Photographer questions

I am sorry to hear about the engagement photo letdown Definitely understand not wanting a repeat incident! Like a couple of the ladies here we found our photographer through Instagram. I was able to see a lot of her work on that platform and I knew I liked her aesthetic. My brother is a professional photographer and told me to make sure to ask certain things before committing: How would you describe your aesthetic? How many weddings have you shot? Can I see a full wedding gallery (ask for outdoor and indoor pics)? What is your back-up plan if you are unable to shoot my wedding for any reason? Do you edit photos, and what software do you use? How many photos will I receive?

I also recommend looking into google reviews and browsing the photographer website as this will give you a pretty good idea of the level of quality you can expect, and chat with potential hires to see if you click with them, and ask how involved they will get (like fixing those rogue hairs and posing you). Hope this helps and you have a much better experience with your wedding pictures.

Uggggh so sorry to hear this. It's such a special day and then let down. I will say it is hit and miss. We went with a referral photographer in the GTA. I did take a look at his website and I thought the pictures were decent. Spoke on the phone and i was very clear that this was not our first wedding so we wanted to skip a few things, more candid shots than posed and I asked if he had been to our venue. He said yes and was all for it and I even sent him a list of must haves that I wanted photographed. Including our Table Dash at 8 tables, under 4 mins. The day went well and we received our digital pictures withing 3 weeks after the wedding. Utter disappointment. Those pictures were not edited (cropped, contrast or saturation editing, etc.). He completely missed the mark of our first dance - a beautiful dance floor with a large chandelier, the backdrop lighting at the head table, the dance floor lighting. All our pictures throughout the day were taken close up with a flash. I Luckily, I had family and friends who took tons of pictures with their phones that came out so much better.

Definitely do research on anyone that you go with. Check out their work, ask if they impose anything into your photos (like stickers, items) - i've heard of one that did that, placed the couple on a beach but their wedding was no where near a beach ask for referrals and definitely ask if they have been to your venue. If they have been, then they know the space, lighting and focal points to capture you and your hubby.

Good Luck with it all.

I am not in the area - but the way I found our photographers was through Instagram.

I looked back to see how long they have been in business and that was a huge deciding factor for us. The more experience, the better the photos are edited and well positioned I found that was posted to their page.

I also would not reach out to people in a huge corporate like company - usually the best photographers I have found are all independent.

But Instagram is your best friend for this situation.

Plus side! Most independent photographers who shoot weddings offer a free engagement shoot (the amazing photographers I have come by) so you may get a redo!

Hi Angela,

Sorry to hear you were disappointed with the engagement photos. Honestly, you're right, you pay a good amount of money and at the end it's what you have to look back on from the day so photography is important.

We went with a company, KS Studios, who essentially has multiple photographers working for the company. Closer to the date you can do an online meeting to meet with them and have a look at their portfolio and styles to ensure it's a match. We also provided a shot list of must haves and a list of group photos that we wanted. It was up to the photographer to ensure these were taken and thankfully they were and we were so happy with all the photos. I did find other photographers who worked for themselves and based on their portfolio online, I either found it to be a match or did not really care for their style... however I also found the price was more than we wanted to spend so we did not go that route but their work did look truly beautiful.

I would look online, maybe get some recommendations from here, and communicate very clearly what you have in mind for your photos and hopefully they should be able to deliver.