TIPS: Wedding Photography, How Do I Choose?
How to choose a wedding photographer
When I started thinking about writing a post on wedding photography, I realised it is by far the topic I know the most about, but then it is what I do! So rather than write a book about the subject, I have decided to break it down into a few shorter posts, starting with choosing who will do your wedding photography.
Wedding Photography Style
There are a huge number of people who offer wedding photography, from students and enthusiastic amateurs to top class professionals, and every level in between! So who on earth do you pick? From a personal point of view I'd say, "Pick ME!" but realistically, I know that I cannot cater to everyone's taste and budget. Each photographer has their own style.There are different types of wedding photography. Some have an emphasis on formal group shots, other a candid reportage style, that documents your day. The first thing I would suggest is to look at wedding sources to see what style you like. Websites such as Pinterest have a vast amount of wedding photography images to start you off. Next search for photographers that cover your area, look at their website or portfolio to see if the style of images (both in the way they are shot and the post processing) is to your liking. I'll explain these a little more.
Creative Imagery
Wedding Photography - Style 1 From Above
Wedding Photography - Style 2 from the side
Wedding Photography - Style 5 - Offset
Wedding Photography - Style 3 - At a Distance
Wedding Photography - Style 3 - From Below
Below are a series of photographs that have been taken on the same vase of flowers, however each conveys a different feel. No one picture is right or wrong, but one may stand out as being your favourite - (you can let me know which one in the comments below!)
Post Processing
Wedding Photography - Editing Style 1 - Colourful
Wedding Photography - Editing Style 2 - Vintage
Wedding Photography - Editing Style 3 - Bright
Wedding Photography - Editing Style 4 - Black & White
Once the photograph has been taken the photographer spends time editing the image to get it looking it's best (more in this in a future post). Here are a couple of examples of how the same image may be edited, though the possibilities are endless! Put these 2 things together and you can decide which image best suits your tastes. I am, personally, drawn towards bright, colourful images, as they make me feel warm and happy, however others prefer a vintage, dull or washed out images. I think Style 3 works quite well with this image. Which do you like? I actually think Style 3 works quite well with the purple flower, that or the way I would usually edit which is Style 1.
Meet your photographer face to face
Weddings should be fun.
Once you have decided on which style you like and possibly found a photographer who shoots in that style, I would advise meeting with the photographer. Ask them to provide an example of a full wedding that they have shot, this could be in an example wedding album or in a digital slideshow, but it should be pictures from just one wedding. You are looking for consistence in editing as well as quality of photographs. You can also see what the photographer likes to focus on (formal or candid style for example). When I was looking for our wedding photographer, I found that some people had maybe 5 or 6 stunning images in their portfolio, but the rest were a bit mediocre. We went with a photographer that had lots of amazing images displayed, which gave me confidence in his ability to be consistently good.Also by meeting with your potential photographer you get a chance to see if you will get on with them. Remember that you may spend quite a bit of time with your chosen photographer on your wedding day, so you don't want to end up with someone who will annoy or upset you . You need someone who will help to make your special day fun, someone who is easy to get on with and will put you at ease, especially if you are nervous about having your photograph taken.Once you've chosen your perfect photographer, be sure to secure your date (this will usually require an upfront deposit), as good photographers can get booked up years in advance. You wouldn't want to be disappointed after all your research! :)I hope this is helpful to you, as I said there will be more blog posts on wedding photography coming soon! If you found this useful why not sign up to receive EBM Photography's newsletter which includes more tips as well as special offers. Sign up here