Your All-Important Guide to Choosing the Ideal Wedding Photographer for Your Big Day

Wedding preparations are exciting, with dreams of a perfect day and a new life – but they can be stressful and full of challenges as well; there seems to be so much to do, and often too little time to do it in. Some decisions might be straightforward, others might be agonisingly difficult, and all this needs to be done within a certain time frame and within a set budget.

One key arrangement to make is to hire the perfect wedding photographer – and unlike choosing the venue (which can be visited), the menu (which can be tasted) or the flowers (which can be seen and smelled), choosing the photographer requires taking different steps. Here’s your all-important guide to choosing the ideal wedding photographer for your big day.

Your style

Professional photographers go through training and discover how to make artistic shots, portraiture, traditional, documentary – and a whole host of other kinds of pictures. They also develop their own specialties, so before deciding on who your photographer will be, decide first on what kind of style you prefer. There are plenty of wedding pictures to be found online to help you with this. 

Making a shortlist

Once you’ve discovered your own style, you can go hunting for photographers online – they often display their own portfolios, or they will be available online, as evidenced by professional photographers from Nottingham like Lewis Romane with his website, Lewisromane.com. Make a shortlist of the photographers whose portfolios you feel best suit your personal tastes. It takes some time, but it’s well worth the effort.

Professionalism

This is tricky – you want your photographer to be comfortable with you on your special day, but you also want a photographer who’s bold enough to ask you for a pose or a stance when it seems appropriate; when the light and the atmosphere are just right.

Communication

Make sure you can explain exactly what you want, and choose a photographer who can explain exactly what they can do. Your communication should be easy and comfortable – there shouldn’t be any misunderstanding; there’s only one take.

Collaborative planning

Is your photographer willing to check out the venue in advance and suggest to you what kind of backgrounds and lighting properties would be best for you on your special day?

Of course, your budget is important, and whilst you don’t want to go cheap on your big, special day, the photographer should be able to offer you the right price package in line with their competition – there’s no reason to pay more than you have to. It’s a good idea to ask the photographer what the standard hourly rate is, and then to compare this to other packages that are offered. And don’t forget to ask about the post-production services, such as DVDs, slide shows, and other memorabilia.

Image: Pixabay.com