Planning a wedding is hard, man. It’s such a fun and exciting season in life but it can also be tricky. To make it a little easier, we’ve boiled down the Four Big Things you should ask yourself as you decide your wedding photographer. Before you even begin the process of searching, try and really nail down what you what it is you want in your photographer. Like, how important is it to you if your personalities click? Is their cost reflective of how much you want to prioritize photography in your overall budget? What kind of style do you like? Here we go:
1. Budget: How many dollar bills are you ready to dish out?
How much of your overall budget do you want to allocate to your wedding photographer? Think about all the different aspects of your wedding – venue, food, photography, florals, dress, etc – and figure out how important photography will be to you. Where does it fall in the hierarchy of the different parts of the day? If it’s one of the more important things, then plan to budget accordingly. Simple enough.
2. Style: How do you want your photos to look and feel like?
As I’m sure you’ve already discovered, there are so, so many different types of styles now. What resonates with you? Moody and dark? Light and airy? Fine art? I would recommend starting really broad – grab a big ol’ glass of wine and hunker down on wedding blogs and Pinterest and figure out what style gives you that ping in your gut. From there, look more local. When you search for wedding photographers in your area, you’ll be able to weed out the ones whose style isn’t what you’re looking for, and from there you can make a list of the ones that are now both a) in your budget and b) the style you want.
3. Priorities: What do you want out of your wedding photos?
Now that you have a short-list of wedding photographers to choose from, it’s time to take a good hard look at their online blog/portfolio with a fine-tooth comb. But before you do that, think about what you REALLY want out of your wedding photos. Do you want them to reflect the romantic and personal connection you have with your partner? Is your main wish that your wedding photographer capture candid shots of the great time all of the guests are having? Do you want super stylized photos, or something that looks a bit more natural? Really dig around and look at what’s reflected in the portfolio. You should really FEEL something as you look through a photographer’s blog before you reach out.
4. Personality: Do you jive?
Time to meet with the wedding photographers that you’ve shortlisted, and by this time you’re wondering if wedding planning is now your full time job. The end is near! When you sit down with a photographer, don’t be afraid to ask them ANY question under the sun you might have so when you leave you feel like you got the most out of it. Bring a print-out with questions already loaded on it if you think you might freeze and forget in the moment. How is the wedding photographer answering the questions? Are they happy to answer? Do you like their answer? Do they seem like they’ve done this before? Most importantly, do you feel a connection with them? It’s so important to be on the same wave-length as this person, because they’re going to be spending the entire day with you. You should like them. You should envision them around your family and friends and think it would be a positive experience for everybody. Overall you should feel pretty comfortable with this human who is going to have a camera in your face all day, and also who you feel will be professional, timely, and “with it” during the pre-and- post-wedding process.
Okay, let’s sum this baby up.
- Make sure that your photography budget reflects the priority you put on your photos as it relates to all other aspects of the day.
- Narrow down what style you dig and what you want out of your photos.
- Ensure you actually like the wedding photographer and feel confident that they can handle the entire process in a way that you’re comfortable with.
As with everything else when it comes to your wedding – go with your gut and do whatever is best for you.
If you’re in the market for a Toronto wedding photographer and wondering if we’re available for your date, we’d love to chat. Send us a note here.
xx
