How To Pick Your Wedding Photographer

Set Your Budget

I Know this is an obvious one, but that doesn't make it any less important. This will narrow your search field down significantly and it's relevant at every part of this process. This step can also save you the heart ache of finding the photographer you want but can't afford.

It's also worth taking note of the day of the week you are intending to get married on, as some photographers prices may be day dependent.

Wedding photography prices can vary for many reasons but one of the simplest ways of understanding it is that your not just hiring someone for one day, your hiring them for a minimum of two to four weeks to capture and edit your beautiful photos. You'll be paying them a minimum of a months salary plus business expenses for a full day wedding package.

For an idea of prices check out my website

Wedding photography will likely be one of the most expensive elements of planning your wedding, along with venue and catering. It is however one of the few things you get keep after your big day and its best to think of it as a lifetime investment. That isn't to say that you can't find skilled photographer on low budgets but to consider not just going for the cheapest option for that reason alone.

Really think about how much you can afford to put aside and start from there.

Coverage

This is a tricky one and it's definitely a decision to make with your partner.

What details of your wedding do you want to remember?

Start with the minimum and work your way up depending on your set budget.

For example the ceremony, depending on the service is usually around forty-five minutes to an hour and a half (likely longer of religious ceremonies). Newly Wed photos roughly thirty minutes to an hour, same for family photos.

Basically, what you want to do is put a rough schedule together. Your venues can often help with this. i.e. service time, time you have to get ready; dinner time, etc. Plan accordingly. If you want both bridal prep and your first dance covered you're likely looking at eight to ten hours of photography.

And don't forget! The great thing about planning your wedding is that it's YOURS. You don't have to be traditional, or do things just because is how it's "usually done". Make it a representation of the two of you...You'll find you'll you'll have more fun that way and fall in love with your photos.

Style

Picking the style you would like is incredibly important. If you hire a photographer whose style doesn't match your vision or what you like, you're not going to be happy with the final gallery and both yours and the photographers heart will be broken. 

While Pinterest is both my best friend and worst enemy, it's absolutely fantastic for inspiration and research, I fully recommend it but anything visual will do.

What you want to be doing is making a collection of images that you LOVE, it can be a folder, document, a scrapbook or screenshots. Anything that allows you to be organised and clearly see the images. Hopefully this should help you narrow down what your looking for and enable you to commutate clearly to photographers.

I know your probably asking "what do you mean style?" But trust me once you stumble down the wedding photography rabbit hole, you're going to see that you have a lot of options.

You should only really contact someone if you like their style. Us wedding photographers will assume that if you've gotten into our inboxes you've already taken a peek at our images.

The Click

This is where things shift from planning to feeling. I know that sounds daft but when you get to this stage you'll understand.

Once you've expressed your interest in booking your photographer, I recommend always booking a consultation. This not only saves times but it allows trust to develop and to see if you click...Get it now? ;)

It's likely that the photographer you choose, will be by your side for most of the day. This will also be the person posing you and your partner, that can mean anything from having you kiss in the sunset, looking intimately into each others eyes, staring off into the distance to smiling straight at the camera like your at a year 11 leavers ball. Feeling comfortable with the photographer will have a big impact on how the photos turn out. It's a rare skill to be able to feel awkward and not be photographed that way.

Plus if you're going to be spending your wedding day with this person, you want to make sure you get on with them, at the very least you need to trust them and that works both ways.

Photographers are people too and it's not uncommon for us to recommend that a couple try a different photographer based on the fact that we don't feel like the best fit.

I can't speak for all wedding photography, but my consultations can last anywhere between 20 minutes to 2 hours and can easily be booked online. They can be in the form of a phone call, video chat or in-person depending on distance and what best suites you.

Once you click with a photographer, the choice is easy and you'll feel like your in safe hands.