How to Choose a Wedding Photographer:
Your wedding photos are something you'll keep forever so you need to make sure you get the perfect photographer. Here's our guide to finding the photographer for you.
Once the confetti has settled and the honeymoon is over comes the exciting time to receive your wedding photos.The walk down the aisle, the proud hug with your Dad, that joke in the best man’s speech: you’ll be able to look back on all those special moments and remember one of the happiest days of your life – not just now, but in years to come. It’s so important then that you’re happy with your wedding photos. It can be one of the biggest wedding regrets for couples that they either didn’t capture all the moments they wanted or they ended up not liking the photographer’s pictures. So how do you go about choosing the right photographer? Firstly, we’re going to explain a little about the different styles of wedding photography and then give you eight easy steps to choosing a wedding photographer.
The Three Main Styles of Wedding Photography
The terminology around wedding photography can be baffling, especially what the different styles of wedding photography mean. Regardless of your budget, you’ll be able to find photographers offering each of the three most common types of wedding photography for every budget.
Reportage photography is also known as photojournalistic or documentary photography. Your photographer will stand among and around you and your guests capturing candid and spontaneous shots. Reportage style is all about reactions and emotions so expect your photos to tell the real story of your day. It can feel like the most authentic form of photography as there’s no posing.
Pros: Captures story and emotions while being relaxed and unobtrusive.
Cons: No posed group photos unless you ask for them.
Traditional or formal wedding photography is the classic posed look you see in conventional group shots of the couple and the wedding party. This used to be the most popular style and involves plenty of direction from the photographer, but it also takes time and you might miss some of the action of the day. Your photos are likely to be a bit formulaic, but will be beautifully shot and well-lit.
Pros: Lasting pictures of family and friends in a timeless, beautiful style.
Cons: Takes time and staging so you can miss the emotion of the day.
Contemporary photography will feel more like fashion or editorial photography combined with reportage. It’s ideal if you want fashion-led couple photos and an artistic approach to other shots. You’ll need to find a photographer with the same creative vision as you, whether that’s street style, portraits, conceptual or nature-focused.
Pros: Dramatic, beautiful, unique shots.
Cons: Sometimes the vision comes ahead of capturing the personality of the couples.
How to Choose Your Wedding Photographer in 3 easy Steps
1. Set a Budget - No point finding a photographer you love and then discovering they’re well beyond your budget. The average is £1,500-£2,000. Your first step is to discuss how much you can legitimately spend and always keep that in mind as you continue your search. Lots of photographers have starting prices on their website or you could ask a few in your area for a quick quote to see what the going rate is. While £1,500 sounds a big chunk of your budget, your photos are one of the most important things to invest in. See if you can shave your budget somewhere else to give yourself as much money as possible for this. You get what you pay for.
2. Find Your Style - Now for the fun part of starting your search! Your preferred photography style really is one of the most important things to consider. Do you want candid, classic, a mix of colour and black-and-white, creative, contemporary? Normally one of the styles above will jump out at your straight away.
3. Research - Ask friends who they used, look at websites, ask venues and then arrange a face to face meeting. Your photographer is going to be spending a whole day with you – you need to make sure you gel! Ask questions, go through their portfolio and see how you feel with them. Do they put you at ease? Do you feel they understand what you want? The more relaxed you are around your photographer, the more natural and at ease your photos will be.