How To Choose A Wedding Photographer

How To Choose a Wedding Photographer: a step-by-step guide

Choosing the right photographer for your wedding is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. After all, these are the memories that you’ll cherish forever. But, with so many options out there, how do you narrow it down? Let’s break it down step by step

Know what style of wedding photography you want

The most important thing you need to know before you decide or before you start searching for a wedding photographer is the style of wedding photography you actually like. It’s vital to find a wedding photographer whose style you love and whose photos you imagine yourself in. Think of it like The Matrix; you might love the film but probably wouldn’t want your whole wedding to have all that green in every single photo.

There are lots of different styles of wedding photography, but in my opinion, they fall into two broad categories: “hands-on” and “hands-off”. What I mean is that hands-on photographers will generally give a lot of direction, control the situation a lot more, and pose people to get the best photographs they can and hands-off photographers are basically the opposite; waiting and watching to see the best moments unfold in front of them, and make the best pictures they can. There is, of course, some cross-over.

So, what are the wedding photography styles?

That’s a great question with a bit of a complicated answer.

The Knot, a huge wedding vendor and information treasure trove, breaks the styles down into 11 separate styles: Editorial, Photojournalism/Documentary, Traditional, Fine Art, Lifestyle, Flash, Dark and Moody, Blurry, Vintage, Film, and Aerial.

Brides, another huge website with tonnes of excellent wedding information has a slightly shorter list with Traditional, Photojournalistic, Editorial, Dark and Moody, Aerial, Fine Art, Black and White, and Landscape.

Vogue magazine agrees with Traditional, Editorial, Photojournalism, Fine Art, and Film.

I tend to agree more with Vogue because I don’t think ‘Blurry,’ ‘Flash’ or ‘Dark and Moody’ are types of photography as much as ways to take a particular photograph, and ‘Aerial’ is simply a piece of equipment.

What are the differences?

As I mentioned, the major difference is the hands-on vs hands-off approach of the wedding photographer, but many wedding photographers use a mix of both during the wedding day. For example, family formal photos usually need at least some direction, while photographing the ceremony is usually 99% candid photojournalism.

Traditional wedding photography

This is probably the most classic style because it’s often what you see in your parents and grandparents’ wedding photos. This style focuses on staged portraits of the couple and family group as well as creating more formal photos of key moments during the day. Couples with a shot list or a very clear idea of must-have photos might opt for this style because it’s very methodical and meticulous. These are usually quite hands-on photographers.

Editorial wedding photography

This style is gaining popularity because it draws from traditional wedding photography but incorporates elements such as dramatic lighting, narrative, and a more modern visual style. All of these ingredients combine to create a powerful magazine-like collection of wedding images that showcase your wedding alongside a powerful visual style. These are usually quite hands-on photographers.

Photojournalism/Documentary

There is some confusion about the difference between photojournalism and documentary photography, but in wedding photography, it seems to be basically the same thing. In other fields of photography, the difference might be that photojournalism is the kind of photography you see with news articles on a daily basis and documentary tends to be a bit more in-depth, long-term visual projects.

In wedding photography, these are the hands-off guys. Typically a documentary wedding photographer will concentrate on capturing unstaged organic moments throughout the day, resulting in a much more organic collection of images almost as if the photographer wasn’t even there. This can result in incredibly intimate moments between the couple, family, and friends that often go completely unnoticed by the couple and guests. 

However, a 100% photojournalistic approach means that a photographer won’t organise group shots or set up a couple’s session, so a lot of photographers will compromise and do a bit of people-wrangling. I myself like to find a spot for group shots, and then let the group form naturally, and with couples I often give an action to do rather than pose couples because the photos are much more natural and fit the narrative better.

Fine Art wedding photography

Fine art, as the name suggests, is the most visually driven style of wedding photography. It is usually very visually creative and uses all the elements of image making such as light, composition, or colour to create a collection of images that tell your story of your wedding through the eyes of a particular photographer, using their signature style. Although Fin Art wedding photography conjures up images with an ethereal quality with soft tones and pastel colours, there are more and more photographers who fit into this style but also use bold colours, geometrical shapes, and loads of artificial lighting.

What about the rest?

The other ‘styles’ mentioned, in my opinion, are more like types of photo rather than a concrete style. Many photographers, myself included, use black and white for images with more graphic elements, and images with movement often contain some blur to give a sense of motion, while dark and moody images might fit well with a Scottish Highlands wedding. I feel like each of these types of image can fit into one of the styles listed above so you can have a black and white Fine Art wedding photo, a blurry Documentary Wedding Photo, or a Dark and Moody Editorial wedding photo.

A quick note about film photography.

Film photography is more of an umbrella because it’s a technique of image-making rather than a style. All the styles could be made with film cameras or digital cameras. If you love film photography, there are a few photographers who shoot exclusively on film, and there are loads of photographers who make absolutely beautiful work that looks like film, but using digital equipment.

So which is the style for me?

A final note about style is to try to imagine your own wedding day photographed in a particular style. If you love a few light and airy fine art images but you’re planning a high–energy event with a club-esque DJ set, you might find the two clash. Likewise, if you’re planning a more relaxed event with a sprawling garden party after the ceremony, you probably won’t want photos with loads of flash and big energy. If you’re a bit lost, just ask your potential photographers!

The Price

This is the other most important factor that will decide who your wedding photographer is and what services you hire from them. Nowadays, there are photographers at every price point – from £300 to £30,000 and above. Obviously, there is a massive difference between photographers at the extreme ends of the scale, so you need to decide carefully what services you want, and what you’re prepared to pay for them.

As a general rule of thumb, the lowest prices tend to be semi-professional photographers or “weekend warriors” who have another full-time job during the week and want to make some extra cash. The highest price tags are usually for teams of wedding photographers who shoot right through the rehearsal dinner and offer bespoke handmade wedding albums.

There are some broad blocks inside the wedding photography service which are: the number of hours, number of photographers, and physical products such as albums and printed photographs.

Must wedding photographers offer packages, which makes deciding much simpler as you can clearly see what you get for your money. The most basic packages are often with one photographer, slightly shorter working hours, and a digital-only wedding gallery, while the higher-end packages usually include printed albums and extra photographers.

Even though it’s awkward to talk about how much you’re willing to spend on a person to their face, it’s really important that you make sure everyone understands what you are paying for. There’s nothing worse than expecting two photographers and then only one turns up, or spending hours choosing photos for an album only to discover that you have only paid for the first 20 pages.

In my opinion, photographers are more than happy to be a bit flexible with prices if you ask us. A lot of people find paying in installments much easier and more comfortable, and many couples would prefer to wait a year before making the commitment to buy a printed wedding album.

Ask for Complete Weddings, Not Just the Home Page Images

The portfolio and home page of a photographer’s website are usually just little highlights of their works from a variety of weddings in all sorts of places and venues. To get a real feel for how they follow the day, ask to see a whole wedding or two so you can get an idea of the type of photo they take.

Have a Chat With Your Potential Wedding Photographers

This might seem a bit over the top, but chatting to the person who is going to be responsible for creating the photographs of one of the most important days of your families’ stories is absolutely not a waste of time. You don’t have to meet with 15 different photographers but once you have a shortlist of three or four that you really like, definitely hop on a Zoom call or schedule a meeting on Skype.

It’s really important you like your photographer as well as their photography so you can feel comfortable in their presence for a whole day and the emotional rollercoaster of your wedding. Remember that the photographer will probably see you crying, laughing, and even in your underwear, so you want to work with someone you feel comfortable with.

Make a List of Questions You Want to Ask About the Wedding Photographer

Here are a few of the more common FAQs that people often ask wedding photographers, but make sure you ask anything you’re unsure about. 

For instance, if you are planning to have a heavy metal karaoke session, a coconut shy, or a golf-buggy race, make sure you ask the photographer if they’re cool with it. Nothing is too weird, and remember that wedding photographers have probably been to more weddings than you have so we have some pretty good insights. Personally, I have been asked to shoot a groom dressed as a boxer (just shorts, gloves, and a cape), to shoot around a live video feed to China, or how I could make first dance photos in a swimming pool, to name a few. Don’t be shy, most photographers love the idea of getting to photograph something new and original.

Last But Not Least

It’s your wedding so you can do or not do whatever you want. If you have any questions about anything to do with photography, your potential wedding photographers will be more than happy to help. There are no silly questions because it’s likely the first time you get married and the first time you hire a photographer.

Don’t forget that this person is going to be responsible for creating the visual memories of your whole families on your wedding day.