How To Choose Your Wedding Photographer

Photographs of your wedding will be cherished for your entire life, so it’s important that you are happy with your photographer and their style of photography. To help, we’ve put together a guide of how to choose your wedding photographer.

Where to start

As there are hundreds of photographers within the UK, it’s usually best to choose a style of photography that you love to narrow down the amount of photographers that you are researching. Like every kind of art, there are many styles of photography. Usually, you will naturally lean towards a particular style depending on your personal taste.

What styles are there?

[caption id="attachment_2002" align="alignnone" width="640"] Classic Wedding Photography by Jennifer Jane[/caption] The most common styles are classic, artistic and photojournalistic. Classic wedding photography focuses on capturing your traditional wedding shots that have stood the test of time. This is perfect if you want the classic group photos and standard wedding shots of your rings, your dress etc.

[caption id="attachment_2003" align="alignnone" width="640"] Contemporary Photography by Ceremony Photography[/caption] An artistic style of photography is the complete opposite. Focusing on creative shots, artistic photographers will capture photos in a unique way that often involves lighting.

[caption id="attachment_2008" align="alignnone" width="620"] Photojournalism Photography by A Tall Long Legged Bird[/caption] Onto the complete opposite of artistic, photojournalists will capture every moment as it happens. This is a true storytelling of your day and the photographer will capture natural moments of every emotion. No moment makes a bad photograph, as every face tells its own story. So if you want to capture your day as it truly is, photojournalism is for you.

Making a list

After choosing what style of photographer you want, you can start to search for different photographers. Google is a good place to start. Make a list of all the photographers, their websites and what you liked or disliked about their photography. It’s also a good idea to have both a cost and a contact details column. Sometimes you can find costs on their website, but it is also common to have to contact the photographer for a quote.

Are they available?

Next you will need to find out if they are available for your wedding date. There’s no point setting your mind on a photographer only to find out that they are unavailable!

Narrowing down

Now it’s time to narrow down your list. Ideally, you should aim for a list of 3. This could be determined by budget, by location or maybe you prefer the photos from one photographer better than another. It’s important to go with your heart at this point. If you think there’s something about the photos that you don’t like, then cross them off the list.

Meeting photographers

Once you’ve got your list of three, it’s important to meet them face to face. You may not realise it, but your photographer is a big part of your day. They will be there all day after all, so you need to make sure you get along with them and ensure that you’re on the same page when it comes to your ideas. If you want a certain shot or have any specific requirements, be sure to let them know!

The big decision

Once you’ve met the photographers, you will usually have a gut feeling who you want to photograph your big day. If not, sleep on it. Make a list of pros and cons. But always go with your gut.