How to choose a wedding photographer

How do you choose a wedding photographer?! Good question! Well, let’s say this first… Your wedding photos will be your most treasured wedding keepsake. You’ll immediately want to share them when your photographer sends them over to you. And in 50 years from now you’ll be reminiscing through your wedding day, all the way from putting on your wedding dress, to your vows, to your first kiss, and your first dance.

Choosing the right photographer to capture those poignant moments is an important decision. It’s crucial to find a someone who understands your vision for your wedding day and can document it with the style you’re after. But you’ll also want someone you trust and feel comfortable with since, especially since they will be by your side the entire wedding day.

To help you choose the right person, follow our guide on how to choose the perfect wedding photographer for you.

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1. Book your venue first

It’s definitely a good idea to secure your venue before choosing your wedding photographer. With the amount of cancellations wedding vendors have had over the last few years with covid, we recommend booking your wedding venue about twelve months in advance (or even eighteen months for ones high in demand). The reason you will want to do this first, is because the photographer you choose will require a retainer or deposit to block off your wedding date in their diary. So without a date, they cannot secure you anything.

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2. Start searching for your wedding photographer ASAP

When you want to choose Australia’s best wedding photographers to capture your big day, you have to book them as early as possible. The truth is, choosing top wedding photographers are usually always booked all year-round. So start doing your homework and research early. Many of our Luminous Wedding brides for example, book us 1-2 years out. It is never too early to start looking and choosing your wedding photographer. It will be a big relief once that is done.

A big advantage of choosing a wedding photographer early is that you’ll usually get their wedding packages at their current rate. So by the time your wedding actually comes around, their prices may have increased, but the cost to you doesn’t change. So our best advice is to choose your wedding photographer nice and early.

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3. Figure out what style you like

Do you like a documentary style wedding photographer? Do you like an editorial / fashion style wedding photographer? Or do you like fine art wedding photography? Maybe you like a bit of a mix? Either way, we at Luminous Weddings, suggest doing your homework and spend some time getting a sense of the style of photography you like. Vines of the Yarra Valley have a great blog which explains the different styles!

Once you’ve chosen a handful of wedding photographers whose aesthetic jives with yours, email each of them and enquire about their availability on your wedding date. If the ones you’re interested in are available on your date, then you can schedule your initial meetings so you can starting choosing your dream wedding photographer.

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4. Look at their portfolios

We know some people don’t even know where to start when they want to choose a wedding photographer. However there are so many different avenues you can use. Social media platforms are a great place to start. It’s like having hundreds of wedding photographers portfolios in one place. Choose a couple of wedding photographers whose social media profiles you like, so you can then explore their websites. Look through their galleries on their websites to give you an idea of how they photograph weddings throughout the day. Most photographers will email you a link to their portfolio of images before your first meeting. This is so you can get a feel for their style before choosing them as your wedding photographer

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5. Interview the photographers

When it comes to choosing a wedding photographer, it’s always best to have a list of questions ready for when you meet with them. Ask them questions such as, how they tend to work during a standard wedding day; if they usually bring along an assistant; how many weddings they have shot; what their cancellation or covid policy is like; how many photos you should expect to receive; and if you can see a few full gallery which they have delivered to clients. We also highly recommend reading through the photographers FAQ’s prior to reaching out or speaking to them. It could answer a whole bunch of your questions before even talking to them!

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6. Personal connection

When you have your initials meeting with your short listed wedding photographers, it’s so important to see if you both gel. They are ultimately your third wheel for one of the most important days of your lives. Because of this, you’ll want to make sure that not only do you like your wedding photographers style, or their editing, but you also like them personally. Do you have common interests? Can they hold a conversation with you? Do some of your morals and values match up? Your chosen wedding photographer is part of intimate and romantic moments between you and your new husband. So, our best advice is to choose a wedding photographer who you really get along with.

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7. Don’t just look at the price

While pricing is an important question, it should not be the only reason you choose your wedding photographer. Do their packages have additional experiences or items added into them that other photographers don’t have? Do they have the experience you’re looking for? But the biggest point to remember is that your wedding photographer isn’t just going to deliver your images that you will cherish forever, they’ll also affect the way you experience your special day. Choose a wedding photographer that has the right energy, and someone that will connect with you on one of the biggest days of your lives. While your budget should always be respected, don’t just choose a wedding photographer based on their price. You could end up utter disappointed.

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8. Have an engagement session first

An engagement photoshoot is always a great opportunity to get to know your wedding photographer. It’s a great way for you to begin to feel comfortable having your photo taken, especially if you or your partner are camera-shy. At Luminous Weddings for example, we like to connect with our couples on a deeper level before their wedding day. We want to know who you are, what you’re about, what you like, what you don’t like, etc. Our collection 1 package includes a complimentary engagement shoot which we always recommend to our couples. So, if you can, choose a wedding photographer who can also offer an engagement shoot as part of their packages.

If you’re interested in having your wedding day photographed by us, please feel free to reach out!