I think that it is a universally known fact that one of the most important aspects of a wedding is the photographer. A good wedding photographer can honestly make your wedding day look like the perfect memory or just an average party that looks like it was thrown together over night. You can fight me on this but I have seen some really amazing and some really terrible wedding photographs! But it isn’t just about finding a good wedding photographer, it is about finding one that fits your style.
We have now done two sets of engagement photos and we will probably end up doing one more. With two years between our engagement and our wedding we are really just using this as an excuse to keep trying new photographers! And to be honest, our two engagement photographers so far have been COMPLETELY different! They had different styles, different cameras, different personalities, and I loved them both! So now, for our wedding day, I need to really decide which style I want and I am hoping that these engagement pictures will help me decide.
As I go through the process of choosing a wedding photographer I have asked other matrons what was important to them. After spending hours on Pinterest, Instagram, and speaking with brides I have round up what I found to be the best advice and most useful tips.
Decide if you want to know the photographer
This sounded weird to me at first but as I spoke with brides, their reasoning behind this advice became clear. It might sound like a great idea at first to have your bff from high school who is now a semi-professional photographer take your wedding photos. However, I can now see how that comes with some additional concerns. Now, I have many friends who do photography who are very professional and I would absolutely trust them with my wedding. But what if your friend wants to party more than take photos? Or what if they only take photos of other friends from high school and miss important family moments? I have heard stories just like this and so many more!
On the flip side, hiring someone you hear about online can be tricky too. As great as their Instagram is, it does not mean they are going to be professional. What if they only take a few great pictures and then the rest are a mess. I have definitely heard an equal amount of horror stories about hiring someone you don’t know.
The best advice I heard on this topic was that if things do go wrong, would you rather have a stranger hate you or a friend?
Know your style
Every person has a different style and every photographer has their own style. So you need to make sure that you find a photographer that matches your style! But first, you have to know what you want. When it came time to decide my style I honestly didn’t know what I wanted. As I scrolled through Instagram and Pinterest I would see beautiful photographs that I loved; but were they my style? I honestly wasn’t sure.
The best advice that I received about picking as style is, “What would you want hanging on your wall or in an album to show your kids?” And that really helped me hone in on my personal style. When I pictured hanging our wedding photographs in my house (which duh, I am going to hang them all) I realized that the photographer needed to have a style that matched my décor. It is a little trickier than I first thought to really pin down a photography style that matches your home but as I started to play with it I learned exactly what I wanted. Once I knew, it was easier to find a photographer that would be the best fit.
Choose a seasoned wedding photographer
This was something that seems obvious but you kind of forget it as you are looking through so many photos. I would see amazing engagement sessions, great bridal party shots, and wedding photos shot before the ceremony. But I realized that any good photographer can get great photos in a setting where they have control. It was a friend of mine who gave me the advice to look at photos from the reception and ceremony; and I am so thankful she put that in the forefront of my mind!
After that advice, I totally changed my perspective as I scrolled through images looking for the best photographer. I began looking at the candid images captured at the ceremony and reception. It was the image of the kids on the dance floor and the father of the bride as his little girl reads her vows that I began to fall in love with. When a photographer has been doing weddings long enough, they know to look for the little moments that newer photographers might not even think of.
My friend summed it up in the best way. She said, “It isn’t just about being a good photographer. A truly seasoned wedding photographer will capture every angle, moment, and frame that you would never think of. With new photographers you risk being left wanting additional images that you don’t think about until after the big day.”
Place and the photographer both are very important to make the photographs look perfect.
Yes absolutely! So important.
I love the part where you mentioned that choosing the right photographer can turn special wedding moments into perfect pieces of memory that we can treasure. My brother is planning to tie the knot with his long-time girlfriend and I thought that I could help him with the engagement process. To capture their love journey, I think that hiring a photographer that could cover his proposal would be a great idea.
Absolutely!! I am so thankful we had a photographer capture our proposal! It was so magical!
Great job in explaining this topic in a few points. This also follows in the Indian wedding photography scene. One thing I like to add is, always interview the photographer to get the idea of how skilled he is. Yes, there is the portfolio, but interacting with the photographer will make things easier for us to choose.
Chaitanya Thaware recently posted…10 misconceptions about Indian wedding photography
Yes absolutely agree on this! A lot of photographers we were looking into required an in person meeting before they would commit to a wedding to make sure they mesh with the bride and I think that is wonderful!
This is the Great article for Choosing Your Wedding Photographer.And Thank you for shaering your article.
Absolutely 🙂
Thanks for sharing the post. The way you narrated the post is good and understandable. After reading this post I learned some new things about wedding photography. Keep posting. Please let me know for the upcoming posts.
Rajeev recently posted…Home 1
Thanks so much!
Wonderful post. Great photos too. Choosing a wedding photographer is important because they are one who are creating photo memories of your big day. You want to show everyone.
Thanks for sharing this
Renaissance by the Creek recently posted…Birthday Party Mississauga Banquet Halls
Yes I couldn’t agree more!
This is such a lovely post. It’s definitely one of the most essential in a wedding is hiring a photographer to capture the moments. I remember hiring one at my wedding and they did a really excellent shot. Surely the photos are something to cherish.
Yes I couldn’t agree more! It is so so so important.
Thanks for sharing these wonderful tips and your tips such as a great advise for a good photographer
Thanks so much!
This is amazing article about Tips for Choosing Your Wedding Photographer..
Thanks for sharing these amazing tips with us. Choosing wedding photographer is very important because a good photographer can make wedding day one of the most memorial day.
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Couldn’t agree more!
Thank you so much for giving us the right knowledge about wedding photography because at the wedding finding the best photographer is so important.
Yes! It is so important!
This is really helpful information! Love your blog!
Thank you so much 🙂
I like your tip to hire the professionals and non-professionals photographers. But according to me you should hire a professional photographer because he takes the best shot and no one wants to ruin special day photographs.
Nirav Solanki recently posted…Engagement Photography Service
It is very true! What I love about new photographers just starting out is their creativity and trying new ideas!
Your tip to hire the professionals and non-professionals photographers is totally correct and I like the way that you have tell about the style which matters a lot in maintain the poses how the photographers captures the images in a correct manner.
It is true! Until I was planning a wedding I had never put much thought into style but it was a huge factor for me in deciding!
This is some really good information wedding photographer. I liked what you said about how you need to get an expert photographer. That does seem like a good way of making sure your photos turn out well.
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Your tip about hiring a friend or a stranger – Absolutely deal with a non friend.
Allow a friend the second photographer if they truly want to do this for you as gift…….But Hire a professional so that you can give directions and also have recourse afterwards.
Good luck with finding your photographer for your BIG day !!
It is tempting to try to save money by hiring a cheaper photographer, but often, you get what you pay for. Spend the extra money and your photos will usually be much better.
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Photography styles have changed so much from when we got married. I would have loved more candid pictures instead of spending so much time posing.
Rachel recently posted…Parents Remain Sleep Deprived 6 Years After A Baby
These are great tips!! To be honest, I can’t even remember how I chose ours. I planned our destination wedding in Hawaii while living in Japan, so everything was done online. Budget was a huge factor, so I narrowed it down by that and checked reviews and portfolios. They ended up doing an amazing job for our photos and videos, sadly less than a decade later it they seem to be out of business (or just rebranded)? I wonder if the turnover in the business is pretty high. It’s such a demanding time & energy consuming job!
It really is! I know many photographers that get booked up so quickly and just simply do not have the time for absolutely everyone and everything they want to do!
These are such good tips because finding a wonderful photographer is SO important! You only get one chance!
So true! This is a very big priority for me 🙂
It’s no joke when it comes to choosing your photographer. I had such a terrible experience with mine!
Oh no! I have heard so many horror stories of bad photographers… I am so sorry you had a bad experience!
i totally agree that getting the right photographer is key to a great wedding and often times a good photographer will not be cheap but worth it. Those memories are supposed to last a lifetime.
Couldn’t agree more! For me at least it is a HUGE priority in our wedding planning.
This is such a wonderful article. Thank you so much for sharing.
Sharlene Andrade recently posted…Wedding Food Catering: Cocktail Style Wedding Reception
This is really good and sound advice for people just starting to look for their wedding photographer. I think it’s great how you have got to know the people and their style of photography through your engagement shoots. Great idea!
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Thank you!