Choosing to invest in a wedding photographer is one of the best decisions you can make when it comes to your wedding. You want to have photos to help you remember, but also to show your kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids the photos documenting your special day. It’s the start of your new adventure with your best friend and you want that experience captured perfectly! But finding a wedding photographer can take a lot of work. Especially if you don’t know what style of photography you like or where to even begin to look to figure that out. Which brings me to today’s blog post, which is all about finding your ideal wedding photographer.
What Is Your Photography Style or Preference?
I’m starting off with this one because it’s a big one in my opinion. What do I mean by style? Wedding photographers are using terms like “light and airy” and “dark and moody”, or somewhere between the two to describe their specific style. You want to find a photographer whose style appeals to you. Can you picture that style for your wedding day? A great way to narrow down your favorite style is to go to Pinterest and look through wedding portraits that you love. You’re not looking for posing as much as what is the lighting like. Is it dark, light, warm, or a combination of several of these? Maybe you want a photographer who shoots with film? Once you nail down what you love it’s that much easier to find a photographer because you will eliminate any others that don’t have that particular style.
What Is Your Budget?
Do you have a minimum or maximum budget for a photographer? Knowing how much you are willing to spend can help in your search. Wedding photography is a huge investment as these are photos you will show for many generations, so you want them to be good! This is something you don’t want to scrimp on. Splurge a little in this area. Maybe you’d rather spend more money on different aspects of your wedding, but remember those photos are your captured memories. They will remind you of that amazing day when you married your best friend. And that’s something that can’t be recreated.
What Do You Want In A Photographer?
Does personality matter? Do you want someone you know well on your wedding day or does that not matter to you? We love it when couples want to form relationships with us, because we want to show up as friends to your wedding and not just to photograph it and be done. I think most people prefer to build friendships with those involved in their wedding day, but there may be a few who don’t and that’s perfectly fine! It’s just not us. We’re in the wedding photography industry because we love getting to know our couples and being excited for every part of their day, and our couples love that about us! Just ask Grant how excited I get when a bride sends me a text or email of her wedding dress. 😀 So, on your search for a photographer, if at any time you don’t like what you read or don’t feel that you’re a good fit from their “About” page, then keep looking!
Choosing A Photographer
You’ve narrowed down your results to a handful of photographers and now you’re trying to make a final decision. Maybe you’ve sent emails and you’ve corresponded back and forth several times. I highly recommend also chatting on the phone or meeting in person to discuss wedding plans, packages and have your questions answered. This time is also huge in seeing if the photographer is the same in person as they are in writing. Also, it helps to build trust and on your wedding day (and even while preparing for it), you want to know that your photographer can handle anything that comes up. You want to know they will help ease your stress so you can just enjoy your day. If there are any red flags or you don’t think your personalities will mesh well, then let the photographer know you’re going to keep searching. When you find your wedding photographer, you will be excited to book and there will be no hesitation whatsoever! At least, that’s how we feel about it. 🙂
We hope these tips will help anyone who’s on the search for their wedding photographer! And if you’re curious as to what our style is, we stay more on the light and airy side. 🙂
Join our mailing list!
Whether it's business updates, family/personal life updates, or if you're interested in learning about being a photo editor, we'd love to see you inside!
