Photography – How do I choose

Oh god, I don't know if there's any good way to pick a photographer lol. I think you need to like their work, like their price, and hope for the best.

It really depends on what you and your FH are looking for personally.

For us we wanted a good price (photography can be expensive) but we also wanted a good package. From there, we looked into their work. Have they shot weddings at our venue? what is their style? do they take just posed pictures or candids as well?

The photographer we picked does amazing work, and their work has been published, so we know they are good. It also helped that when I was sending out emails to get some prices and information, she was the only one who called me back within an hour of me sending an email. Right there that showed that she was willing to take time to give me lots of information ( i think we talked for an hour on the phone)

Do lots of research, and look at their work. Those are the 2 biggest things that will help you in deciding

Yeah, I remember feeling overwhelmed with the options when we were looking as well. Hope I can give you some good advise from our experience:

Book somebody who has worked at your venue before! They'll know all the great photo spots!

Also book somebody who's photos you love. We went to a wedding convention and talked to many photographers. We got home and looked through all of their work, and didn't pick any of them! We found our photographer from our venue's website. They had used some of her photos, and also listed her as a preferred vendor. We looked her up, looked through her instagram and website, love all of her work, so decided to contact her.

Book somebody that you jive with. Once you decide you like their work, and their price is within budget, book a meeting with them. When you leave this meeting, you should feel like you made a new friend, not just met somebody who takes nice photos.

Don't book somebody because they're the cheapest option. These photos will be the memories you have of the day. It doesn't pay to be cheap in this area. For us, it was important to have a photographer who knew our venue well. She costs more than the photographers just starting out, but we're paying for her experience and expertise.

For me it was a combination of 3 things: taking great candid shots, good lighting/filter use, and good price. We have a lower price point so it was pretty easy to weed through the crappy photographers and find a good one as the good ones that are cheaper are few and far between.

I think once you start looking you’ll start to realize what you like and don’t like. Also with our photographer she is super professional and even has a brochure loaded with tips and info so I just really appreciate her professionalism and how seriously she takes her job. She was super sweet in her emails (and in person) too.

We liked our friends' wedding photos, so we decided to give her a call. She was able to send us pictures of weddings she had shot around the same time/month as our wedding date. We then met her via a Skype call and were really happy with her professionalism.

If you can't rely on friends' referrals, I would just contact local wedding photographers and ask for a sample of wedding photos shot around June - to get a feel for their style. Some love more black and white photos, others in colour.

Once you've figured out which style/photographer you two preferred, then set a meeting up!

Honestly! In person meetings if the best way to go! Go have a talk with them in person and see how you get along! Are you comfortable around them for a simple conversation? Comfort is the biggest thing for me! If I'm comfortable with the person things will be smoother and more natural!

We selected someone local to Jasper. I think this will help with knowing the hiding places for extra beautiful photos. We fell in love with his work. He is super talented! One of his photos is actually how we discovered our reception venue. We had our engagement photos done by him and we can barely wait to see our wedding photos. I know they will be outstanding.

Make sure you love their style. Look at multiple galleries of theres, and decide who's photo's appeal to you more.

And then definitely meet them in person. They re going to be following you around all day, so it's important you are comfortable with them.

I had a friend hire a photographer that she loved the photo's... but the photographer was terrible at giving any sort of direction. And I know another where the guy was actually super rude.. which was a bummer on their day.

Meeting them in person and getting the right vibe from them is almost as important as how beautiful their galleries are.

And if you can get an engagement session do it! It's a great trial run so you know what to expect and get comfortable in front of the camera and your photographer.

Look at portfolios and arrange in-person meetings! I knew when we met our photographer that she was a great fit for our wedding vendor team - it's super important to get along and vibe right with them!! Some might also have additional portfolios they bring to meetings with prospective clients.

Also when you initially reach out, especially email, notice how long it takes for contact. If they take super long to reply, it could raise a red flag. Most might take up to 24 hours to respond and only respond on business days (since they are busy shooting weddings on the weekends) which is normal, but if you don't hear for over a week? Bad news IMO

I agree with Tori- I would also make a consult and see if your personalities click. I met with a few and it made a huge difference for me

First look by price and what you can afford

Second is availability (have to be available for you wedding date!)

Third is looking at their previous work and seeing what you and your FH/FW like and going with that!

Oh boy that's a loaded question. I honestly felt the SAME WAY! This is the most important day of your life and you want it documented properly. It's not like a birthday, where you'll have another next year. I honestly narrowed it down. I chose my top 3 and then contacted all 3. I spoke to them, some on the phone, some in person & got a feel for their style and what was important to them to capture the day of. At the end of the day I picked one, a friend of mine from my younger years. We had engagement photos with her about 3 weeks ago and when I get those back, I will be able to tell if I made a mistake or if I chose the right photographer. Engagement photos are important because it gives you a chance to work with the photographer. My experience was AMAZING! She was relaxed but on a schedule. She let us do funny poses while letting us become consumed in the moment. If the photos turn out half as good as the way I felt in the moment, I chose the right photographer. You want the experience to be easy, natural & magical.
Good Luck!

Look at portfolios and then look again. I looked at so many and I messaged with so many and I settled on mine because I loved her pictures and I couldn't beat the package she offered for the price. we have done our engagement shots and I know we made the right choice. I couldn't be happier

When making the final decision, its all based on service and pricing. The way I went about this is by searching online and making calls to find out their information. If the price was high, say I'll pass. Reasonable pricing, write down the company name/website/email, individuals name, phone number and price/package.

As you collect the information, you can narrow down the choices to 3 and then make the final decision with the photographer you will feel comfortable working with and their services.

Also try kijiji site if you want to get some ideas too.