Wedding Photographer Experience

I have no idea what the average would be, but I'd assume it would vary a lot from person to person. Some photographers have an innate talent and others develop their skill through a lot of training and practice. Daughter's photographer was phenomenal, but he's shot well over 400 weddings. I'd pay a lot of attention to the work in their portfolio and I would definitely ask to see several examples of their "full wedding galleries." That should include every photo they provided to a given couple, so you can see their work from start to finish at a wedding, and get an idea if it's what you're looking for. You want to see more than what they post on their website -- anyone can pick and choose their best pictures from a sample of every wedding they've ever shot. One of the "preferred" photographers on daughter's venue's list had stunning shots on his website and when we met him in person at an open house. THANKFULLY, daughter asked to see a couple of full galleries he'd shot at her venue. She was incredibly disappointed; the photos from 2 or 3 different weddings were virtually identical. There was no creativity, no adapting to different people/lighting situations/etc. His work suggested he was just "going through the motions." (And, it was an awesome venue with SO many creative options for taking gorgeous photos, most of which weren't utilized in his full galleries....) She was so happy she went with someone else. Her photos are gorgeous and unique. She shared the link with her venue coordinator, and she said she couldn't believe how many beautiful and unique photos the photographer got. She's been at the venue 10+ years and was convinced she'd seen every option. Good luck! It's hard to find your perfect vendors.

View Quoted Comment Agree with this 100%, it’s not just about how long you’ve been doing it or how many weddings you’ve done, it’s also about having a creative eye and talent. I knew I wanted sunset and evening shots outside and many photographers portfolios didn’t have any or they weren’t what I was looking for so I didn’t proceed. As MOB suggested, look at full wedding galleries- photographers pick their best work for their portfolio so you’ll want to get a feel for what kind of gallery you will receive not just their favorite shots.
Having a good rapport was also important to us since he’s going to be following us all day. Good luck!

View Quoted Comment

Completely agree about the importance of rapport. Daughter is extremely relational -- she has to LIKE & RESPECT a person and that was absolutely true of the vendors she hired. I was with her when she interviewed one photographer whom I'm sure was very talented, but it was funny to see how obvious is was in the first 10 seconds that personality-wise they were "oil and water." Good luck!

Hey Emily! Welcome to the WeddingWire community!!

As the pp mentioned, it is very difficult to assess photographers based on a scale such as this.

Finding the right photographer involved weighing up a lot of different factors to find the right one for you, as opposed to finding one that has worked 100+ weddings.

Do you have any photographers in mind, or have you met with any so far?

Your initial introduction to a photographer is usually their website portfolio so it’s important to like what you see before you proceed. Once you are in discussions, it’s a great idea to ask to see their full wedding galleries.

Having a good rapport and an open flow of communication is also super important for a photographer.

Have you checked out any photographers in the WeddingWire vendor search? You can filter this search based on your budget so it could be a helpful resource for you!

Wedding Photographers