Choosing a Wedding Photographer

Let’s be honest for most people, getting married is a once in a lifetime event. Often it is one of the only times you have all your family and friends in the same place. Not only is it very important, it also means when it comes to picking a supplier, you don’t really have experience on your side. Sure you can Google it, but when you get literally millions of results it can seem like an impossible task! Hopefully this article will help you on your search for the perfect wedding photographer. Choosing a wedding photographer might be one of the most popular topics on wedding blogs UK wide. I see it asked all the time and I can see why. Here is my take on it.

Choosing a Wedding Photographer

With the rise of social media, Google and wedding blogs it seems the industry is full of photographers. When you see photographers charging anything from £400 for to over £10,000, you might ask yourself, just how do I pick? I want to outline a few ways to find a photographer and a few things to look out for.

Your budget will obviously be the first thing you should consider. Photographers can be expensive, but consider how important your images are to you and the memory of your day. That being said, there is little point in looking at a photographer way over budget or even one way under budget. The old saying you get what you pay for can also be true for photography. A lot of online wedding blogs say you should budget 10% of your total wedding budget on your photographer, which is a good starting point. Of course you might want to spend more or less depending on how important images are to you. So if you are spending £20,000 on your wedding, look to spend £2,000 on photography. Again this is just a guide. From my knowledge of years in the industry, constantly looking at pricing, I would advise you budget at least £1500 for photography and I would say the average is around £2000 – £2500.

Where to find your Photographer

Most of these will be obvious, but Google and social media can be a good place to start. Before you even begin though it can be useful to think about what you want. A documentary photographer with no posing on the day, a very styled posed photographer or a mix of everything. Once you know roughly the style you like and your budget you can hit the internet. If you are not sure on this just start looking through some websites and the style you like should start to jump out eventually.

Your venue will have a list of photographers they recommend and if you have friends who have recently been married why not ask them for a recommendation? Once you start looking through photographers websites and social pages you will quickly start noticing things you love and things you don’t love. Hopefully you will start to see the difference between good photographers and not so good photographers. You can start to save websites of photographers you like, make a note of their pricing (if they have it on their website) and a few notes about why you love the look of their work.

Ok we like a few, now what?

Ok so you have looked through loads of wedding photographers websites and narrowed it down. Next you want to arrange a meeting. A meeting will help you understand if you like the person, remember they will be around all day so best you can get on with them. Again, after you meet with a few you will start to understand what you like and what you don’t. This meeting could be in person or over Zoom, FaceTime etc. The key is to get a feeling for how you get on, ask yourself do you really want this person around all day on your wedding day?

If you like the person and you like their images (make sure you look through at least 3 full weddings if you have any doubt) then consider what you get. Most photographers will give you an online gallery. This is great for seeing your images quickly and being able to share them with everyone with a click of a button. You might also get a USB or some prints and obviously wedding albums are a consideration. Understanding what you will get can help with any issues after the wedding. Sometimes photographers offer a gallery but don’t give you the rights to print them and you need to pay extra. After all, you want to be able to print images should you wish and understand any hidden charges.

Check out this podcast episode I did with the wonderful Freya Raby Photography where we discuss finding a wedding photographer, different photography styles and much more:

Conclusion

In conclusion you want to feel comfortable with your photographer, trust that they will do a great job and know what you will get at the end. The last thing you want is to get charged extra for something you thought was included. After all you have spent enough on your wedding already. I hope that helps a little and as always if you have any questions feel free to GET IN TOUCH. Choosing a wedding photographer can be difficult but should be really fun and exciting.

A great article from the Rock my Wedding blog can be found here and adds to what I have touched on in this blog.

You can find my Pricing here and my Portfolio here.