What no one ever told you you needed to do and how to do it.
When I planned my wedding, I had a very specific vision in mind. I had no idea what I was doing and no money for a planner but I knew what mattered to me, the photographs. These would be the pictures that we carried from new home to new home in our lives together. The ones that hang on the walls and our kids ask for copies of to use in their own wedding. Documenting this day in a memorable way was really important to me so I did my research and now two years later there are still a few things I wish I would have known. I feel like the only way for me to really understand the best way to find a photographer was to become one. These are the things no one mentions or thinks about but they can save you a WORLD of trouble in just a little time.
Look at their website AND Instagram AND Facebook
The first thing you're going to want to do is to compare pictures across potential photographer's platforms. Don't just go to their website but go to their social media platforms, too. Are they consistent? Do the photos have the same style of editing? Are the poses the same? You may really like the photos on their website but if you go onto their Instagram and see that your favorite photo from the website was posted six years ago and since then the photographer's style has
changed then you'll have a better idea of what you are getting.
Look at their wedding photos and other photos as well
I made a crucial mistake whenever I was hiring my photographer for my wedding. I looked at a photographer's wedding photos on their website and loved them so | hired that photographer for my wedding and engagement photos. After the engagement shoot the photos came back extremely quickly (not necessarily a bad sign but definitely a sign that not a lot of time was spent on them). When we we looked at them we were pretty shocked. They looked nothing like the photos we had seen online. I was really confused until I went back into the photographer's website and looked at their engagement photos. All of their engagement shoots looked completely different from the wedding photography. The lighting, colors, and poses were all different. Which brings me to my next point. ..
Have your top potential shoot your engagement photos, bridal photos, boudoir photos, etc.
A great way to do a dry run with a photographer that you're about to spend thousands of dollars on is to book an engagement session/ bridal portraits/ etc. with them beforehand. This way you get to see them working in action and have an
idea of what your wedding photos will look and feel like on the day. Based on our engagement experience we ended up switching photographers about 5 months before our wedding (which is not easy). We lost our deposit but I have no regrets when I look at my photos on the wall. You only get this day once.
Don't let your wedding day be the first day you meet your photographer.
Whether you book them for another shoot or not, don't let your wedding day be the first time you meet the photographer. Ask them to meet for coffee and show you some of their photos. You can learn a lot from a simple interaction. Were they late? Did they come prepared? Did they have a good sense of humor (highly important in a wedding photographer)? It's a really easy way to know what to expect from them on the day.
You get what you pay for
Now, do not misunderstand me. Stay within your budget. By all means go with a photographer you like that has a lower price point than a similar one that is higher. As a wedding photographer myself, I know I don't have the highest price point. That is not what I'm trying to get at here. What I'm trying to say is don't look at wedding photos you love on instagram and then have your groom's best friend take some pictures on his iPhone and think that they will look the same. Wedding photography is an investment. For some they want to invest in something else, and that is completely fine. But if these portraits are important to you, put aside money in the budget for quality photography and sacrifice somewhere else (I recommend the wedding favors because I don't really get their purpose, but to each his own).
Be specific about what you want up front
Lastly, now is not the time to assume your photographer will know what you want. I truly believe in trusting professionals and differing sometimes to their judgement but if you think that they are going to know that every person in your family gets a photo of all of the women in your family together with your grandma in the middle you are going to be disappointed. Set your photographer up for success! Tell them the things you like and know that you want or even the things that you know you don't want (see the wedding favor comment above).
