How to Find a Wedding Photographer Who Captures Your Vision
Your wedding will arguably be the most momentous occasion of your entire life, right up there with when you buy your own home and eventually start your own family. As such, it only makes sense that you'd want to document the special day to keep as a keepsake for the rest of your life and to show your future children the day that you turned from an individual into a couple. However, wedding photography is one of those things that are both easy to find (as in there are plenty about) but extremely challenging to find that will do your big day justice and offer you the goods at a price that matches your circumstances. If you are currently in the process of planning a wedding but are entirely unsure of how to proceed, it's your lucky day. Throughout this post, we will offer a selection of tips you can use to end up with the wedding photographer of your dreams in order to capture those moments in history that come about once in a lifetime.
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Define Your Photography Style Preferences Clearly
You can only get out of a service what you put in. When it comes to your wedding photos, this means contacting a photographer and very clearly defining what you want to achieve. This means informing them of the style of the wedding, the location, and the specific style you want to accomplish. For instance, if your wedding is going to be held in a woodland glade, then hiring a photographer with extensive experience in traditional weddings might not be the best choice. When you discuss your needs with those you have found, you can also get to know a bit of what they are also about. According to SvenStudios, based out of Melbourne, one of the ways they go about the process is to blend into the background and capture the overall experience in a far more candid way than others might be able to achieve. However, by knowing what you want and hiring those who match your vision, you will come out the other side of your wedding day with the kinds of images that you can genuinely cherish.
Research Local Photographers And Portfolios
Unless you happen to be the recipient of a hefty trust fund and are able to hire the most famed photographers of the rich and famous, your best option will be to hire locally. Doing so will enable you to ensure that you can meet regularly to update them on your desired outcomes, but also because it makes it far easier for them to arrive to the occasion on time with all the gear they need. Consequently, your first step will be heading online to find a couple of options that you can make contact with and see what they're all about. You should ask to see their portfolio, which should give you a better indication of their shooting style and whether it matches what you want.
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Read Reviews And Testimonials From Former Clients
If possible, you might want to reach out to some of their former clients via whatever means possible and check about their personal experiences with those you have on your shortlist. Unlike other services, you may be unable to find readily available reviews in the usual places, but with a bit of digging, you will gain real insights into how they fared on other people's wedding day. It's fair to say that you can look through the occasional bad review, but if you begin seeing a pattern of mistakes and errors, then you may want to drop them from your list and look elsewhere.
Review Their Pricing And Package Options
While nobody wants to discuss money when it comes to a wedding, for us mere mortals, it is something we must discuss nonetheless. You ought to raise this question as soon as possible so you don't waste everyone's time and are sure that they match any budget you have set aside for this job. However, this step isn't only about how much they charge, but also what's included. For instance, will you only be receiving the raw files, fully edited files, or all of the above plus additional items like a lovely photo book pre-filled with the best images? Knowing this from the get-go will save everyone's time and ensure you end up with want you want sans any nasty surprises once the wedding has concluded.
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Inquire About Their Editing And Delivery Timelines
In most cases, it is the editing process that takes up the most time, as this is a far more involved process that many people give it credit for. Don't be shocked when you find out it could take weeks, especially if you have hired a highly reputable photographer who shoots multiple weddings per month. You really want your images and video to be absolutely perfect, which takes a decent amount of time to get right. However, by inquiring about their delivery times, you will gain a better picture of how long you will have to wait before you can present them to the world.
Discuss How They Handle Unexpected Situations
Life, being as it is, tends to involve things not always going the way you planned. When it comes to something as critical as a wedding, you need to be sure that anyone you hire can run with the unexpected while still creating the content you want. By asking how they deal with the unexpected, you can gain some insight into how they operate and how professional they are. It could be that they bring along a second shooter to help capture as many images as possible, or it might be that they have enough redundancy to deal with equipment that doesn't want to play nicely on the day (which can happen even with the best will in the world). As long as they give acceptable answers to this question, you can be sure that even if something does go wrong, they are well-versed enough to run with the punches and still come out on top.
There is little in life that matches the importance of a wedding day…particularly as you only get one shot at it! However, when you find a photographer that you click with, you can rest assured that this is one less task to worry about and that the results will be spectacular.
