Couples often wonder and get confused about “How to select the best photographer for a wedding?” And we are sure, you might even get in a perplexing situation of finding one at times. Why? Because there are so many options available around you claiming to offer the best services for every event.
The best of photographers they have, the top-notch gigs they are accustomed to, and the best editing they output; these are things that any wedding studio would offer you. But, your wedding is not about them providing the best services, rather you deciding yourself what you specifically want.
So, it is always the couple deciding the venue, the theme of pictures and videos, the locations to finalise, the editing that would appeal.
But, then a question surfaces. How do you decide on the best photographer or a wedding studio that will meet your desires of getting clicked for the wedding?
On what parameters a photographer or a wedding studio should be finalised?
What are the things that we should ask from the studio from their previous projects?
All these questions are answered in this blog, which works as a befitting guide to select the best photographer in your city or nationally — keeping in mind the current intimate wedding scenario.
After all, you would want a photographer to capture all the beautiful candid as well as staged moments for you to remember throughout life.
Let us make you flip through this guide so you don’t stop flipping your beautifully carved album.
10 Steps to finding the best wedding photographer
Before you decide to move mountains finding the best photographer that fits all your needs and wants through the below-given guide, it is necessary that you have already booked the venue. This will help you be clear to the photographer for the dates you would want their services or if they have to wiggle some dates or schedules — even considering travelling to the destination.
Another prerequisite before you start scouring for the best ones is that you already know what kind of photography you are gravitated towards. We think you should start searching on the Internet (or might have already begun) for different wedding looks, real wedding photoshoots, and analysing the themes & different wedding photography styles. No doubt, this will help you filter the photographers or wedding studios that don't come inside your viewfinder.
1. Search and Scour
Pull your laptops and phones out of sleeves and pockets, and start searching for wedding photographers in your city. It might be possible that you find websites like Weddingwire, Wedmegood, WedNicely, or Weddingz with a list of photographers along with their ratings.
However, if you drooled over your friends’ or family persons’ wedding photos, you can contact them without any hesitation — obviously, you are not up for a competition but assistance to get the world’s best photographs.
2. Review the Reviews
You will find the best photographs on the websites, social media handles, and in the Google searches of these vendors. However, that is not how you should review the work exactly.
Because a photographer is not for just clicking breathtaking photos but they are for making you feel comfortable, relaxed, and in the best mood as well. Therefore, it is necessary to look for the reviews other couples have dropped for any particular photographer.
And while looking for reviews there must be an intent to ask questions to the photographer for his/her personality.
How professional is he/she is setting up the scenes? If he/she has the ability to transit hesitant couples into bold ones? How far and beyond he/she puts efforts to bring out beguilement? These questions might help you decide which photographer’s personality suits your collective personality.
3. Compare the packages
Finding a wedding photographer is not just about your needs and his/her skills. But, it is also about the consolidation of services provided at particular pricing. While looking out for wedding photographers or studios, also check the packages they are offering.
These packages, for an entire wedding, could range from around 20K to above 1 Lac based on the popularity, the number of photos and videos, the quality of edits, compositions and locations, flexibility to alterations, and many more things. You must look out for every information made available by them on the internet.
4. Take Google’s help
Google can be a good companion for finding the best photographer because of its audience-oriented algorithms running behind the screen.
So, when you type in “Best photographers near me” or “best photographers in [city name]” it will show you the sweet cream on the surface that people have recommended from all over the city.
Once you have stuck your eyes on some of them, go to their about section and gallery to find a resonating taste of photographs that you want.
If you find one that perfectly fits and you can visualise a charmingly attractive album in your hands, then you’re good to go with the further process. But, if your eyes are contorting between multiple vendors then look for their ratings, the insights of the reviews as well as the likes on their reviews (this shows the reviews are genuine).
But, do not look for photographers on websites like Fiverr or Upwork. The people on these websites might claim the best but not deliver the best. And you wouldn’t want that, right? So, a good piece of advice from WedNicely is not to fall for such traps and only choose genuine people or studios.
5. Look for credibility on Instagram
Instagram is a platform solely purported to promote pictures and videos all over. And if the brand or a personal brand is engaging with the audience effectively by also posting great content — it is undoubtedly trustworthy.
Stalk, er, Sneak into these local or national brands’ Instagram accounts and search for the comments inside their posts, an office, a contact number, and email Id, and the stories & posts favoured for their customers.
All these checks give sound credibility to the brand — even if they don’t have a website.
6. Ping them!
Once you have decided on the brand or an individual for your entire wedding or any particular event, reach out to them for their availability and pricing.
You can either ping them on Instagram itself, contact them directly over the phone number provided, or mail them if you want everything to be professionally recorded.
A responsive wedding studio business will surely be replying in a day or two to have a discussion. And if one doesn’t reply even after two business days through any of the communications, we think you should get off the board and find another photographer. Because ignorance for a customer clearly shows how unprofessional they can be for the shoot day, and we & you are not up for that.
7. Set up a meeting
By now you have received a response from the photographer and you should now set forth for an official meet. However, it is not necessary that you only have a physical meet; a virtual meet on a video conference suffices for all the discussions.
For the discussion, you must have a set of questions ready at the desk. Asking a certain set of questions will clarify the styles & methods, impromptu responses, response to adverse situations, the personality, costing and magnitude of packages, tones of photography, mastery in themes, legal agreements, and a lot more about the photographer or the wedding studio.
8. Review the wedding album with a critical eye
Once you have had a talk with the person who is going to shoot your wedding or any event, you must ask for the albums of previous weddings — in short, a portfolio.
A photographer might just show you the dreamy shots they have taken, but you need to be firm to see a full album. This will make you get insights if the photographer is professional enough to pull out charmingly attractive portraits, dance moves, candid reactions in a not-so-dreamy staged and scenic environment. Why? Because you would not want your photographer to just click the photos on the stage, but also have an eye for a bigger canvas.
If your photographer is mighty enough to do all of this, then shake hands with him or her (Also, sanitize after shaking).
9. Know the photographer before the day
The two of you should be comfortable with the photographer for your pre-wedding, engagement, wedding, and other ceremonies shoot.
And to have a suave affability in any particular event, it is necessary that we have a good friendly relation with the photographer. However, not friendly in terms of emotional connections, rather in professional means.
All in all, you shouldn’t feel uneasy and awkward when getting directions for the poses by the photographer. So that when you are comfortable and grab a sense of affability, your photos would come out natural and a pure bliss to the eyes.
10. The Contract & The Payment process
Just read it thoroughly! A contract will have all the details regarding the events that will be covered, the number of photos and videos that will be provided, the quality of edits and revamps, additional charges, etc. and you must go through every detail visualising yourself for the events.
If you find any clause which is not clarified properly, you must ask the vendor for the details. The contract is also supposed to have a mention of the details for the reception of the final album.
And finally, yet importantly, the contract must specify the payment details such as the process of payment, mode of payment, and any kind of surplus charges for any kind of service.
This will make you decide on a perfect package for your day, that you don’t recall for the moments the photographer should have pressed the button.
And if due to some reasons, based on discussions with the photographer, or family members, or your would-be, you are not hiring the photographer then you should let him or her know in a timely manner. So that he or she could cancel out the days marked for you and mark them for any other couple.
