One of the best pieces of advice I received when planning my wedding came from my mother-in-law. She told me, at the end of your wedding day, the only tangible things you’ll have left are your wedding rings and your photos; invest in them. But when you’re considering which photographer to trust with one of the biggest days of your life, how do you choose? What do you look for? We have a few suggestions on what to consider when deciding if they’re the photographer for you.

1. Style

You can spend hours pouring over portfolios, browsing galleries or scrolling through Instagram, but we believe that if you don’t immediately love the first 10 photos you see, chances are this isn’t the photographer for you.

Taken by Wood & Willow Photography

Breaking down a photograph, you can see there’s a lot going on behind the pretty picture. There’s lighting, composition, focus, colour, contrast, saturation, and they’ve all been chosen to tell a story in a certain way.

Sometimes, a photograph can look like a breath of fresh air with light tones and clear focus. Other times, the photo has a vintage tone with strong contrast and shadows used to highlight the focal point of the image.
Which style do you love enough to forever commemorate your special day in?

If you don’t love love LOVE it, don’t book it.

2. Budget

The budget was one of the defining factors for me when I selected my wedding photographer. As much as I loved their work, could I afford them? If not, where did I go from there?

Ultimately, sticking to your budget is important, but it’s up to you on how much you want to spend on your photographer and what lengths you’re willing to go to in order to book them.
Look at their packages and consider what they’re offering and for how much. Are they staying with you for eight hours, with 800+ images edited and delivered via USB to your doorstep? What about the competition? Are the offerings similar at different price points? Which fills your needs better?

Taken by Josh Delgado Photography

When you start building a wedding budget, I suggest choosing your key priorities for the day (e.g. rings, photographer, venue or food) and working back from there when allocating how much of your budget is going into each category. That way, you know exactly how much you’re able to spend on your photographer. It’s also important to research similar photographers for comparison on price points to ensure you’re getting the best deal possible.

3. Chemistry

By this point, you’ve stalked the photograph’s work a dozen times online, you’ve browsed their packages and found one that fills your needs and works for your budget, but what’s next? Chemistry.

If you’ve never met your photographer, how do you know that you and your fiance will be comfortable around them? If you are anything like my husband, being the centre of attention makes you uncomfortable, throw in a camera lens and it’s 100x worse.

Taken by Wood & Willow Photography

To minimise this kind of discomfort, we highly recommend meeting with any potential photographer in person, before booking them in. Take the time to have a chat over a coffee or smoothie, see what they’re like and if the conversation flows freely.
Do they make you feel relaxed and confident, or do you feel ill at ease? Does your chemistry bounce off each other or do you feel like a bug under a microscope?

If you can’t be comfortable having a coffee with someone, you won’t feel comfortable taking fun and romantic photos in front of them on such a personal day.

Until next time, keep making your special moments unforgettable x