Photos are so important to us all. To prove this, take a quick look at how many photos you have on your phone! I think I am up to 76,000! The milestones in your life are the times you want the best photos. From your wedding, they are the one thing you will take away with you. They help you relive the day, see what you didn’t see, be reminded of what you chose and they will hold on to those precious moments. As the years go by, they will also remind you of what you felt back then. They are an investment in your relationship. And you need to love them.

So how do you choose a wedding photographer?
Here are 7 tips to help…

1.Style

There are a lot of different styles of photography - from fashion to traditional, editorial and fine art or documentary (photo journalistic). And then there are different edits on top of those styles. It can be really overwhelming when it comes to choosing a photographer. The key thing is that you need to fall in love with the style they are taken in not just now but you need to love them in the future too! Use Instagram to look at the different styles (often a photographer will indicate in their bio what style they are) and which photos you truly love the look of. Can you imagine yourself in and them and do they make you think, ‘I want those.’

2. Personality

This is really important. You need to really like your photographer, you need to feel you can trust them and perhaps even feel a lovely connection with them. They will be near to you throughout your day and they need to fit in. Their approach and their demeanour needs to be what you want on your day.

3. Price point

I’m afraid it’s true to say that you pay for what you get. More experienced photographers tend to be a little more expensive. Like with all things, you can pay less but it’s important to weigh up why they are less and what you want. If the photos and recording the memory is really important to you, don’t cut costs in that area. Our whole hearted advice (from our own experience of not having the photos of our wedding that we would love) is to invest. You can spend so much money on flowers and your dress/suits and then not have beautiful photos to show for it and so it then just becomes all about that one day rather than the lifelong record of it.

A good professional wedding photographer in the UK is typically anything between £2 and £4k+ and the amount they are between this depends on their experience and what is included.

4. Experience

Consider how much experience your photographer has. Weddings are not easy to shoot as there is so much involved and a lot going on and it’s very easy to miss things. Getting a friend or a much cheaper photographer to do it is obviously very cost effective but the lack of experience will really show. It’s about feeling safe and looked after on your day so that you can fully concentrate on having the best day of your life!

5. Location

So many people really focus on whether a photographer has shot at their chosen venue before because they think this will produce better photos. In our experience, this is not the case and is actually such a myth. If you have chosen a good photographer, they won’t need experience at a venue. In fact, for a photographer, going to a different venue is inspiring. Arguably, photographers who shoot at the same venue a lot are in danger of getting bored and churning out the same photos. So, if you can find a photographer who shoots at your venue occasionally, wonderful, but if they don’t and they haven’t shot there before (which of course happens all the time with private houses) don’t worry at all, as long as they can have a scout around and chat with the coordinators beforehand to make their plan. A photographer who has shot at lots of venues is an experienced and inspired one and therefore, you are safe.

6. Quality of Product

Consider what you are getting for your money. What happens before and after the wedding? For the money you pay, it is so much about the journey you go on with your photographer and not just the day itself. After the wedding, are the photos edited well, protected, hosted online, backed up for many many years to come and can be made available for your guests to view?

7. Reviews!

As with all purchases, what other people say is very telling! Read the reviews and check up on who you are keen on. That will really help to inform your decision.

It’s the best thing when your photos land in your inbox, you open them and then relive your day again and again. It’s the best thing when you just love how it was all captured and can proudly show all those you love. We guarantee you will feel so grateful for the investment you made.

We hope this has given you a little more guidance on making that choice for your future.

Do get in touch if we can be of any more help to you!

Much love, Tom and Lizzie x