Wedding planning can be a little overwhelming. We totally get it! Choosing the Perfect Wedding Photographer can have some challenges. Specifically when it comes to photography, maybe you have never worked with a professional photographer before and don’t know where to start. With our 15 plus years of wedding photography experience, we can help! Here are some common challenges when hiring a photographer for your wedding day and how to overcome them.
1. There are so many options when looking for a photographer, it’s overwhelming, how do I even start?
A common challenge is the kind of wedding photographer you’re looking for. Maybe you didn’t even know there were certain types. First, you’ll want to look at several wedding photographers in the area to see what kind of style you might want. There are a few typical kinds of wedding photography:
– Fine Art Style: It’s a style that is very artistic and focuses on dramatic lighting, unique angles and highly edited images with filters. It’s best if you’re looking for a lot of traditional poses and dramatic effects applied to your images in the editing process.
– Documentary/Candid Style: It’s a natural and authentic way to photograph a wedding, focusing on candid moments and story telling. Colors are bright and edited in a very natural way. This is best for you if you want something with a more authentic feeling to your images that tell the story of the day.
– Editorial/Fashion Style: It’s a look that includes those magazine quality kind of images where the subject is lit in an interesting way but the poses seem organic and natural. This is best for couples who really like the lighting of magazine style images, but the editing is more natural.
Here are Live Happy Studio, we’re kind of a combination of a candid feel with some fun editorial lighting during portraits.
A few other ideas:
– Attend a wedding expo or small show at your favorite venue. These happen every couple of months around the area.
– Try using websites like Zola, Wedding Wire or The Knot to filter through just photographers.
– Ask for recommendations from your recently married friends.
– Check reviews, portfolios and make sure to ask to see a full wedding to check their consistency. Anyone can create a portfolio of a few great shots.
2. How do I know what kind of budget I’m looking at for photography?
Budget is always a common challenge in any wedding. Photography is one of the big three when you first start planning your wedding. We would suggest booking your venue first and your photographer second, caterer third. Venues, photographers and caterers book 9-12+ months out. So if you really have your heart set on a certain photographer, venue, or caterer get them locked in early.
Some photographers have their pricing right on their website. Some you’ll need to email directly to find out what their packages are, and some have a starting price on their website. This is a good way to determine what kind of budget expectations you can plan for in terms of pricing.
We always offer a custom package option if you don’t fit into any of our suggested packages online. Just ask. We’re happy to be flexible and get you what you’re looking for.
3. How many hours should I plan for with my photography?
Every single wedding is unique. We typically like to start at the end of the night and ask if you’re doing a formal exit and work our way backwards. Let’s say you’re doing an exit at 10PM and your ceremony is at 5PM. You also want to capture some getting ready images (like make-up, getting dressed, final touches) at the hotel before you get to your venue. You’ll probably want the photography to start at 2PM. That’s the 8 hour package.
If you’re doing everything at the venue and aren’t going to multiple locations or just aren’t interested in getting ready photos, the 6 hour package might be best for you. You can still exit at 10PM, have the ceremony at 5PM, and a little bit of getting ready before the ceremony because it’s all in one place and you can do all of your portraits during cocktail hour.
4. Should I have two photographers?
We believe in two photographers so much, it’s in every standard wedding package we have. We always include the same two LEAD photographers at every wedding – Lindsay and Kellie (no random second shooters with us).
Two photographers is always important because no one can be in two places at once. One side of the wedding party will be getting ready in one room and the other side will be getting ready in another room. You’ll want to capture all the shenanigans.
Also, during the ceremony, you’ll have two people with different lenses getting multiple angles at the same moment. You can’t miss a thing.
5. I’m worried about feeling awkward in photos? I don’t really like photos.
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. We love awkward people (because we are the same way!) We make sure you feel comfortable, so that you can feel yourself. We make suggestions to our couples that help them get natural photos, we help get you into a position that feels more organic, rather than feeling like, “what do I do with my hands?”
6. Some of my friends who have been married recently had to wait forever to get their photos. Some are still waiting and it’s year later. When do we get ours?
We have one of the fastest turn around times in the area. Not only will you get all of your beautifully edited images in two weeks or less, you’ll also get a few sneak peaks the night of the wedding! We’re so excited to share, you’ll be ready to view your photos when you get home from your honeymoon!
7. How many photos will I receive? Are there any limits?
You can’t limit your love so we aren’t going to limit how many photos we take either. No shot limits here. Every wedding is going to different in terms of how many images because it depends on how many formalities you may have, how many people are at your wedding, and how much time you chose when selecting your package. A typical wedding will have anywhere from 800-1200 images.
8. What is a first look and should I have one?
A first look refers to a time before the wedding where you as a couple get to see each other privately before the wedding. It’s a really nice moment to capture as a photographer, one of our favorites. However, everyone has a certain idea in their mind about how they want to see their partner for the first time on the big day. Some prefer to do it down the aisle, some want to avoid crying in front of all their family and friends and want to do it in a more intimate setting. One advantage of a first look is you’ll have time to get a lot of your portraits done ahead of time, especially if you tell your wedding party and family be ready around the same time. Then after the ceremony you’ll have just a couple to do together and then everyone can be off to cocktail hour together.
Hopefully that helps go over some of the common questions people have about their wedding photography! Reach out if you have a question we didn’t answer!
