Capturing the Moment: 6 Qualities To Look For In Your Wedding Photographer

Weddings are a once-in-a-lifetime event for lots of people so it’s not every day that you’re scouring the internet and asking friends and family about wedding photographers.

Because it’s your wedding, you want the photos to be perfect, you want every little moment captured, and you want those moments captured in a professional light. Your photos can have all of that and more, you just have to have the right approach to it.

In your mind, you can already imagine how you want your photos to look… Your intimate photos are in black and white, like the photos of you and your spouse or moments shared between you and your parents. Then all of the other wedding photos and candid moments will be in color or some other type of filter… you just know in your mind that the pictures have to be perfect…

Now, you can have those thoughts and daydream about it all but once you come back to reality, you’ll see that you can’t even begin to think about any of that until you’ve considered the qualities you need to look for in a wedding photographer. Do you want a wedding photographer who will give you amazing photos or one who will give decent ones?

Ultimately, the photographer needs to be able to see your wedding photo visions as you do and be able to capture the moments that you’ll remember for a lifetime. Now, because this is a wedding, this is someone who will be capturing intimate moments so it’s important that both you and your spouse feel comfortable around them. Take a look at some of the 6 top qualities to look for in your wedding photographer.

1. The Type of Connection You Have With the Photographer

First and foremost, you and your spouse need to have a positive connection with your wedding photographer. They need to have a great personality, be reliable, and attentive to your needs. Upon first meeting the wedding photographer, you’ll know whether or not you’re going to want their services in the first few interactions with them. You have to pay attention to how they greet you or do they try to take over the conversation without listening to your needs?

Because this is such a special moment for you and your spouse, you and your wedding photographer need to be on the same page. When you and your wedding photographer have a great connection and understand each other, the photos will turn out beautiful.

2. How Long the Photographer Has Been in Business

The length of time a wedding photographer has been in business is a vital aspect that can definitely help you make a decision on whether or not you want their services. That’s not saying that a young and up and coming photographer won’t do a great job, but once again, this is your wedding photos and you only want to do this once. With a new wedding photographer or a photographer whose background has primarily been in studios, they’re going to have a bit of a learning curb because there’s so much more to wedding photography than people realize. You can often check a photographer’s experience on their website – see geoffwilkings.com for an example of a photographer who cites their many years of experience. Ultimately, you want to choose a photographer with experience for your special day.

You want a photographer who’s been in the industry long enough to at least be able to show you photos of previous work they’ve done. If you feel the slightest bit of hesitation or uncertainty about the photographer, you need to look elsewhere.

3. Photographer’s Education and Credentials

As a potential client, there’s nothing wrong with asking a wedding photographer if they’ve had any formal photography education or received any special awards. You want to make sure they know what they’re doing and that their photography is legal. Now, just keep in mind that a wedding photographer doesn’t need to have a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree to be an exceptional wedding photographer but education and training have proven to be very beneficial in assisting wedding photographers with various techniques and skills.

4. The Type of Equipment Used

If you want quality photos, then you need to make sure the wedding photographer has quality equipment. If you know anything about wedding photography, then you know that the equipment isn’t cheap and that for some it, the photographer is going to need special training to learn how to operate it. Not only that, but the photographer will also need to have backups of everything, including various lenses, extra flashes, and an extra camera body.

5. Types of Reviews From Previous Clients

In this day and age, reviews are critical. In fact, a report by inc.com revealed that people take online reviews as seriously as a friend referring them to a particular business. So make sure you check out the wedding photographer’s reviews online… if they have more than enough bad reviews, it may not even be worth your time to contact them.

6. Artistry in the Portfolios

When looking through a wedding photographer’s portfolio, you shouldn’t see photos that look the same, same poses, same locations, etc. You should be able to see artistry in their photos. When you’re continuously seeing the same type of photos just with different people in them, it’s a dead giveaway that the photographer doesn’t have a creative eye, or even a creative bone in their body. You would definitely need to look elsewhere.

Fortunately…

There are great wedding photographers all over the world that have produced beautiful wedding photos that couples are able to cherish for the rest of their lives. If you’re looking for a wedding photographer with all of these wonderful qualities plus even more, take some time to do your homework before booking and you will enjoy the pictures for generations to com