourself. Style is a somewhat confusing thing when it comes to photography, it typically takes a good couple of years for a photographer to figure out their style. And like mentioned above, it doesn’t mean how the final finished product looks.

Style is an all-encompassing term that we use in the industry and it’s good for you as a potential client to understand what that means. It will help you in asking the right questions when you have a consult with a photographer. It took me many years to figure out my style, from nailing down the signature editing look I use. From the experience I want my clients to have, our first conversation to the wedding day and after the fact. All the way to how I actually work with my clients in front of the camera and behind it.

So you see, it’s not just how the images turn out. A lot of people will just assume it’s how to photographs look but it is important to look at the whole picture.

How does the photographer actually shoot?

Are they going to help you with posing? As an example, some photographers don’t like to help with posing, they prefer a fully documentary-style approach when it comes to the wedding day. Out of sight and out of mind.

Ask yourself, are you and your partner somebody who needs a little help in front of the camera. Ask the photographer how they go about helping you. Do you feel very nervous in front of a camera? How will they help calm your nerves, is that something that they like to do in the first place? Because maybe it sounds odd to you but everybody’s style is different and likes to shoot in a different way. Every photographer likes to guide (or not guide) their clients in their own way. Make sure it’s inlined with what you feel you and your partner need.

I do want to be sure to say there are no right or wrong answers here, I’m simply providing some examples based on how I work and run my business. Because that’s what I know best. I simply want to supply you with the tools to come up with your own questions. So that you feel confident that you can choose the right photographer for you!

One final tip here, if you’re still unsure, booking an engagement session before you ever actually book the photographer for your wedding day is a great way to feel out if they’ll be the right fit for you or not.

What is the experience like?

And this too is different than when you’re actually working with a photographer on a wedding day, trust me it’s included but I’m going to talk about the other side of this because the experience was more or less covered in how they actually go about photographing you.

How accommodating is the person you’re interested in for your wedding day photography with your schedule for an initial consult, did they come to you or did you have to go to them? I used to make my clients come to me, I really wanted to set the tone for the meetings, I wanted my clients to feel pampered! There was nothing really wrong with that, but as I thought more about the experience I wanted to give my clients I decided I wanted to go to my client’s homes where they felt comfortable. I get a glimpse into their lives I often get to meet their pets! It’s been a wonderful transitional experience for myself and them.

Does the photographer make you feel special? Do they send welcome gifts, cards, or notes? All of this plays into the experience you will have. Just like any business or brand, it’s all about how you feel. Do you feel cared for, do you feel valued. That’s the most important thing for me as a bride and as a photographer.

Speaking of, do you feel cared for…

I want to touch on this for a few moments, this is a big one for me. I hope all my clients know they are not just a number to me, I genuinely care so much about their wedding day. Let me say it again for the people in the back, your wedding is not just a number to me! 

Here’s a little example, when my fiancee and I were looking around at wedding venues I honestly got the sense from many of them that they didn’t care about my wedding. I really was just a number, a booking, and I wanted a venue that felt invested in our wedding day. That same rule should apply to all your vendors at your wedding.

Ask my fiancee, family and friends, I will ride or die for one of my couples! I take their wedding in their hands as my own, I always put myself in their shoes and I always treat others the way I want to be treated. That is personally really important to me. I wanted to give my business and do business with someone who shared the same values as me. Someone who wanted the best for me. If you feel like this is important to you than you should be able to read it off of their energy when meeting with or first conversing with a photographer you’re interested in.

Now let’s talk a little about the actual edited look to the images.

We’ve covered what to actually look for in a photographer and we’ve learned it’s not just about the physical look to the images. But let’s circle back to that question that I personally get all the time, “how did you pick your photographer?” I picked someone who’s work I liked! You need to pick something that is pleasant to you and your partner’s eyes.

Just as everyone has different tastes when it comes to food or home decor, so does your photography aesthetic.

Photographer’s editing styles can range anywhere from light and airy, moody, classic, or something in between all those looks.

I’m constantly improving and evolving my editing skills alongside my actually shooting abilities. It’s just as important to stay on top of anything and everything. It’s important to me that the images remain consistent and continue to have my signature to look to them so that when people see one of my images they know it’s by me without ever seeing my name.

If you’re not sure what you might like when it comes to wedding photography, I encourage you to check out some great websites like Fearless Photographers or the International Wedding Photographer of the Year. These can serve as some great inspiration to check out lots of different styles of amazing photography.

Or did you recently have a friend or family member tie the knot? Did you absolutely LOVE the images? Ask for the contact info of that photographer and make an inquiry. The right photographer for you should be able to answer all your questions at the drop of a hat and should not hide anything!

And finally,

Because it needs to be said, you need to feel like you can trust them.

This is often the only bit of advice I hear from others on this topic, and I really wanted to provide some more insight. It’s not an easy task to do this, being a photographer myself I understand this better than anyone. But I have complete confidence in the amazing team of both photo and video for our wedding day, I didn’t even take a second look at anyone else, my heart knew right then and there that I knew I was making the right choice!

Now you may not be like me, who knew immediately which photographer they were going to select. Most people don’t! And that’s completely ok! But I hope I’ve provided some tips on what to look out for, and what questions to ask yourself and a photographer that you’re interested in going forward.

One final piece of advice, always ask for full price lists, and at least three full wedding day sample galleries. If they have them up on their website or social media reading reviews is also extremely helpful, and if they’re not public hopefully they have a private email raving about them from past clients to share with you.

And that is how to choose the right wedding photographer for you!

how to choose the right wedding photographer for you. how to choose the right wedding photographer for you