how to choose your wedding photographer
A few things genuinely worth thinking about before you book.
Choosing your wedding photographer isn’t just about finding photographs you like.
You’re trusting someone to document people, moments and emotions that can’t be recreated and you’re also going to spend a pretty significant part of your wedding day with them.
So before you book, here are a few things I think are genuinely worth considering.
Whether you end up choosing me or somebody else.
1. Find a style you actually love
Before comparing packages and prices, look at the photographs.
How do you want your wedding to feel when you look back at it?
Documentary and observational? Editorial and considered? Romantic? Traditional? Dark and cinematic? Light and airy?
There’s no right answer.
But there is a right answer for you.
My own approach is documentary at heart. For most of a wedding, I’m watching what’s happening and photographing the story as it unfolds.
When it comes to couple portraits, I become a little more intentional — using direction, movement, light and location to create something with an editorial, romantic edge.
Your wedding isn’t a photoshoot. Let’s make it look like one.
2. Look beyond Instagram
Instagram is a highlight reel.
A photographer can show you twenty incredible photographs from twenty different weddings and have a beautiful feed.
But your wedding gallery won’t contain twenty photographs.
Ask to see two or three complete wedding galleries.
Look at how they photograph the whole day:
Getting ready.
The ceremony.
Family photographs.
Guests.
Couple portraits.
Speeches.
Dark rooms.
Bad weather.
The dance floor.
And all the ordinary little moments in between.
You want to know that the photographer whose work you fell in love with can deliver that quality consistently across an entire wedding day.
I’m always happy to show couples complete galleries from real weddings.
3. Experience matters
Wedding photography is about much more than knowing how to use a camera.
Weddings move quickly.
Timings change. Weather changes. Light disappears. Buttons fall off. People go missing just as you need them for a group photograph.
Experience teaches you to anticipate rather than react.
I’ve photographed more than 300 weddings, and that experience means I’m comfortable adapting when things don’t quite go to plan.
Because they won’t. And that’s completely normal.
You shouldn’t need to worry about what your photographer is doing.
That’s our job.
4. THEY DON’T NEED TO HAVE PHOTOGRAPHED YOUR VENUE BEFORE
This one comes up a lot.
Is it helpful if your photographer already knows your venue? Of course.
Is it essential? Absolutely not.
An experienced photographer should be able to walk into somewhere new, understand the light, look at the surroundings and start seeing possibilities.
In fact, I love photographing somewhere I’ve never worked before.
It makes me look.
I’ll explore, find the light, notice the architecture and work out what will suit your wedding, rather than automatically recreating something I’ve photographed there before.
Choose your photographer because you love their work and trust their eye not simply because they’ve been to your venue.
5. ASK WHAT HAPPENS IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
It’s not the glamorous part of wedding photography, but it’s important.
Ask about backup equipment.
Ask whether your photographer is insured.
Ask how your photographs are protected.
And ask what happens if they’re genuinely unable to photograph your wedding.
A professional should have contingency plans and a trusted network around them.
Hopefully none of those plans will ever need to be used.
But you want to know they’re there.
6. MAKE SURE YOU ACTUALLY LIKE THEM
This might sound obvious, but I think it’s one of the most important things on this list.
Your photographer is going to be around for some incredibly personal moments.
They’ll be there while you’re getting ready.
During the nerves.
Around your family.
Beside you during your portraits.
And quite possibly somewhere nearby when everybody starts making questionable decisions on the dance floor.
So talk to them.
Do you feel comfortable?
Can you ask them questions?
Do you trust them?
Can you imagine having them around on your wedding day?
You don’t need your photographer to become your new best friend or be an extra bridesmaid.
But you should feel completely comfortable being yourself around them.
That’s when the good stuff happens.
AND FINALLY… TRUST YOUR GUT.
You’ve seen the work.
You’ve looked through full galleries.
You understand how they approach a wedding.
You know what’s included.
You’ve spoken to them and something just feels right.
Sometimes that’s enough.
Because choosing your photographer isn’t only about finding someone who can take beautiful photographs.
It’s finding someone you trust to recognise which moments are worth remembering.
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THINK THAT PHOTOGRAPHER MIGHT BE ME?
Have a look through my work and get a feel for how I photograph a wedding.
If you love what you see and think I might be the right person to tell your story, come and tell me what you’re planning.
I’d love to hear about it.
