How to choose a wedding photographer

How to choose a wedding photographer
Hiring a wedding photographer

How to choose a wedding photographer

As a wedding photographer I like to be a part of several facebook groups of other professionals. Being based out of Milwaukee, I’m part of a group for Milwaukee Photographers, another group for Wisconsin Wedding  Professionals and another group for photographers in the midwest. 

Every other day, you’ll see a post in these groups where someone has a wedding date and says that they’re looking for a wedding photographer and without a doubt in a matter of hours they’ll have over a hundred comments with people not only plugging their own photography, but also being available on their date.

It’s a very saturated market and seriously, how do you decide which one to even contact, let alone book.

Common sense says if you love their photos on their social media or website, you should consider them, but odds are that you’ll love the photos of quite a number of the photographers you see.

And, these tips apply to the pros in the industry: the photographers that don’t do this as a hobby or a side hustle, but have this as their full time job, pay taxes and have gone through more than a couple wedding seasons.

Without further ado, here are some of the biggest differences.

Photographic style

Here’s the big one and should be your number one rule. Do they fit the style of photography that you like? 

If you find yourself talking to a photographer and asking them if “they can shoot photos more like this?” you probably should move on, because you’re looking for a different style.

There is more that goes into this and it can be hard to pin down, but here’s one major stylistic difference in wedding photography: bright and airy vs. moody with contrast.

I’ve done a bit of both styles as I’ve experimented with what kind of pictures I really want to take, but mostly I’m more of a moody with contrast type of guy. I love the boldness and artistic nature of this style and that’s naturally how I view the scene when I’m looking for what I want to photograph.

This changes with the type of wedding I’m photographing. After all, if I arrive to a wedding in a park where the couple gets ready in white and bright rooms I’ll get more bright and airy photos. On the other hand, even if you want bright and airy, your photographer will get more moody photos if you’re getting ready in a hotel or airbnb with dark colors and mood lighting. 

Client vibes

The other big style question is how the couples are acting in the photos. Do the couples have expressions that look like models with elegant high-fashion looks or are they laughing and carefree.

I’m more of a carefree and laughter type of photographer. I try really hard to make every person I work with comfortable in front of the camera, so that their true personality can show. This is really important to me. If couples are older or more serious in general, then the portraits will come out more with those piercing eyes and defined jaw lines, but I love to see smiles and happiness and I’m a big-time sucker for those goofy couples.

I’ve also seen a smaller group of photographers that go a different route and emphasize the party aspect of the wedding day. They love to post photos of the dancing on their social feeds and the people are getting up and close to the camera since the photographer is themselves out on the dance floor.

Outdoor vs. Indoor

Can the photographer handle your wedding? That’s a great question and was the most important question for me when I searched for a wedding photographer.

Any photographer that is a pro with experience can adjust to any wedding site whether they’ve photographed there or not. They know what to look for in a location to transform it into wonderful photos, but since it’s a saturated market there is no guarantee that the photographer you’re talking to has the chops, training or experience to handle your wedding. And, no just because they’re expensive doesn’t mean that they have the experience either!

If you don’t see any indoor photo examples of a prospective photographer I’d ask to see some, especially if you’re planning your day to be mostly inside. The easiest photos to take are outside at a golf resort during golden hour, but it’s a whole different animal to take pictures in the dingy basement of a church with no windows where the bride is getting ready. 

No matter how much you love that photographer’s picture of the couple on the beach for sunrise, it won’t translate to your wedding if you’re getting married on a rainy spring day in downtown Milwaukee.

Editing

This aspect of photography has actually been the difference in me getting hired by a client before. 

The two main editing styles are natural and minimal and intensive and surreal. 

I am a natural and minimal editor. If there are things like skin imperfections, I may minimize them slightly, but I already photograph in a way to make things like acne less noticeable, so I don’t have to photoshop something later.

More than skin imperfections or changing anything on a person I may erase things from an image. I have a long-standing feud with exit signs. When I can I’ll erase that from an image and other background things like a water bottle on a table or a light switch on a wall.

More intensive editors may totally switch out a perfectly black sky for one with a thousand stars or intensify the colors so much that they shine in a way that your memory can’t fathom from being there.

The other more noticeable editing technique that is really popular right now is orange skin tones. Many photographers love putting a golden filter on their photos and it can really turn a ho-hum photo into one that is suddenly way more interesting.

The other type of photographers like me, go for a more accurate skin tone according to the person. 

Personality

This is a subtle part of the wedding photography business that may or not matter to clients. But, this is the question of whether you’re comfortable with your photographer. My wife always says that I can talk to anybody even when I meet them for the first time and I always tell her that every wedding photographer is sociable. But, there are differences too. I’m the kind of photographer who will take charge during the portraits, but I don’t try to put on a show or be the center of attention. There are other photographers that are really great at this, but I’m more subtle than that. I want you to like me, but for it to still be your day and about you. I’d rather start our sessions off with a conversation and gently break into the photography, then start with a flourish and hammer away at different poses.

I also have clients that become my friends after the wedding. If you really want to click with your photographer, then you can search for one like that. I make sure that I’m on good terms with all of my couples and that I think well of them throughout them hiring me and me doing their wedding, but I won’t necessarily be best friends with everyone. Some couples don’t need me to be that, and that’s OK! 

Those are a few of the major differences in wedding photographers. Whoever you end up choosing, I hope you find a great one!

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