1. They have thorough experience.
- They have a system: He or she gives you pricing packages, sends you gifts, follows up meetings with phone calls and prepares the next steps of what to think about for you. They know what you need before you ask and where the sun is hitting. They know when they need to shoot and time things out to a T :)
- They know what you don't: He or she is knowledgeable, experienced and has been around the block many times, ensuring your wedding isn't the first or most complicated wedding the photographer has ever done.
2. They have top quality.
- They have only beautiful photographs on their website: Let's be honest, all photographers take bad images. Someone is taking a huge bite of food, the entire photo came out too dark or the light came right out from behind the tree and made it impossible to see the couple. As a photographer with good quality, we take these photographs, but then we adjust to get a better one. If you see bad photos, it means the photographer isn't catching issues during the wedding day. And it means your images may not come out how you want them to.
- Their images have a good mix of natural editing: Today, the biggest trend is natural light and film. With both of these ingredients, photographers are able to make images with a beautiful complexity between what they naturally take in the camera and what they render in Photoshop. A great wedding photographer will know Photoshop, Lightroom and his or her camera well enough that they are able to attain this mix with every image you see.
3. They have raving reviews.
- Their past clients absolutely loved their experience: Does your photographer have a Facebook page where his or her past clients are? If so, go talk to other clients! If not, look at as many online reviews as you can. If they do not have any reviews at all, don't book. While the photographer can defend his or her ability to take great images, they aren't able to defend reviews if they have none... if they don't have reviews, don't book!
4. They own your style.
- We all have a style: and on your wedding day it is the one thing that should be oozing out of every flower bouquet, dress color and table linen. This is your day, and the images that are captured need to reflect it just as you saw it.
- Do you like moody/dark or light/airy? If you love the look of moody, matte images - find a photographer that understands how to set the mood and edit to a T. If you love light-infused, whimsical photographs - find the gal whose got a hankering for such beauty. Each photographer is different, and depending on their style, will capture your day through a unique set of eyes who you want to trust to capture what is most important to you on the day in a way that you adore.
5. Their personalities are great to work with.
Or would you rather work with one who is respectful, simple and polite?
Both have a wonderful place as a wedding photographer and both are very successful personality types in this industry, but the decision you need to make is, what kind of personality type do you want to be with you during your big day?
6. They fit the budget.
- Have a ballpark of what you're willing to spend: Then take in the factors of all the above and see if they truly fit the bill. If the photographer you love fits the bill but is a littler over budget, it's time to have a conversation about what vendors are most important to you and your groom. From there, you will be able to decide how to stick to your budget while truly getting what you care about most .
- THEN check the photographer's pricing: If you have your priorities in order and use these factors to rank which photographers are a best fit for you, I know you'll come away with the perfect wedding photographer for your day :)