Booking your wedding photographer - often deemed one of the biggest wedding day decisions that you will make as when the vows have been said and the party is done, the one thing that you will have to remember your big day is your wedding photographs.
In Northern Ireland there is huge community of wedding photographers. From contemporary to classic, documentary to fine art - if you do a quick search on Google, Facebook or Instagram you’ll not be disappointed with the variety of options available to you. Along with that massive choice though often comes confusion! To help you select the wedding photographer that is best suited to your individual needs I’ve drawn up a list of 7 things you need to consider before making your decision. There certainly is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to wedding photography - so get out there, make some enquiries and find that photographer who is perfect for you!
1) I’ll start with the most important question - do your absolutely and completely dig their style? At the start of my wedding photography journey I once met a prospective bride for coffee and she confided in me that whilst she liked some things about my style she was hoping that if she booked me I would shoot her wedding in a more formal style than that displayed in my portfolio . It was a no from me and needless to say I did not end up shooting her wedding as there was another photographer out there who was 100% a better fit for her. Booking your photographer based solely on other factors such as price or a recommendation could lead to disappointment when your final images are delivered. If you can 100% buy in to a photographer’s style, you are well on your way to having found the photographer that is right for you. For me wedding photography is all about the real moments, real emotions, real love. Staged moments and anything awkward or fussy is banned! I want to capture the real character & vibe of your day and bottle it up in your photographs for you to treasure forever. If that approach resonates with you we for sure will be the perfect fit for one another.
The cool wedding portraits/family shots of course need done however 95% of the time I shoot a documentary style, letting your day run it’s natural course with the main goal being to capture all the real emotions and moments that come together to form your unique wedding day.
2) Will you get the chance to meet them in person before the big day? For me it is really important to meet every couple in person before the wedding, usually to grab a coffee and chat about a month before. During this meet we finalise a plan of attack for epic photos and maybe even more importantly than that - we get a change to get acquainted and get a feel for what makes each other tick! Don’t forget your wedding photographer is going to walk in to one of the biggest days of your life and be there front row and centre for a solid 12 hours. A meet in person pre wedding is therefore massively important. I want to get a feel for you, for who you are, what has brought you together and where you see your future going. I also want you to get a feel for who I am too. I couldn’t imagine walking in on the wedding morning having never met you before! If you are jetting in from afar we can always grab a chat on Facetime/Skype as a plan B!
I love it when couples nab me for a quick wedding day selfie! building an awesome relationship with your photographer is absolutely key if you want good wedding photographs (see below!)
Andrea & Matt - they smashed it out of the park!
3) Make sure to have viewed a number of individual weddings all the way through from bridal prep in the morning to speeches or first dance. If a portfolio consists of a variety of individual images but no full wedding examples, you need to consider if you have seen enough material to be sure that the photographer can deliver a consistent standard of work throughout a full wedding day - baring in mind that weddings can last up to 12 hours and from experience I can tell you they involve all sorts of one off moments (for which there is no take 2) that often happen in awkward lighting/weather! Also be aware that the ‘individual image only’ type portfolios may include images from styled sessions, sessions in which photographers gather and take images of weddings that aren’t actual weddings under the tutelage of a more experienced photographer crucially with none of the pressure that is found on real wedding days. That isn’t a dig on photographers who are in the early stages of their journey. I was once at the beginning of my journey too. Their development however isn’t your concern, your concern is getting the photographer who is the best fit for you. In order to allow you to get a full feel for my work I display multiple weddings on my website all from bridal prep to dinner/first dance. In all work displayed in my portfolio I was the lead photographer. All weddings shown are actual weddings.
Shooting the sunset portraits in epic light with no time pressure is all well and good but can your photographer capture those key wedding moments In challenging lighting conditions when there just is no option for a take 2
4) Do they have a plan B if things go wrong - what if they smash a piece of their equipment on the wedding day? In my bag I carry multiple pieces of every critical piece of equipment that I own, from cameras to lenses to flash guns. If I smash anything I am 100% still able to continue shooting! Plans for this type of eventuality will vary between different photographers, make sure you are happy with your photographer’s plan B!
I smashed a lens on the morning of Hayley and Kyle’s wedding however it didn’t affect their wedding photography whatsoever as I carry multiple cameras & lenses (& everything else you can imagine) at all times
5) What steps will be taken to ensure the security of your images isn’t compromised? MEMORY CARD CORRUPTED. Words that strike fear in to the heart of every photographer. Just like any other piece of equipment memory cards at some stage will fail. If this happens at any stage on or after your wedding day it could be catastrophic! To guard against this I use professional level cameras that record every image on to two separate memory cards. Immediately when I arrive home after your wedding all images are imported to my computer, and backed up to both an external hard drive and cloud based storage too. Additionally one set of memory cards is always kept until you receive your final images. Very few things in life can ever be guaranteed but I take every step I can to guarantee the security of your images!
6) Have you booked coverage that allows for the photographer to be there during the hour before sunset? Often the best time to shoot pictures is in the hour before sunset (the golden hour) as the light is golden, soft and dreamy. For winter weddings coverage to dinner time will include this however for summer weddings I would strongly advise booking your photographer to first dance in order to give you a chance of hitting the golden light jackpot. Who knows - maybe you’ll strike it lucky and have an epic sunset to enjoy whilst your portraits are being taken!
Sometimes you strike it lucky and an absolutely epic sunset comes your way!
7) Are you satisfied that they are suitably experienced to deliver the pictures & overall experience that you want, ideally with testimonials from real couples to back this up? What I advise you to do is vet them. Go on their social media and check their last 10 posts - are there any comments from people complaining? Has anyone left them a bad review? I pride myself on providing an excellent customer experience all the way through from initial enquiry to post wedding follow up contact/delivery of images/album design. Throughout the past 6 years that I have shot weddings I’ve picked up countless testimonials. Here’s one from my most recent bride Danielle married on 5th March 2020, my LBBC! (Last Bride Before Coronavirus)
“We found Chris on Facebook when we began planning our wedding - we instantly fell in love with his work and immediately booked him. From the very beginning Chris was very friendly and professional. We had an engagement shoot first of all and after receiving those pictures we got super excited for our wedding pictures. On the day Chris was amazing - he didn’t pressure us at all but still got the best pictures! We could not be happier with them!!!” - Danielle Hartley
I hope that this article has been of some use to you and will help guide you in your quest to select a wedding photographer that best suits your needs. If my approach resonates with you please get in touch with me using my contact page and let’s start making some plans for some epic wedding photographs!
Alternatively if you’d like to have a look through my portfolio or learn a little bit more about me then please use the links below!
