Perfect Photographers

On your wedding you can only be in one place at a time, so you’ll be relying on your photographer to capture all those moments you can’t be there for. Imagine the scene, you go for your picture preview, excited at what you’re going to see … and they’re awful. You’ve got a stupid face on all of them, there are no pictures of your friends who travelled miles to be there, and those family shots you asked for didn’t happen.

To avoid disappointment, here are a few tips to help you get the most from your photographer.

Recommendations

If you have any family members or friends who have recently married, ask them what they thought of their photographer and have a good look at their pictures. If you like them, then the next step is to check out the photographer’s website, their reviews and galleries.

Also, you could speak to your venue to see if they have a preferred supplier who they’ve worked with before. There are lots of photographers out there so this is a great way to narrow the field a bit. You can find our preferred suppliers here.

Website

And while you’re on their website, pay attention to how professional it feels. You can learn a lot about a company from their website and their “About Us” page. The more information about their experiences and qualifications, the more confident you can be in them. Although, a lack of experience shouldn’t put you off. Someone could have been in the business for years and only just set up their own company.

Wish list

When you have a short list of potentials, have a think about what you want from your photographer. Is it the whole day experience or just shots from the ceremony and breakfast?

Meeting

Meet with them if you can, see how well you get on, whether you bounce ideas of each other or sit in awkward silence wondering when it’s polite to leave. If you could imagine being their friend, then that’s a great place to start. See how willing they are to be flexible. You don’t want someone who only does things their way and won’t listen to you. When you hire your photographer make sure you agree your wish list and have it documented so everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing.

Budget

Finally, you need to consider that important thing which dictates the whole of your wedding, unromantic as it might be; your budget. If someone ticks all your boxes but is way out of your price range, then you have some serious questions to ask, such as how important are the pictures to you and what can you scale back on if they are?

Alternatives to albums

An extra thing to consider is your album. I don’t have a traditional album. We asked our photographer for a canvas instead and have all the pictures on a digital photo frame. I knew a physical album would go up in the loft and I’d never see it again. This way I look at my pictures every day. If you think an album might be a waste for you, consider how you can have the pictures so you see them all the time.