Your wedding photos are so personal to who you are as a couple. Your photographer is capturing these intimate moments from getting ready, to the first look, and the little smile your partner gives (or tears they shed) as you walk down the aisle, so it only makes sense that your photographer is a perfect match in knowing how you want your wedding day to be captured.
But how exactly do you go about finding the best person to capture your big day? It’s more than just taking a scroll through their Instagram grid, so keep reading for a few of our top tips on saying I-do to the perfect wedding photographer.
Do some research!
This should come before anything else and will help you narrow in on the photographers who photograph in that style.
Start by determining your style: do you like the dark and moody photography that takes on more of an artistic editing style and embodies high contrast and darker colors, or do you like more of a fine art photography style that is much softer and focuses on cleaner and brighter shots? Once you determine your preferred style, plug this search along with “wedding photographer” into Google and see who comes up in your area. Once you find a few options, get to stalking their Instagram feed!
Tip: Head to the blog section on their website to see some of their Real Bride features. This will give you an opportunity to see more of their work!
Set up a meeting
This can be in person, via video chat, or over the phone. Either way, it’s important to set up a meeting with the photographer once you’ve narrowed down your top choices. This will also allow you to learn a little more about them as well as ask some important questions. Some of the questions we recommend asking a photographer are:
- Are you available on our wedding date? (This question will pretty much be a make or break unless you haven’t nailed down a wedding date yet.)
- What types of packages do you offer?
- How many hours are included?
- How many photos will we be getting back and what is the approximate turnaround time?
Book your engagements with them
Once you book your photographer (congratulations!) don’t let their services stop at shooting just your wedding, consider booking them for your engagement photos as well! Not only will you get the opportunity to build a stronger connection with your photographer, but oftentimes you can grab a package deal with your engagement photos included (which can save you money in the long run) and will also ensure the style of both your engagement photos and wedding photos are the same!
We hope reading this you now feel a bit more confident when it comes to picking the best photographer! It’s a big box to fulfill on your checklist, but these tips will help you ensure that whichever wedding photographer you choose will be picture perfect for your wedding day!