With weddings, there are a lot of important decisions that have to be made and picking a wedding photographer can be pretty overwhelming. Wedding photography has become extremely popular in the last 5 years, so there’s so many options out there. There’s different styles, different personalities, different packages, and a bunch of different prices. To help with all these options, I’m giving my advice on how to choose a wedding photographer.
How to Choose a Wedding Photographer
The first thing I would suggest is a wish list. Think about all the things you want and write it down. What would you like from your photographer? What kind of photo sessions are you wanting? Are you wanting prints or digital files? What are products do you want? How much are you willing to pay? Once you have a wish list, then you’ll be better able to focus and compare photographers.
The next thing would be to research photographers. As I said earlier, there are a ton of wedding photographers out there, so you need to narrow it down to a smaller group. One easy way is to ask friends on social media. Make a simple post asking for opinions on Facebook and I bet you’ll get at least 7 different names. Google is another good option. Try a few different keywords and see if any names appear on the first page repeatedly. Most cities also have wedding magazines, so you could check out the photographers advertising or published in them.
Once you have a list of possible wedding photographers, get some more info about them. Look at their websites, Facebook, or other sources to see if there style matches up with what you like. Are you wanting detail shots, artsy shots, or candid. What they show should give you an idea of there style. Some photographers list prices and packages on their website, so you could eliminate some options that way. Be careful, though; just because they have. The goal at this point, would be to shrink that list down to 3-4 photographers.
Next, contact the photographers. Send them an email telling them you are interested, ask if they have the date open, and ask for some general info. Some photographers are really busy, so they might not even be available. From the email, you could also gather some other info. How long does it take them to respond? What kind of feel did you get about their personality from their response? Do they seem friendly, stand offish, or even strange? From there, try to get the list down to 2-3 photographers and set up a meeting.
At the meeting you should try to get a feel for the photographer and how he or she does things. See how well you interact and if your personalities line up. Did you have fun talking to him or her? Ask questions to make sure you are getting everything you want from your wish list.
After all of this work on how to choose a wedding photographer, it’s finally time to pick a photographer. My biggest suggestion would be to go with your gut. If you like his or her work, you’re getting what you want from the package, and you love his or her personality, go for it. I know it’s a tough choice, but in the end, I bet you’ll be happy with your choice.
