How To Choose Your Wedding Photographer - From A Wedding Photographer & Former Bride

How do you really choose the right Wedding Photographer for you?

Speaking as someone who people have chosen, and someone who had to do the choosing, here are some honest tips to help you find and choose the right photographic companion on your wedding day.

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1. DO YOU REALLY LIKE THEIR PHOTOS?
Starting out with a really obvious one I know, but sometimes wedding planning can feel like you're trying to get through a long to-do list, and if you're not careful some decisions can be a tad rushed. This is the person who is documenting the whole day and giving you your main record of it - the photos are important. Have a look at all their website and social media accounts, and don't be afraid to wait a couple of weeks for you both to mull it over.

2. DON’T HANG AROUND WHEN IT COMES TO BOOKING.
This kind of contradicts the end to point number one, but good wedding photographers notoriously get booked up QUICK, so honestly if you really like someone's work, you think they could be a great fit for you and you have a wedding date set, get in touch and see what the next steps are to booking them! Once a day is booked, it's gone.

3. START LOCALLY, AND THEN SHOP AROUND.
There are a lot of wedding photographers out there so do a local search first, even if it's just purely a starting point, then look further afield if no one grabs you. If you hire someone who isn't local you'll probably have to pay for their travel expenses, and whist this is fair there might be someone else you dig just as much locally.

4. DO YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THEM?
I'm going to be honest, your photographer is probably the one wedding supplier that you’ll spend the most time with. If you don’t click with them and they are not easy to be around, as talented as they might be photographically other things could really outweigh all of that. Meet up and/or do a phone/video chat with them if you can, and engagement shoots are also a great way to get to know them and see them in action.

5. DO THEY HAVE GOOD AND RELEVANT FEEDBACK?
Are you looking for a Photographer to take control, who is hugely outgoing and poses every one of your couple portraits, or are you looking for someone who is more laid back, is comfortable at giving directions when needed but does the candid thing a lot more. I'm more the latter, but neither is right or wrong in itself - it's whether or not it's right or wrong for you. Take the time to really read reviews online and see if it speaks to you both personally.

6. BINGE THEIR PORTFOLIO.
Don’t get me wrong I love Instagram and social media, BUT sometimes it doesn’t give a very in-depth view of how well a photographer can capture a wedding day in full. This is one of the reasons my website and blog posts are full of photos. It's one thing to have beautiful couple portraits, but did they photograph the wedding prep well? Did they capture a little moment between the bride and her best friend? What about the wedding details that took you weeks and months to plan, buy and get absolutely perfect? It’ll give you a better idea of if they'll give you a good coverage of the day. Click here to see my portfolio.

One more thing: DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS.
It comes as no surprise that as I am a wedding photographer I know a fair bit about weddings. Captain obvious right? But they are something I work on on a pretty much daily basis. If there is something you aren't sure about (it doesn't even need to be strictly photography related) just ask us! We don't bite and the worst thing really a photographer can say is "I don't know, sorry!"

Speaking of which, if you have any questions you'd like me to answer, feel free to ask. ​​​
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I hope you found this helpful and happy wedding planning!

hOLLY 
​XO.