First of all, congratulations on your engagement!
Whether you’ve been engaged for 5 years or 5 minutes, the fact that you’re reading this means that you are (at the very least in the early stages of) looking at wedding photographers.
You’ve probably noticed, it’s something of a minefield out there! Hundreds of photographers, all different kinds of styles and all different kinds of prices. How on earth are you supposed to find the perfect one for you?
That’s something I can help you with...
I know you’re probably thinking ‘but you’re just going to tell me that you are the perfect photographer for me, aren’t you?’
Well, no, I’m not actually. Statistically speaking, I’m unlikely to be the perfect photographer for you and (please don’t take this the wrong way, but) if we aren’t a good match, I actually don’t want to shoot your wedding. It won’t be fun for either of us and the whole point of this is to help ensure that you get the right photographer for you.
Here are, without doubt, the top 5 things you can do to make sure you get the perfect photographer for your prefect day.
The first thing you need to make sure you do is to not get scammed! It’s difficult to believe but there are hundreds and hundreds of scammers out there looking to use wedding photography as a means to con money out of couples. It’s disgusting, but it happens regularly. I won’t go into huge detail on this email, but I did write a blog post about this very subject and what you can do to avoid it happening to you - and you can read that here.
The next thing to do is to think about what you actually want from your wedding pictures. I know that sounds obvious but I ask that question all the time and not too many people have thought about it. It’s one thing to know that you want great wedding pictures but another entirely to know what you want from them. For example, do you want to look like you’re in a magazine or do you prefer natural and relaxed pictures? Do you want more focus on posed group-shots or do you just want a few posed and more candid shots? Do you want super-romantic-gazing-into-each-other’s-eyes pictures or is that not your style at all? Do you want lots of dancing shots from the reception or do they make you cringe? It’s important to think about these things because different photographers specialise in different styles. For example, while I specialise in a natural and no heavy poses style, others will specialise in couple posing. Therefore if you decide that you want your pictures to look like a wedding in OK magazine, I’m not your guy, but there’ll be someone else that is very much your photographer.
Once you have decided what you want, look for those kinds of images in photographers portfolios. If you want your pictures to be light and airy for example, there is little point in contacting a photographer that has a website full of mostly black and white heavy contrast images. They aren’t for you and you aren’t for them and should you end up hiring them, you aren’t going to be happy with what they deliver.
Once you’ve found a photographer that you’re pretty sure you like, try to imagine yourself in their pictures. If you get those happy feelings in your tummy when you imagine you and the love of your life in those pictures, you should be contacting that photographer.
If you’ve found the perfect photographer for you and then you see their prices and they are above your budget, that doesn’t mean it’s over. Lot’s of photographer’s offer payment plans and other solutions. I can only speak for myself, but I offer very flexible payment plans, gift codes so that friends and family can contribute towards your photography, and different packages to suit different budgets. If you are in love with a photographer’s work but they are out of budget, still contact them to see if they can offer options. What’s more important than the memories of the happiest day of your life? It’s worth an email to see if your perfect photographer can help you.
If you’d like to talk to me about these points or anything else, you can contact me here.
