If you don’t have friends or relatives who can recommend a service provider, finding a photographer for your wedding can sometimes feel like an obstacle course. Limited availability, different styles, rates ranging from a few hundred to several thousand pounds… in short, it’s not easy to figure it out!

A good starting point is to compare several professional photographers before making a decision. Here are ten important items to consider in order to analyse each offer and find the artistic photographer best suited to your expectations!

1) Availability

Unfortunately, the date chosen for your union may exclude a number of professionals from your selection. Indeed, it is quite normal for me to receive bookings up to two years in advance. You may always get lucky, but as much as possible, try to book at least a year in advance before the desired date… especially if you’re planning a spring or summer date. If you want to work with a specific individual, consider booking them eighteen months in advance.

2) Word of Mouth, the best route to satisfaction

If you know people who have recently gotten married, do not hesitate to ask them how their collaboration went. Nothing beats the experience and opinion of people who have « tested » the provider, especially those who have seen the photographer at work.

We advise you to check the following points with these couples:

  • How was the contact with this person? Were they friendly, pleasant, did they make them feel comfortable or, on the contrary, did they « alienate » them?
  • Did they know how to support and advise them before and during the wedding, or did they focus only on the shooting?
  • Did they know how to blend into the festivities and not disturb the guests? There is nothing worse for guests than being grabbed by the collar for souvenir photos – and unfortunately, some professionals do that 🙁
  • Did they capture the atmosphere of the day in the shots? It is absolutely ESSENTIAL that the provider understands your expectations well and is able to capture the ambiance of the different places. This involves journalistic-style shots (the famous shots where guests are unaware they are being photographed) or documentary-style shots (details like decoration, flowers, etc.)

3) Testimonials from former clients

In the absence of recommendations from relatives, testimonials from former clients can give you an idea of the level of satisfaction other couples experienced and what you can therefore expect.

We are not talking here about reviews left on the provider’s website (which are unfortunately sometimes « embellished ») but more about reviews left on independent third-party platforms. The most well-known being their Google Maps profile, which appears notably if you type the company’s name. Other platforms also exist such as Trustpilot. Be careful, these reviews are generally objective but some unscrupulous professionals may add fake testimonials. That said, overly laudatory tones usually make them quite easy to spot.

4) Style & artistic vision

Even though this profession requires good technical knowledge and specific equipment, a wedding photographer is above all an artist who will strive to capture and interpret your relationship as well as the ambiance of the day. It is therefore essential that their way of conveying your expectations matches your vision.

Some will place a lot of importance on details, others will strive to give a majestic touch to the spouses’ portraits by using artificial lighting, gels, diffusers, and other reflectors. Do not hesitate to ask for examples of their work.

5) Experience

As in many fields, Wedding Photography is largely a matter of experience. This experience will be particularly crucial in time management, ensuring that the person you hired does not miss important moments and does not waste precious time on moments you do not consider crucial.

Knowing how to position oneself during essential moments like the first kiss during the ceremony, knowing the right shutter speed to maintain a clear image even in low light (in the church, for example), knowing simple and effective poses for your couple portraits to avoid keeping you away from your guests for too long, capturing the atmosphere of the dance party… all these things come with experience.

If you must choose between a portraitist or an event reportage specialist, we recommend the latter. You run less risk of missing important moments, knowing that the provider will have the ability to think a bit more during the portraits even if it’s not their specialty.

6) Human Contact

You may not necessarily think about it when starting your search, but human contact is absolutely crucial! Keep in mind that between preparatory interviews, the reporting day, and the final interview for file delivery, you may spend up to 20 hours with this person. If the contact does not go well, it may seem very long!

The question here is twofold, namely whether you feel a good rapport on a human level (= is it pleasant to spend time with this person?) and also whether you share the same vision of your wedding. If you are not comfortable with what is proposed to you, do not hesitate to say so clearly – there is nothing shocking about it.

7) Listening

Going hand in hand with human contact, it is essential that the chosen provider listens to your needs and understands your expectations. Everyone has their own style but it is important that they can adapt this to your vision. Therefore, during your first interview, they should ask you many questions about your preferences: the general style sought (original, traditional, modern, baroque, bohemian…), the type of treatment you like (black and white, sepia, pastel, etc.), the type of framing, etc.

Similarly, they should be interested in your story as individuals and as a couple. How did you meet? What kind of relationship do you have (fusion, passionate, romantic…)? All these elements will help them interpret your relationship. If they do not ask you questions, do not hesitate to ask how they plan to adapt their working method based on you.

In the same way, many elements must be provided to avoid surprises on your wedding day:

  • Do you want them to avoid soliciting your guests and be very discreet, or do you want to ensure portraits of each guest?
  • Who are the most important people at your wedding who should appear primarily in the day’s images?
  • Etc.

8) Budget

Be careful, a high price is not necessarily a guarantee of quality. Some general service providers will align with « market prices » and offer high rates… without necessarily being experienced in this field.

The price is paradoxically the most complicated element to compare because the services offered for the same report will vary greatly from one provider to another. For example, full-day coverage (10-12 hours) will cost you on average between £1,500 and £3,000 euros. The rate applied by each provider will vary depending on their experience but also on their operation (do they prefer to do a limited number of weddings each year and charge more, or on the contrary, do many reports for a lower rate?). Note also that some refuse purely and simply to cover the evening.

So, think about checking the actual number of hours of reporting indicated in your quote, as this will impact the entire production chain. The longer a report, the more it will need to be prepared in advance, and will require time in post-production to sort and retouch the files.

9) Prefer a Specialist

We highly recommend checking the experience level of the chosen provider and if possible, working with a specialist in this field. Ask the following questions: are they a professional or an amateur? Are they an expert in wedding reportage, or, on the contrary, a generalist? How many events have they covered so far?

We strongly recommend working with a professional photographer, for obvious reasons. The success of a report is certainly a matter of technique and equipment but above all, experience. Moreover, it requires specific equipment, which beyond its price is mainly acquired over the events. Monopod for low-light shooting in the church, wide-angle lens for group shots when there is not enough space to step back, reportage flash, reflectors, and diffusers for outdoor spouse portraits… so much equipment that not everyone possesses.

Furthermore, a specialist will reassure you before and during the day by providing their knowledge of the event’s progress. In terms of rates, know that a wedding professional does not necessarily charge more than a generalist, so be sure to compare prices well!

10) Once your photographer is chosen: some additional points to check

The formal commercial offer (Quote)

It is absolutely essential that you have a guarantee that the chosen provider has committed to covering your report. Unfortunately, it can happen that some providers cancel at the last moment, either for legitimate reasons (accidents, illness, family problem) or purely out of opportunism.