Tips for choosing photographer?

Browse the vendor tab at the top of the page and Instagram for local vendors. Look through their portfolio of entire weddings, not just the best shots that make the front page. Every photographer has their own signature style that sets them apart and most of their work focuses on that. Some do muted colors with shots into the sun. Others do magic with Photoshop that make the pictures look like magazine quality and there's everything in between.


Take a look at their packages and then contact them for a quote based on what you need if it is different.
Reach out to various photographers you like for a consultation and see how you click with them.

Ooh I loved picking a photographer. Some tips:

* Create an excel or google sheets page to track everyone, so you can easily compare. Mine included columns where I tracked each one's name, website, a description of their style or special things that stuck out, what was included in their package, and price. I could look at the sheet at a glance and get an immediate summary of all the photographers in my maybe list. This was especially helpful when it came time to narrow down and I wanted to show my fiance...it was easy to send him the list and have everything right there.

* As you browse, start taking note of different styles and what you are more drawn to. In general the two big aesthetic can described as (1) bright, pops of color, happy and (2) dark, moody, artsy. Also pay attention to whether you prefer photos that are more formal and posed, or more "candid".

* Look deeper than the website, which is curated with their best of the best photos! Always as for a FULL wedding album to view. Preferably with some similarity to your wedding...for example our wedding is the winter, so we asked for full albums from indoor and/or winter weddings they'e shot. You cal also ask for examples/full albums with couples that look like you...for example, I am a POC and my FH is not, we asked for examples of mixed-race weddings they've shot.

* When we were narrowing down our list, we checked every review site the photographer was listed on and read through every review. Look for red flags.

* Pay attention to package inclusions. A photographer might seem more affordable, but then the more "expensive" one may include extras like an engagement session or two shooters instead of one.

When choosing our photographer, I mainly based the decision on her work (I checked out portfolios, websites, and Instagram pages-including tagged pics), and in and the way I “vibed” with her. It was most important for me to like her style of Photography, feel comfortable with her, and feel confident that we were on the same page in terms of what I was trying to capture for our big day. There are lots of talented photographers out there, I just wanted to make sure I found one I thought I would enjoy Interacting with all day.

I strongly suggest meeting in person (or over the phone if in person isn't possible) with multiple different photographers. First find photographers in your price range in your area (or outside your area, if you're willing to potentially pay a travel fee), then look through their portfolios. Schedule a meeting with any of them whose portfolios you love. Ask all kinds of questions - anything from pricing/deposit/postponement policies, to their favorite poses and how they capture the shots they do, to number of pictures you can expect to receive and when/how they will get them to you. Use a spreadsheet to keep track of notes and info and such for comparison. Choose one who you feel fits your vision, who you feel would be easy to work with, and who you feel you connect with the best.

I got what I paid for honestly. My photographer was mediocre. We did get a lot of good shots but the filter was off and in the end I wish I doubled the budget. It's not redo bad but it's not great.


That said number one
-you get what you pay for.
- look at their portfolio
- make sure they have a good number of wedding experience. If they have been shooting weddings and nothing but weddings for 10 years they usually have the timing down.
-figure out their back up if they get sick etc
- figure out what you are paying for (photobook, engagement photos, etc) and if you actually want it.
- don't be afraid of seemingly like a jerk and it's okay to get a different professional if you're not comfortable with them for any reason. (They're 8 months pregnant for example and at the wedding. there is a lot that can go wrong at a big event, job with a lot of squats, and heavily pregnant...)
-Ask the other wedding professionals for a good photographer. They all know each other and have a reputation with each other. If the venue, florist, and all the other vendors recommend one it's usually a good sign.

Here is a link that was helpful in choosing. Ask these questions: https://stephaniekase.com/2017/for-brides/questions-to-ask-a-wedding-photographer-by-a-wedding-photographer/

Plus something I factored in is that where I live the weather is unpredictable and it can rain whenever so I wanted a photographer that new how to handle that and would be prepared. Something too that is in those questions and a friend learned the hard way...make sure they have a back up person just in case something happens to them. My cake, my officiant, my HMUA and the photographers all have back up people just in case on the day of they cannot be avail.

We're currently in the process of selecting our photographer and so far it's one of the more fun choices, but it's definitely a huge task. This person is going to document a day you want to remember for the rest of your life, and there aren't any re-dos.

Something that is a big deal to me is looking at full wedding albums. I look and see what type of shot variety they have, I've noticed some photographers with tendencies to shoot from very far away which indicates an inability to really connect and get those truly beautiful intimate moments. So looking for a variety of intimate shots of the couple, shots that document the environment, and shots that include friends and family. Unless you'd rather just have shots of you and your SO, but to me I kind of want the whole shebang

I'm getting married on the coast so I also look for how photographers work with light, if they're comfortable shooting with natural light or if they use a lot of flash. As somebody mentioned above I also check and see if they've shot in locations similar to where I'm getting married and how they handle that. If your wedding is inside make sure they know how to capture that kind of lighting and environment instead of relying on exclusively golden hour shots in their portfolio.

Deciding if you like a more documentary style candid moment photographer or somebody who likes to create moments and direct you as a couple more.

Also comparing their rates to how many hours availability that offers. Two different photographers may have the same rate, but one offers 6 hours of coverage and the other offers 8.

In the end, all of the photographers I'm talking to are the ones that made me really feel emotional looking at their images. If that's how I'm feeling about looking at two strangers getting married I know they'll be able to conjure that magic for me too!

Look into a few photographers to pick from.. Go with who makes you feel comfortable and has a good price for you both.. Definitely look at their work and what all comes with the packages between the few your looking at.

The first thing is to figure out which style you prefer. I really liked the ones that made good use of natural lighting and took really clear, well focused pictures, especially if they got what looked like nice candid photos (knowing what I know about COVID now, I'm glad I thought about that). We looked at a lot of portfolios and ended up narrowing down to two from people who had photographed the weddings of people close to us. I think it's really important to feel comfortable around and be able to communicate with the person you choose, so it's a good idea to meet with any photographer you like before hiring them. The couples whose photographers we were considering are people who we know that if they like someone, we probably will, too, so we didn't do this, but you should if you don't already know you'll like them personally, in addition to liking their style. The photographer we hired took our engagement photos, and when covid changed our plans, a friend of mine (whose photos I like and is an actual photographer) took our miniwedding pictures. I love both sets of photos and I'm sure part of the reason we look so happy in them is that we felt comfortable in each situation.
For the packages, think about the first and last activities that you want photos of to figure out how many hours of coverage you need. For example, I didn't want getting ready photos, but those are really important to some people.

Focus on the style of photographer you're looking for. Do you want more traditional? Artistic? Lot's of black and white? Once you know what you want go from there. We went with a photo company that has multiple photographers with different specialties.