Choosing the Perfect Wedding Photographer

Welcoming Beth Beresford

Bruisyard recommended wedding supplier Beth Beresford joins us to share her advice on choosing your wedding photographer

After all the food is eaten and celebrations have ended you are left with your rings, memories and your photographs. hiring a professional wedding photographer. It's a day filled with joy, love, and cherished moments that you'll want to relive for years to come. But with so many photographers to choose from, how do you find the perfect match for your special day? Here are a few essential tips to help you select the ideal wedding photographer who can document your wedding day in the way that you want.

Define Your Style and Preferences

You start looking at websites and there is all this language being used that you probably aren’t sure what it means. Sometimes as photographers we forget that industry lingo isn’t the norm, so let me help translate.

Documentary - Think paparazzi, documentary is completely unposed and totally candid. It's all about capturing the moments as they unfold, the laughter, the tears and the nerves. This approach doesn’t generally doesn’t do posed or a lot of group photographs. It’s a relaxed casual approach, ideal for couples who want a few formals but was a really unposed experience. Focused on the moments, rather than imagery.

Authentic - Similar to a documentary style but more polished. It's about capturing the story in a genuine way but adding a little artistic flair and creative editing. However, authentic means there is no retouching. If there is a tattoo you don’t like, a photographer who advertises themselves as authentic isn’t going to retouch this.

Fine Art or Editorial - There is obviously considerable flex in what is considered art, but this approach tends to be about capturing visually stunning images that are something you would expect to see in a magazine. Think Vogue. How a photographer goes about doing this is unique to them. Editorial is often slightly more edgy and fashion inspired, whereas fine art is more renaissance painting. Styles that fall under these heading tend to have a very unique edit and colour profiles. They will be very unlikely to be anywhere close to true to colour.

Filmic - It may seem retro, but 35mm film is having a big comeback. Many photographers are offering to shoot entire weddings on film, instead of on digital DSLRs. It means the way an image looks is dependent on the film used. These have a very specific look, punchy colours with green undertones, with a grainy retro feel to the image.They are developed and then scanned into a digital format.

Classical - Still very popular, these tend to follow a very traditional idea of very formal and posed imagery. The edit of these tends to be close to true to actual colours and highly saturated.

There is often a focus on using flash to create what used to be considered a technically perfect image, in which the majority of the image is perfectly exposed. Minimal darkness and minimal highlights, you could call it a flatter image.

My advice would be to spend lots of time looking at the kind of image that draws you in. Study wedding photography portfolio, big wedding blogs can be a great place to see a variety of styles.

Budget

Budget, yes it's a bit of a dirty word, we don’t love to talk about how much we spend on certain things. Wedding photography can vary significantly in cost, depending on so many factors, but mostly the photographer's experience. We have all been there, we have seen something we desperately want but it's out of budget.A way around this is to potentially look at if you could hire your photographer for a half day or hourly to capture the really important elements of the day. You would be amazed at what you can squeeze into 4 hours.

Insurance

It's a big deal, but rarely am I asked for proof of it. It makes me think that maybe not many people consider this as an important part of hiring a photographer, but it's essential. It protects both you and your photographer. Make sure whoever you hire has professional indemnity insurance.

Meet Photographers

Schedule meetings or interviews with the photographers you're interested in. This is a great opportunity to discuss what's important to you and to ask questions. When you chat to someone you get a sense of their personality. You should feel comfortable with your chosen photographer, as they will be by your side during one of the most intimate moments of your life.

Equipment and Backup Plans

A wedding photographer should have professional quality equipment and backup options in case of technical failures. Ensure that they have a backup camera, multiple lenses, and a plan for unforeseen circumstances, such as bad weather. Most professional photographers I know carry two cameras at all times, if one camera body fails, they have the second on them available in a split second.

Choosing the right wedding photographer is a crucial decision in your wedding planning process. Your wedding photos will serve as lasting memories of your special day, so it's essential to select a professional who can capture your unique love story beautifully.

My best advice is to think of it like buying a house. The advice I have always been given is to make a list of the things that are important to you and list them in order of importance. Budget may be at the top of your list, or maybe style. Like a home, rarely are you going to find someone that ticks every single box. Decide what aspect you are willing to compromise on and go from there. Happy hunting!

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