What Photography Style Did You Look For When Booking A Photographer?

A girl I went to high school with got married about a month before we got married and I absolutely loved her photos so when we got engaged I knew I wanted to reach out to her photographer. Her photographer had three different standard packages and they were within budget. She also had our date available. I did look at the packages the photographers our venue recommended but their starting packages were about double the price. They also were local whereas the original photographer was from a small town about two hours away. She didn't charge a travel fee. I spoke to her further and decided to book her. I love how our wedding photos turned out and I'm glad I made the decision to go with her. I am now currently pregnant with our first child and she just did our maternity photos a few weeks ago.

We weren't looking for a specific style. It was more like one of those "we know when we know" kind of things. Of course it also came down to pricing and what was being offered in that price. I found a guy who I just fell in love with. I showed FH his photos and he loved them as well.

After doing an extensive search on him and his portfolio, we scheduled a meeting. His personality is crazy sweet and he's so excitable. We booked our engagement photos with him and he's so funny so it made us both really comfortable. He ended up giving us a discount and has been working with us as far as payment options.

View Quoted Comment That is awesome!! Does she have a specific photo style that she tries to stick to? It's always nice to be able to work with vendors again after the wedding, very cool that she took your maternity photos! I'm sure those will turn out well! My fiance and I would definitely contact our photographer in the future if we ever wanted to take another set of photos, we love the photos we've gotten so far.

View Quoted Comment We got them back already and I love them!!! I'm not sure how I would describe her style. She likes people to look natural as possible, but also suggests poses.

View Quoted Comment I was kind of the same way! I knew what styles I *didn't* want, but I didn't have a specific style that I was looking for. My fiance actually found our photographer's website - once we looked through his portfolio and we setup a meeting, we both knew he would be the ideal photographer for our wedding. Very cool that you were able to find a photographer who fit what you were looking for! I agree that the photographer search can definitely be a "we know when we know" type of thing.

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Yep. And I personally believe photos are one of the most, if not in fact, the most important part. It's definitely ok to be skeptical and intricate in researching who you think would best for your event.

I wanted a photographer who was able to do the dark and moody but also some that were a little bright and cheery. For us, we weren't necessarily searching for a specific style, but I definitely wanted a photographer who made the photos look really natural vs. the ones you can tell are edited. My FH wanted someone we clicked with to make everything go as smoothly as possible. We found her! The way we found her is kind of by mistake too...her husband was a DJ and we met with him to discuss him doing our wedding. And she mentioned she was a photographer and we thought we had one already, but it didn't work out for us. So I looked at her work and was blown away by it. Even discovered I knew a few of her brides. So the next day I told her we were looking to book both her and her husband for our DJ and photographer. So glad we did, our engagement photos came out exactly as I wanted and she was so much fun to take them with.

View Quoted Comment Aww yay!! Glad they turned out well! I love the natural/candid style - there is so much genuine emotion that can be captured that way! Though I do think that some posed photos are necessary too, it's nice to have a balance.

I didn’t really look for a specific style so much, I followed my venue on Instagram and looked through their feed, and the photos that I was drawn to, I looked for who was tagged as the photographer and 2 or 3 really stood out. My original top choice is very into the light, bright, and airy style which I love, but my FH thinks is overexposed and washed out. So I compromised and we went with a photographer that specializes in true to life colors, they try to capture what the light and colors look like on the day and enhance but not really change them. They have wonderful personalities, a beautiful portfolio, and all of our other vendors rave about them so I know we made the right choice! We’re doing our engagement photos with a different photographer since we’re having those done in a different state, and their style leans more towards the light and airy style without being TOO overexposed lol! The only thing I knew I DIDN’T want was dark & moody or overly orange filters, just personal preference.

I love a timeless look, but also warm and light. I don’t want to look back on my wedding pictures and see a trendy preset, but rather what that day looked like through my eyes! But I love a warm, airy picture

Bright and airy but also super crisp vibrant magazine quality. Not a fan of the golden hour yellow tones. Also, photojournalistic so as few posed shots as possible.

View Quoted Comment I totally agree with you! For sure put in the time and effort to research the perfect fit. Photos are the most important thing to me as well (obviously apart from marrying my fiance, lol).

View Quoted Comment That's a really cool way that you found your photographer! It's funny how sometimes things just work out like that. I agree that a variety of styles would be ideal. Similar to you, my fiance and I weren't looking for a specific style (though there were a few styles that we knew we didn't want), though I find that I'm most drawn to natural looking images as opposed to all dark and moody, or warmer than natural, etc. Glad that you were able to find both a photographer and DJ that perfectly matched what you were looking for!

I wasn't necessarily looking for a particular style, but as soon as I saw our photographer's photos, I knew that was it. They are bright, airy and colorful without being oversaturated or washed out, perfect for a spring wedding. There is also consistency with her photos, so I know exactly what I'll get...some other photographer's portfolios seemed a bit all over the place. She was very laid back but also had a strategy with how she goes about her day to make sure she gets all the shots. She was also within budget.

View Quoted Comment That makes sense! I think the natural/true colors are always beautiful in photos. I also knew I didn't want photos that were dark and moody or too warmly colored. I wouldn't mind a small set of pictures with that style, but overall, I think I'm more drawn to photos where the colors are natural. That is awesome that you and your fiance were able to find a great compromise on a photography style for your wedding photos, especially since your engagement photos will have the light and airy style you love!

View Quoted Comment Totally agree! I'm not much into trends and what's popular, I love looking at photos that seem natural and look mostly unedited (as far as colors go). I think those are classic and will age well! Did you book your photographer already?

View Quoted Comment I love the photojournalism style! Candid moments are great for capturing true emotion.

Candid and relaxed with natural colors!

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I did! I actually booked my photographer through other photographer friends of mine who are in my wedding! She was on oof the first vendors I booked, most of them were already booked out this year!

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Yes! So much less stress! We knew we didn't want that muted, airy look that a lot of people really like. Just wasn't our style. So I totally get it!