Tips on Finding Your Amazing Wedding Photographer

Bridal Spectacular features Las Vegas wedding tips.

When the guests are gone, the food has been eaten, and the night has come to an end, what will remain after your big day is over are your memories and wedding photos! Choosing who will capture these priceless moments is one of the most important decisions of the entire wedding process. So, we here at Bridal Spectacular put together a few tips to consider when making your selection!

Choose Your Photography Style

Do you have a specific or favorite style of photography? Traditional, photojournalistic, high fashion, natural light, etc. — there are so many different photography styles out there, so first-and-foremost you need to determine what style you like best. Investigate online, local photographers’ websites, magazines and wedding sites to browse through different photos to help you define your favorite style.

Do Some Research

Once you have a style, you should do some research. Start by checking out local listings such as the Bridal Spectacular Wedding Directory for potential photographers. Go to their websites and blogs to get a feel for their individual style. Visit their Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram pages.

Interview, Interview, Interview

Ok, so now you have really narrowed down your selection to a few photos that match your style preference, and now it’s time to make sure the photographer is the right fit for you! You cannot choose a photographer based only on what you see. It is important to meet them and make sure your personalities don’t clash. You want to feel that they understand and are as equally excited about your vision. If you don’t feel at ease with a certain person, that can really come through in your photos. A great time saving opportunity is to meet potential photographers at your local bridal show, such as at the Bridal Spectacular! Set up another interview to look at their work more in depth, go over details, see if they have your dates open, and have possibly shot before at your choice venue. Additionally, booking an engagement shoot is a great way to test out your photographer as well as their work!

Set Your Budget

In order to make the best decision, you need to know what budget you have to work with. Wedding photography has quite a large range depending on the photographer(s), their experience, availability, packages, and equipment. You can expect your wedding photography cost to run you anywhere between $1,500-$6,000+. The average cost is roughly $2,500.

 Compare Packages

You may have an idea of your budget, but first you will need to know what you want and what is included in the different packages that your potential photographers are offering. It is important to ask them serval questions, such as:

• What are the costs of their standard package?
• What is included with each package? Check to see if you will get an album, CDs, prints, or all digital photos with full rights to print what you want.
• How many hours of coverage will you receive?
• How many photographers will you get?
• Will they be the one specifically shooting the day of? Some photographers will send out a trained assistant instead or both may come.
• Also consider whether you’ll want to do an engagement shoot or have your photographer shoot other events during your wedding weekend, such as the rehearsal dinner, Sunday brunch, etc.

Read Reviews

After you have narrowed down your selection to three or four photographers, read as many reviews as possible! From The Knot, Wedding Wire, social media sites, the photographers’ websites, and more, there’s an abundance of great resources out there for you to thoroughly research, yet remember that a few bad reviews does not show who a company is. No one is perfect, so be sure to weigh the good with the bad. Above all, do your homework ahead of time and you won’t be disappointed!

Post-Production

This one goes hand-in-hand with comparing wedding packages, but make sure to get the postproduction details as well. How long will it take to get your final photos, what kind of retouching do they do, how many retouched images will you get, will you get high-resolution photos so you can print as large as you’d like, will you get a wedding album, do you get full rights to the photos, etc.? Get as many details as possible so you there aren’t any surprises!

Bridal Spectacular Shares Tips From a Local Shutterbug 

Here is a link for more great tips on choosing your perfect photog: https://issuu.com/mplacepro/docs/issuu

Follow Bridal Spectacular for More Wedding Inspiration

For more wedding planning tips and inspiration, please visit Bridal Spectacular online at bridalspectacular.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Also, be sure to save-the-date for our Winter Bridal Spectacular Show January 26 and 27 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino!

Author: Deidre Bakker-Riches