When I first considered photography as a career, I felt intimidated. The pool of photographers out there was overflowing! I assumed that there wasn’t space for me in the already oversaturated market and I quickly learned that there is truly space for everyone. I joke that finding the right photographer for couples is kind of like dating; there’s a match for everyone. And it truly goes both ways!
Here are a few things I wish couples knew before hiring their photographer:
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Personality Match: Finding a photographer who is talented is important, but what’s equally important if not more so is making sure that you get along with the photographer. This person is going to be with you on your wedding day more so than your future spouse potentially! You want to make sure that you are going to enjoy their company and they’re going to be someone you want to have around on the most important day of your life in some of your most intimate moments. You want to make sure that you instill your trust in them because in turn, they will bring their best work for you. Get out of email. It’s impossible to get to know if you’re a good match in an email. You want to make sure you hop on the phone or Facetime (Zoom, Google Meet) with them to really get to know them.
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Shot at Venue: You don’t need to hire a photographer that’s shot at your venue several times. While it may be a plus for some couples, for a creative such as a photographer, we find our best inspiration in places we haven’t been to often. It’s easy to fall into a routine for some creatives if they’ve been to a place several times. But when you really allow a photographer to run a bit wild with their creativity, that’s when the magic happens. That’s not to say they don’t do a walk through of the space beforehand to familiarize themselves. I always do a walkthrough of my wedding days within a month of the actual date, whether I’ve shot there or not. This allows me to plan out logistics (how long it’ll take to walk from one spot to another), so I can ensure I allot enough time in between family formals, portraits, etc. This allows for me to make room for my creativity to run wild on the day of and customize my thought plan for the couple I’m serving for that specific day.
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Pinterest Boards – Inspiration boards are always great to get a sense of what you’re thinking of for your wedding day. But keep in mind that they are JUST that, an “inspiration” board and not a shot list. Providing a Pinterest board to a photographer and asking them to replicate shots doesn’t allow them to really use their creativity on the day of based on lighting and the unique circumstances that surround YOUR day. You want to make sure you provide the room for them to tell YOUR story vs cookie cuttering someone else’s on to you. Remember, you did hire them for a reason, and one of those is that you trust that they will be able to provide you the shots that depict YOUR day.
Final ThoughtsYour photographer will be with you on your day longer than your future spouse maybe so keep that in mind when selecting them. There’s no question that you want them to be talented and that they’ll be able to deliver the photos that you want from your day. But more so, make sure your personalities match! This is often times equally if not more important than the end product. In the end, if you trust them to provide you with the service and the images that will best represent your day, they will be able to bring you their best work!
If you ever have any questions, don’t ever hesitate to reach out! I’m always here to help! Contact me here.
xo, Kim
