On my wedding day, we trusted our photos to amazing photographers, who I am so proud to say are dear friends of mine. Looking back at the pictures, I KNOW I made the right decision in hiring them. I want everyone to know and understand that choosing a wedding photographer isn’t just about pretty pictures. It’s so much more than that. It’s knowing who is taking your pictures, and understanding what goes into it. There is a lot of planning on a photographers end because they want your day to be captured the way you want it to be. I spoke to my photographers all the time, up until our wedding day. They knew what I liked, They knew what was most important to me, and they were able to translate all of my crazy, into the most memorable thing I could have ever dreamed of.

I have a few tips on finding the right photographer.

1. DO YOUR RESEARCH: 

In this day and age we have something so amazing and right in our fingertips! THE INTERNET! I am talking about Google, pinterest, Facebook, the knot, etc. Go look at different photographers in your area and look at their work. Look at reviews. Read about them; Google their names. Ask your friends! Finding out as much as you can on a photographer is a great start to finding out if you will like them or not! It’s very important that you like your photographer; you will be spending a lot of time with them!

2. EMAIL OR CALL:

Don’t just sit around and look at photographers. You’re engaged; take some action! Email them or call them! If you email a photographer, expect an email back. If you call them, expect a phone call back. The reason for this, is that they don’t (or at least I don’t) want to bother you. If you emailed me, maybe you don’t like talking on the phone. If you call me maybe you hate emailing. I want to respect that by returning my correspondence the same way you reached out to me. It’s important to make contact because you can then begin to ask questions. If price is your main concern, yes absolutely ask for pricing. If you want to know if they’re available because you love them, yes ask this too! Anything goes ladies, but it all starts by making contact.

3. SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION: 

THEY’RE FREE! Schedule a meeting with a photographer. How will you know if you really like them if you don’t meet with them? Photographers are nice! They want to talk to you, show you albums, and answer all of your questions (because YOU HAVE A TON, we know this, and we’re ready with answers!)

4. TAKE IT ALL IN:

Take everything you’ve learned from that photographer in, take notes if you need to, and talk to someone else! You may LOVE the photographer you met with – but are they the ONE? You want to be certain! There may be a ton of deciding factors. Were they less expensive? Were their photos SOOO much clearer, nicer, more your style? Were they just so down to earth that you wanted to be their BESTIE? Seriously lol, all jokes aside, make a solid decision because your photographer is going to be capturing the most important day of your life!

5. BOOK THEM!

This is the last step but its the most important one of all! If you find a photographer you love, you should book them! Wedding dates fill up SO FAST, and if you take too long to think if they’re the right photographer for you, someone else may take your day. It is so sad, but it’s happened before and it will happen again! Make a decision, and go with your gut! Once you book your photographer, things start to look up!

I hope this information helped you ladies! (And Gent’s) If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask, and yes, I love consultations! So please email me and we can definitely go out for some coffee (MY treat!)

Email: Lauren@bokehlovephotography.net