Photographer

I would always tell you to start with the ones nearest - who will know the area and most likely will of shot at your venues before. Rather than risk someone who needs to travel 3 hours down a motorway to get to you.

Also choose one who can show you whole weddings, don't just go by the hand-picked best shots that they use on their media platforms. If they are local then they should be able to show you a whole wedding shot at your venue.

Does one style attract you more than another? It would be quite unusual to have 7 photographers who all photograph similarly, so see if you can narrow it down. Which one/s have pictures that make you go 'oh, I'd love a shot like that!'

Also, look into what you actually get for your money - are they all providing the same service? We found some photographers provided x number of prints and then you had to pay extra to get any more - that really puts the price up if you have friends and family who might want a professional photo from your wedding.

Check out their Facebook reviews to get a feel for how other couples have found them on the wedding day. Also have a look at the small print - we weeded out one photographer straight away because she reserved the right to put ANY photos she took on her website/social media pages, even before we'd seen them - we had guests who would not have been comfortable with their photos being online, so we picked a photographer who was happy not to post those photos.

If you can narrow it down to two or three then arrange a phone conversation, zoom or meetup to discuss - it's no good having a brilliant photographer if you feel uncomfortable around them, so speaking to them in person might help narrow down your choice.

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Don't let receiving a bunch of prints sway you because it costs the photographer pence and when you are given high res images with printing rights you can get your own printed anyway.

Its not on to go putting photos on social media before you have seen them, sometimes couples ask me not to post any and I an fine with that or sometimes let them know which ones I would like to use and them a veto.

As for style I would ignore the poetic words they they use to describe their style as - you may of found out they all pretty much say the same thing, go by real whole weddings and if they are shy about showing you a real life wedding and make excuses then move on to the next one.

Make sure that the shots you are looking at are not mostly made up of details and other "things" - basically anything other than people, because "stuff is easy to photograph - it doesn't move or blink or have odd expressions. Seeing lots of detail shots could also be a sign that they have only ever shot a wedding as second shooter which is a world away from shooting a whole wedding solo. Another thing - some can be wonderful and "lovely" speaking to them before the wedding and booking but totally different once they have your money.

Also don't be swayed by seeing lots of "badges" and " "as featured in" x,y and z online sites because all it means is that they have paid a subscription to be on that site.

And take any "awards with a pinch of salt - they are an industry in themselves and some are renowned for having 100s of category's so everyone who enters ( after paying a fee ) wins, then you are encouraged to attend an expensive "awards" dinner and possibly pay extra for a trophy.

Reviews reviews and reviews - I would say.

We were lucky as we knew of a photographer because he had photographed a couple of friends' weddings. Do you know anyone who could recommend someone? Can find out their experience then.

View quoted message This is amazing info thank you soo much for your time! Anything else please message me.

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"Another thing - some can be wonderful and "lovely" speaking to them before the wedding and booking but totally different once they have your money."

Agree with this - I wasn't necessarily meaning to pick only on the basis of how nice they sound, just that it can help to weed out the ones who aren't any good. We wiped one guy off our list for being abrupt and rude and another one for being...errr, let's just say, I felt like I needed to remind him that I was engaged to someone else!!!!

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Yes I understand, even with a short phone call you can weed out the definite NO's

@ Stephanie, I have sent a PM

It might be worth asking if they have photographed a wedding at your venue before to help narrow the list - it helps if they know their way around, are familiar with the lighting (particularly inside) and the best spots to get a good snap. We picked our photographer because his style is to blend in with the guests and take minimal "posed" or formal photos - the key for us was actually the personality of the photographer as whilst we really want some nice pictures, we aren't really photo people and so we wanted someone who we felt would be as un-intrusive as possible and make us and our guests feel at ease.

I’d advise looking at the colours and contrast the photographer uses. You’re going to be looking at these pictures a lot and they’ll hang on your walls, you need to like the overall treatment. Summer wedding you might want cool and bright and winter wedding you might want warm and high contrast.

Also check out blogs or galleries with a full wedding day. Make sure their portfolio and Instagram images match what they normally do.

My job is to work with images in post production and for me I looked at how the green colours were treated. Green is a hard colour to get looking good, it’s harsh and really draws the eye. I would suggest a photographer who tones down the greens, but that is a personal preference.