3 Top tips on How to choose a wedding photographer
Choosing your wedding photographer:
When choosing your wedding photographer, it is a good idea not to have to rush, so that you can go through your options and choose wisely. As with anything you buy, the cheapest is seldom the best, and you really only get what you pay for! Wedding photography is probably the only thing that you pay for that actually lasts long after your wedding day is over. Photographs, especially printed photographs in album or wall-art, become more precious with the passing of time and last for generations to come. Good quality prints should last long after the last notes of your music have faded into the night, the bouquet and flowers have all wilted, the cake has been eaten, the presents all opened, and the dresses/suits all folded away in a box! So read on to find your 3 TOP TIPS to choose the best wedding photographer for you!
1 Top Tip:
Make sure you like the photographer’s style of work! It may sound obvious, but take your time to view lots of different photographers’ work and try and get an idea of what you really like. For example, some photographs are very bright and colourful, some are black and white, some may have a desaturated, aged faded colour photo look, and others may be in a sepia or crema tone, like black and white photos, but more brown and cream tone. As well as the amount of colour, or black and white, style can also mean does the photographer take lots of close up photographs of people or details, or are they all big picture/ the whole room type views, does the photographer cut off the tops of heads, like in headshots, or give mostly half body length portraits, or a mix, are the photographs very posed and formal looking, or are they more natural. For more examples of style, please email us to get the full article to info@josephinegray.co.uk
2 Top Tip: WHat’s the difference between a Full-Time professional wedding photographer, and one that has just started out?
What experience does the photographer have? Are they a full-time professional photographer, with a working business, fully insured and using professional equipment? or do they just photograph one or two weddings at weekends as a bit of extra income as well as hold down a full-time job? Can you see photographs from all parts of a real wedding day on the website, so you can see they have actually photographed some real weddings, or can you only see photographs of just a wedding couple, no guests or bridesmaids/groomsmen anywhere in sight? In which case this photographer may not have much real wedding experience and may only be showing models posing as brides and grooms. For those on a tight budget, you may need to look at a photographer with less experience or who is just starting out, which is fine, as long as they have been honest with you about their experience and what to expect, after all, we all have to start somewhere. But please do check exactly what is included in the price quoted, how many images, how many hours cover, any consultation/ pre-wedding meet? so there are no horrid surprises, and take up references and read reviews to be sure that the person is capable and will deliver finished images in a timely manner.
3 Top Tip: What about Uncle Bob - he has a camera?
And what about the friend who has a camera, or Uncle Bob who has a camera and has offered to grab a few snaps for you as a favour? Well - you wouldn’t have a home decorator cut you hair just because he has a big pair of (wallpaper) scissors!!! Or an electrician pull out your teeth just because he has a pair of pliers! (ouch!!). If you have no budget then this may be your only option, but there is a reason that full-time photographers charge the prices they charge.
This is because they are fully insured, are trained to use professional cameras and equipment, they prepare you images using professional software and editing tools so that they can give you really great photographs, where the colour balance and lighting is fairly evenly balanced across all of the photographs, and they are equipped to deliver your photographs either as a gallery to choose and download and save, or on a USB or printed in to a beautifully designed and laid-out physical wedding album . A professional wedding photographer should also have the experience to know when to be ready to capture those really special moments at a wedding that only ever happen once, for example, the look you may share with your partner as you finally meet at the end of the aisle, the fleeting glance which says a million thank yous to the person who has brought you down the aisle, and so on throughout the day. Uncle Bob may be great at photographing fields and landscapes that stay still for ever, but will he manage to capture the quick squeeze of the hand, the children running across the grass, that look you give each other that is so silent, yet speaks volumes. A professional photographer may not have ever met you before, but if they are anything like me, they will absorb your character and what makes you you, as quickly as possible, so that they can capture all those fun bits and special bits and everything in between.
BONUS Top Tip number 4: How much should you budget for wedding photography?
The answer here is - as much as you can afford! Just like everything else in life, you get what you pay for. You wouldn’t ask a gardener to cut your hair just because he has a pair of scissors, or an electrician to pull out your tooth just because he has a pair of pliers! The same goes with wedding photography! Just because someone has a camera or even, you see they take nice landscape photographs or pictures of gardens, or birds, this does not mean that they will know how to best photograph your wonderful one off wedding day! Be safe and choose a professional wedding photographer to photograph you on your wedding day. If you are on a tight budget, perhaps consider looking for less hours cover, rather than longer hours from a cheaper rate photographer that does not give you the complete confidence and reassurance in some way, that everything will be fine.
So there are your 4 Top Tips for choosing your wedding photographer. We hope you find them really helpful. If they spark any questions, please get in touch and ask us - with no obligation, we are here to help! And now, as always, I’d like to be 100% honest here and say, obviously, we would always prefer you to book us for your photography! But in truth, we really want you to have the best you can afford and have a fabulous wedding day - whoever you choose!
And whilst we are on the subject of booking a photographer! Here are a few words on why book me?
What is different about booking with Josephine Gray Photography?
And what is the difference with booking me? Well, although photographing weddings since 2015, in December 2018, I got professionally qualified as a Licentiate Master Photographer (it’s like a one Michelin star for photography) and have won 3 further awards this summer for my wedding photography. This means my photography, together with how I run my business, have been judged to be a consistently excellent professional and creative standard.
I shoot with two Nikon professional cameras that are regularly checked and serviced, with dual photo cards, and with back up kit, and on your wedding day, I will upload your photos to be saved in 3 places before I can go to sleep, (to reduce any risk of loss or damaged photo cards). And on your wedding day, I can be creative with subtle lighting or work in natural light, on the brightest or dullest or wettest of days and in all types of venues, and am fully insured for indemnity and public liability.
And what about me as a person? Because after all, your photographer is with you all through your special day. Well, I have photographed over 100 unique weddings - with many 5* reviews for amazing photos and also for being a calming and helpful person, who can help calm any wedding day nerves, and who gets on easily with people of all ages, and blends in with the day.
This all means that by booking me you can reduce any photography worries and be assured of a calm and lovely photography experience for you, your families and your guests.
I hope this and your top tips all helps you explore all options and make the best decision for you xxx
And if you’d like to chat anything through, I’d love to hear more about your plans and which aspects of the day really matter to you.
Please get in touch - our phone number is
07824 414 444
