Wedding season is upon us. Even now, many brides and grooms are starting to prepare for their special day. There are a lot of important choices you need to make when planning your wedding, from the ceremony venue, to the caterer, to the color scheme . . . it’s often quite difficult to make these choices yourself.

In this post, we’re going to help you make one choice a lot easier.  In this post, we’re going to show you how to choose the best photographer for your wedding.

Choosing a wedding photographer is not something that should be undertaken lightly.  After all, the wedding photographer is in charge of capturing the memories of your wedding.  After the love you and your spouse share, the wedding photographs are the one thing that you take away and keep long after the wedding ceremony is over.

The quality of wedding photos depends on the photographer themselves.  When trying to decide between photographers, you should ask yourself the following questions:

How important are photos to you?

This is crucial question to ask because it will help you determine the budget that you are willing to allocate to a photographer.  If the aesthetics of the photographs don’t matter as much, and you’ll just be satisfied with good photos of your guest, there’s no need to hire the expensive but artistic photographer.  You can then spend the money on other things.  If – however – you really want a lot of shots and special effects – you should be willing and ready to spend a bit more for a professional photographer who can truly immortalize your union.

The cost of your wedding photos will vary considerably from one photographer to another.  Some factors that can drive the price up are the photographer’s years of experience, reputation, and geographical area.


On the average, for a whole day of shooting, which usually includes the wedding preparations, the marriage ceremony, couple’s shots, and shots of the reception – the cost will be around 1500 euros.  If this seems like a lot, you should keep in mind that, once you go home, the photographer will still be working at least one extra day to choose and edit your photos.  You can try and cut costs by requesting only certain portions of the wedding day be shot and not the entire thing.

What should you ask the photographer?

Before you make your decision, you should ask to look at work samples from several different photographers.  Narrow down your choices to the photographer’s whose work make you say “This is exactly what I want for my wedding!”

If you find a photographer whose photos match you expectations, you should then talk to them to make sure that they take the photos that you want.  Make sure they understand your ideas and what you want to see and that they don’t impose their own ideas.  While it’s okay for them to make suggestions on different, more creative ways to capture your special day, in the end your marriage is yours.  The photographer should be there to answer your desires and understand your expectations and take photos that match.

Here are some important questions that you need to ask your photographer.  If they can answer these questions to your satisfaction, hire them,

  • How long will it take?
  • How many photos will you give?
  • What sort of photos will you take?
  • Will you retouch the photos?
  • In what definition will the final photos be?
  • Will you provide digital files?
  • When will we receive the final photos?
  • What draws are included?
  • Does your advertised rate already include VAT?

What type of photo style do you want?

When you look at photos of a wedding, do you like the photo’s where the guests are not looking at the camera? Or do you prefer the one’s where the guests are carefully posed?  You need to decide and tell the photographer how you would want certain photos to be taken.

For example, you can ask them to take pictures of the guests as they enter or each of the guests at their tables.  You can also ask your photographer to block an hour for a real photo shoot where you and your families and witnesses can take a series of photos.

If, however, you prefer spontaneous photos of candid and stolen moments, make sure you choose a photographer who specializes in that sort of shot.  A real good photographer can take candid shots without you even realizing they are there.

Finally, here are two more valuable tips to choosing the best wedding photographer for you:

  • Pick your wedding photographer early. Don’t want to find that the photographer of your dreams has already been booked solid for wedding season.
  • To make sure that your photographer manages to capture shots of the really important people in your life, for example, your blonde, blue-eyed grandmother, consider sending your photographer photos of these people beforehand. That way, on the day itself, you can be sure your photographer will be looking out for these people and will take good shots of them.