If you’re on the hunt for your wedding photographer, today’s post will be helpful for you! These are 5 things I highly recommend you do before signing on the dotted line and officially booking your photographer.
Determine Your Budget
This is one you should do before you even start reaching out to photographers. Think about your overall budget and where photography falls on your priority list. It’s important to be realistic about this, though. Take a look at the average price point for photographers in your area so you can get a sense of where your number falls in relation to that. If your budget falls far below that number, there are a couple of ways you could approach this:
- My number one recommendation would be to consider cutting back on the number of hours of photography you book. This will help your budget go further and allow you to still work with that photographer you love.
- If photography doesn’t fall quite as high on your priority list, you could consider hiring a less-experienced photographer. They will likely be able to work with your budget, but do keep in mind that they may not yet have the skills needed to handle certain lighting conditions. So if you go this route, please do your due diligence to make sure you feel confident with their abilities to capture your day.
Read Reviews
If you’ve found a photographer you like that you’re chatting with, make sure you take a few moments to read through reviews from other clients on various platforms. Check out their profiles on The Knot, WeddingWire, Google, and/or Facebook. But remember that less than 5 stars is not necessarily a bad sign. If you see any reviews that are low, read through them thoroughly and pit them against the positive reviews you see. You will usually be able to spot if it is an accurate representation of that photographer, an uninformed client, or (worse) a fake review.
Understand their Style
Be sure you have a good grasp on the artistic style of the photographer you are talking with and make sure that aligns with your vision for your photos. Take the time to go through their portfolio, look through their blog posts, and check out their social media profiles. You should, at that point, be able to identify the editing style (the colors and tones of the photos) you could expect from them as well as the posing style.
If you’re having trouble deciding which style of photography you like or how to tell them apart, check out my posts on this topic:
Meet in Person
I would highly recommend meeting your prospective photographer in person before making any decisions to book. It’s SO important that you feel comfortable and at ease with the person who is capturing your day. If you feel uncomfortable or if you don’t fully trust your photographer, it will come across in photos. If you don’t live in the same area as your photographer, a Skype or Facetime call is a good alternative.
Understand Your Usage Rights
Quick definition before diving into this one…
Print Release = Allows you to print copies of your photos for personal use. (FYI this is not the same as a copyright, but that’s another post for another day because virtually no wedding photographer is going to grant you copyright.)
Now that that’s out of the way, be sure you fully understand your usage rights so that you can confirm it aligns with what you are wanting. Some photographers will grant you a print release, some will grant you a print release that is limited to certain sizes, and some will not grant you a print release (meaning you have to order any physical products through them). Make sure you are clear about what you will/will not be allowed to do with your photos. Otherwise, you may be heading towards a misunderstanding down the road.
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