Wedding Photographers Blog

Hello, my wonderful engaged couples, I am here today to talk to you about something I believe can be the biggest decision for your wedding, other than marrying your best friend. J Photography, the one way you will be able to look back on incredible whirl wind of a special day. First thing to consider is every couple has their own style, some like very natural lighting and some like more edited photos. I always recommend looking at portfolios of each photographer to determine who has the best match to your style.

Next thing to consider is your timeline, if you are pushing it a little close and photographers are starting to book up, I would recommend choosing a top three and contacting them all to see if you date is available and if they are in your budget.

Oh, here comes the dreadful budget, your day is a special day, you want it to be special but not put you in debt for years to come. I always recommend sitting down with the parents or anyone contributing to the budget and talking through things. If photos are a high priority on your want list this make sure you put the money into it. Some photographers can charge up to $5,000 and sometimes you can get as low as $1500. (Prices may vary depending on where you are located) There is a lot to you can ask to determine if you are getting a great deal or not a high-quality photographer. A couple thing would be: Is there a second shooter? How many weddings have you done? Can I see reference/ reviews? How many different packages do you provide? And of course, looking at their portfolio.

I ALWAYS recommend a second shooter, this way you aren’t waiting on your photographers, for example one can be with the guy and one with the girls taking shots of getting ready at the same time. You also receive double images, so if you are doing a first look normally one will be shooting the brides facials and the other will be shooting the grooms that way you don’t miss anything.

Asking how many weddings you have done doesn’t always tell you everything you need to know. Some photographer who may be just starting out could be naturals at capturing small details and candid moments, in the midst of craziness. And some who have done a bunch of wedding still might not have mastered it.

If you like the style of the photographer but are still on the edge looking at reviews from other brides and families is a great way to get an idea of how they are on day of or how the process of hiring them was. Even though you love their photos you want to hire someone that can be calm and collected on the busy day, it is already stressful enough you don’t need your photographer to be stressing about not being on schedule.

Lots of Photographers have many different packages to choose from with different number of hours and sometimes even include videography. If you are some one who wants every moment captured from getting your hair and make-up down to you and new spouse grand exit for the night, I would recommend a longer package 9-12 hours. If you are someone who just wants a couple of getting ready photos (putting your dress on and details of men attire) and don’t have a grand exit planned for the night normally a shorter package (6-8 hours) will suffices.

I hope these tips and trick help you become one step closer to the best day ever!