3 Tips On How to Choose Your Engagement Photographer!
There are few decisions during your wedding planning journey that are as important as choosing the right photographer. Stress you out yet? 😂 It shouldn’t be a terribly stressful process as long as you follow a few simple guidelines.
Before I get started, I thought I’d share our story: When Bryan and I got engaged, we didn’t have a ton of money nor a ton of knowledge about weddings and photography. We figured that if someone took pictures of us for engagements and for the wedding, that we’d naturally just like them! I hadn’t really looked at even hiring anyone- I asked my old roommate to take them! Now, I know you’re cringing- you know better, but we didn’t. We got what we paid for. It wasn’t great and it’s one of our biggest regrets. I only tell you this story to help you understand our crusade, which leads to …
TIP #1
Choose a photographer that you absolutely love.
There are so many ways to research your potential photographer! Don’t skip this step- you need to fall in love with more than just their images. You need to connect with your photographer on not just photography style and taste. You will be hanging out with this person all day on your wedding day, so make sure that you like him or her! Another thing to look out for is if they respond quickly to your initial inquiry (DMs don’t count!) If you are narrowing down to a few, and send an email to one and they don’t email back within 24 hours or so, It may be an indication that they don’t have their act together yet. Organization is sooooo important on a wedding day (and let’s be honest, running a successful business!) that you have to trust that your photographer will respond to you quickly, knowledgeably, and professionally.
Tip #2
Look at their portfolio thoroughly.
When you are researching potential photographers, make sure you check out all of their portfolios- instagram, facebook, website, etc. There are a few things to look out for when you are pursuing their images: Is the coloring of the photos consistent? A good photographer will have a set style that you can tell immediately. If some of their images are light and airy and some are more dark and warm and they’re all mixed an jumbled, it may be a sign of a new photographer still trying to build portfolio and find their ‘style’. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing- as long as you are aware of this and are okay with possibly having mixed photos. A higher end or established photographer will have a set style and filter/preset to their editing.
Tip #3
Do they have basic photography skills?
Now this may sound like a no-brainer, but hear me out. If you don’t have a lot of money in the budget for your photographer, it may be tempting to cut a few corners and get a $50 mini session or Facebook special as your engagement session. A professional photographer will know their worth and will charge accordingly. Now, where your budget falls in the range of prices is up to you. If you can only afford to pay $1000 for a photographer, make sure it’s the best $1000 photographer that you can find. Make sure that it’s not an uncle with a nice camera that’d be will to shoot for free. Or (in my case) a roommate that has taken 2 photography classes. Make sure you know that they know what they’re doing, because your wedding is a lousy way for them to experiment. Now, obviously, I know that all photographers start out with no portfolio and no skills and a whole lot of dreams. But the best photographers never stop progressing. They keep investing in their equiptment, their education, their experience, their online portfolios, and their style. They don’t keep shooting the same way they started out at. If you want to take a chance on someone starting out, it’s a risk that you take they don’t know what they’re doing yet. But as long as you know what you’re getting into, and love the photographer, you may just have a diamond in the rough.
OKAY YOU GUYS! I honestly could talk about photography for ages, but those were a few of our favorite tips for how to choose your photographer! Hopefully it all made sense and if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below! I’d love to hear!
