So, you’re engaged! You’ve now set your date and now it’s time to find your wedding photographer. Everyone will see images differently, but it’s important that you select based on your own preferences. Though seeking help from your friends and family is great – trust yourself.
It’s 2024 & let’s be honest, the photography market is oversaturated and overwhelming. How can you possibly choose? How can you tell if the photographer you’re deciding on at is a pro or just beginning?
Before you dive in, I want to remind you that these photos are about to be a legacy to you and your honeybabe. These memories are timeless; they’ll be the photos that sit in a dusty, occasionally brushed off album and hang on your walls until they fade away. These photos will last for an eternity; far beyond your own lives. These photos deserve proper investment; they deserve attention to detail and intricate care; they deserve a creative eye; and they deserve great trust. They deserve all of this because your love and your story are worth telling. Your love is unique, your story is valuable, and they are far more than “a tale as old as time”.
Let me stress: you don’t want your Uncle Bob taking these photos (though I’m sure Uncle Bob is super cool). You want a tried and true artist with a camera. You want someone (that perhaps was once a stranger) to become familiar with your love and capture your day exactly the way it’s meant to be remembered: a joyful celebration of your lives becoming one; a marriage, more than a wedding day.
Here’s some helpful tips to help guide you as you find your ideal wedding photographer:
1. DO THEIR PHOTOGRAPHS SPEAK TO YOU?
Trash the buzzwords you hear people talking about. I’m not talking about deciding on a “style” you like and sticking to it. You’ll hear vibe-words buzzing around like Light & Airy, Dark & Moody, Photojournalistic, Modern, etc. etc.
That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you look at their images and they ignite an emotion within you. Can you relate to these images? Do you like the colour tones? Do you like the way the couple interacts in their photos? Do you find yourself stopping mid-scroll every time they post an image on the gram?
That’s what I mean when I ask if their images speak to you. If an image of somebody else makes you feel something, imagine if it were you and your honeybabe you were staring at in the image. That emotion you’re feeling looking at someone else’s love just exponentially increased because there’s a deeper story attached to it. It’s your own!
2. ARE THEY RESPONSIVE?
Response time is so important. I’m not saying you should be expecting them to be at your every beckoned call (photographers are people who deserve work-life-balances too) and I’m definitely not expecting photographers to be accessible around the clock to answer you within 10 seconds either! BUT, are they answering you within reasonable amounts of time?
In my opinion, normal response time should two (business) days OR less. I only say two days because weekends are allowed to be a thing for self-employed people, too – although, it may not necessarily be on an actual weekend. Anyway, you’re a priority and you should be a priority. Though I don’t completely love looking at photography as a business and my clients as “money” – you’re hiring us and creating a job for us. You’re literally a photographer’s bread & butter. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to support ourselves, pay our bills, or have a career in this industry. #BusinessThings
If response time is slow, I would question quite a few things, but particularly, their image turn-around time. Though nobody loves waiting on images and patience is hard, there is unfortunately, a much-needed wait time. We need to sort through the (thousands) of RAW images we’ve taken to make sure you’re only receiving the best of the batch and then we need to edit each and every image before we return your gallery.
My general turnaround time for weddings is 12-16 weeks and that’s a pretty average industry standard. My concern with slow response times, is if those targets will actually be honoured and met. This isn’t always the case, but just a bit of a red flag in my eyes!
Bottomline, you should be a priority.
3. UNDERSTAND YOUR VIBE & WEDDING VENUE SETTING
No matter how much you love a photographer’s style, if they don’t quite line up with your wedding vibe, I’d recommend finding a photographer more suited to you.
Check out their Instagram and their website. What do they seem to feature and post about? Maybe they’re all cityscapes and ballrooms or perhaps dreamy forests and lakeside.
Photographers tend to err on the side of “show what you want to shoot”. If they aren’t “showing” it, it doesn’t mean that they CAN’T shoot it, but it could mean that they’re really uncomfortable with shooting it.
If you love what you see, but you aren’t seeing your particular setting; have a conversation with them! Ask them to see a gallery similar to your setting and let yourself really see that side of them.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER AS A HUMAN BEING?
The relationship between you and your photographer is really important to recognize. This person will literally spend more time with you on your wedding day, than your maid of honour and best man. They’re there from start to end like glue.
If you don’t like their personality and don’t have any feelings of friendship (or trust) towards this person, I would suggest veering in another direction. If you don’t, you may be left with some nasty memories of your wedding day. This also includes how they could potentially interact your guests.
5. TRUST YOUR GUT & DON’T HESITATE WHEN YOU’VE FOUND “THE ONE”
When you know, you know. Y’know?
Much like true love, finding your one true photographer can feel like a once-in-a-lifetime. It may take some time to know they’re the one and sometimes it may happen immediately and all at once. Or, maybe you’ve even been watching them from a distance for some time, waiting for your window of opportunity (the engagement ring) to interact with them!
My advice? DON’T THINK. JUST DO IT #Nike If you’re finding yourself set on a photographer, trust yourself and BOOK them.
Photographers (especially the great ones) can get scooped up REAL quick and as early as two years in advance (uhm excuse me!?!?!). AND I don’t want to make it sound like photographers are sleaze bags, but an inquiry from a potential client doesn’t guarantee that date in your photographer’s calendar. A guaranteed booking equals: a signed contract and paid retainer. If the photographer has neither of these things that date is wide open and available for anyone in the world to book.
So, if you’re currently humming and hawing over the dreamy photographer. Avoid disappointment, quit reading this RIGHT NOW (I’m serious. Stop.) and send them an email to say YES, I CHOOSE YOU TO BE MY PHOTOGRAPHER. They’ll cheer and whoop and holler from the other side of their screen. Trust me. I do it with every booking I get.
6. BONUS: TRASH THE WEDDING BUDGET
Honestly, this ties in with the above point. I don’t want you to think that I don’t respect budgets, because I do. They’re a very realistic and healthy thing to have in place. If you’re not a budget setter… I’m going to say the exact opposite of this point’s title and say YOU SHOULD MAYBE SET BUDGETS IN YOUR LIFE.
If you’re set on a photographer and they’re slightly out of your budget – maybe see if you can adjust budgets elsewhere because besides your marriage, these photos are literally the only thing that will remain of your wedding day and in my opinion, that’s worth investment.
Please, please, I beg of you; if you’re going to save on costs anywhere, don’t let it be on your wedding photographer. I have heard too many heartbreaks about couple’s who wish they could re-do their wedding day with a different photographer because they HATE their photos. I have even had couple’s schedule a “day-after” shoot with me on their first anniversary so they could put their wedding attire back on and have new photos of themselves.
So, though budgets are realistic and healthy. Let yourself be completely happy with your photos. They’re so important!
Those are just a few tips for you as you venture into your world of wedding planning! Thanks for stopping by and for reading. I hope you’ve found it a helpful read and I’d love to hear from you! Send me an email, slide into my DM’s, or simply leave me a comment!
xx. Caitlin
