London and Surrey Wedding Photographer – Lauren Henson Photography
Knowing how to choose the perfect wedding photographer isn’t easy! It seems like a minefield out there, so many styles, so many approaches. Where do you even start? Art is so subjective and everyone likes something different. Which is exactly what makes this industry so good! There is so much variety in wedding photography, to suit everyones needs and style choices! But there are so many bloody wedding photographers out there! HAHA. Let me give you a few tips on choosing the perfect photographer for your wedding. And you want to chat to me about your wedding click here!
Budget
So I guess the first thing you need to do is a set a budget. It’s so so important! I could sit here and bullshit you about how wedding photography should be one of the most expensive things you invest in. And to a certain extent this is true. But don’t go over your budgets!!!!! They are there for a reason! You don’t want to bankrupt yourself for one day. There are so many amazing photographers out there at so many different price tiers, you will find the right one to fit in line with your costings.
Please do bear in mind though, if you see an amazing deal for £500, which includes 12 hours shooting and two photographers, this may be too good to be true. Triple check their portfolio and testimonials to make sure they can provide what they’re saying. So much work goes into your wedding photos, not just on the day that we are there with you, so remember that when seeing these too good to miss deals.
It is an investment, out of everything on the day, your wedding photos are what stays with you forever, to show further generations. The cake will get eaten and the dress may get dirty, but you will always have your photos!
Just one more little tip, if you have fallen in love with a photographers work and they are out of your budget, it is always worth asking if they can do reduced hours or weekday discount. You never know!
Style
Okay here is where knowing how to choose the perfect wedding photographer gets tricky! There are so so many styles. How do you choose the perfect style of photographer for your wedding? Instagram and Pinterest are great places to start to look at editing styles. These can be light and airy, dark and moody, vibrant and contrasty.
Also have a look at the colours, some photographer edit so that everything is true to colour, which Is what I do. If your wedding in a field is surrounded by green grass and trees you might want to see this true green in your photos. I like to make sure my skinniness are correct and if your suit is blue then it will be blue in your photos, not a tinge of green or purple. Some photographers in their editing process mute and desaturate the greens which looks like a cool instagram filter. This might be to your liking! There are some other filters that do change the colours a little away from what you see through your eye. Just check to see which of these editing styles suits you, and your wedding day.
Approach
You might see some terms used from wedding photographers like ‘fine art’, ‘documentary style’ or ‘traditional’. These may give you an indication to the approach a photographer uses to taking wedding photos. If lots of family group shots and classic portraits are your thing then you will probably find yourself looking down the ‘traditional’ route. If you want to see more natural smiles from your guests and random moments captured candidly then you will want to look at the ‘documentary’ style which is my approach. With less structure to formal photos it gives me more time to capture all the special moments going on throughout the day.
Get to know your Photographer!
Well done! You have sussed out your budget, your style and the approach you like. Now it is time to get in touch with the photographers you like. I think it is so incredibly important to get on with your wedding photographer, as they will be with you throughout the whole day. Not only do you want to fall in love with the style that a photographer produces, but you want to be able to relax with them and be able to be honest about what you’re expecting.
I have always told my potential clients, even if you love my work don’t book if you feel like we don’t connect that well. You want to feel like your best buddy is there on the day taking pictures of you and your guests! Pick up the phone and have a chat with them! You’ll be able to get pick up wither its the right vibe from this.
Other Tips
It’s good to have a quick look at the photographers testimonials to see what others have said! You’ll be able to find these on their website, google or social media pages.
Also…read the ‘about me‘ page!! It will give you a great insight into their personality!
Have a look through a photographers blogs on their website. This gives you the best idea on what a full day of pictures will look like. Okay not the quantity of course, we don’t put more than 100 on our blogs. But it gives you a good idea of the feel and emotion in the photos.
Don’t be afraid to tell your photographer what matters to you most about your photos!! If you don’t want to be spending hours doing portraits then let them know!! I personally don’t like to take my clients away for more than 20 minutes! You’ve paid for canapés and cocktails….go and enjoy them!
Thank for reading and good luck on your search for a photographer!! Love Lauren xx
