Choosing a wedding photographer is not an easy decision, but it is one of the most important vendors you’ll hire for your wedding.

Your photographer will not only be responsible for capturing all of your memories of your big day, they will also spend a lot of time with you on your wedding day. So you want to choose someone who has a great style, proven skill and experience, and who you could hang out with for 8-10 hours. 

Yep, you need to like your photographer’s photography style, editing look, and personality.

That’s a lot to figure out when you’re talking to strangers you just contacted through Instagram or a website form, so today I’m sharing 5 questions you should ask every potential wedding photographer to make sure they are the right fit for you! 

How to choose a wedding photographer you don’t regret

Start with one of the most important questions: Can I see a full gallery of a few weddings you’ve shot recently?

Asking for a full gallery shows you a few things very quickly:

• You’ll be able to tell if they tell your love story with your photos or if they check poses and moments off a checklist
  
• A full gallery shows you all of their work – from candids to close-ups, posed shots, flat lays, and everything in between. You want to make sure you like all the images they take, not just a select few.
  
• You can see if they have a consistent style or if it’s kind of random or chaotic. (Trust me, this can happen!)
  
• By looking through a complete gallery, you’ll get a strong sense for the type of photos the photographer takes and you’ll know if it resonates with you. 

Next, you want to ask: How do you handle posing?

A skilled wedding photographer should be able to clearly explain their approach to posing – whether they are very hands-on and guide you through every shot, if they avoid posing all together and maintain a natural approach, or anything in between.

If you’re nervous about looking your best and you want a lot of direction from behind the camera, you want to make sure you’re choosing a photographer who will tell you what to do.

On the flip side, if you really want to have natural, candid images that don’t feel posed or staged, you want to make sure your photographer shares your approach. 

There’s  not a “right” way to handle posing – it’s purely based on what you want and need. There will be a wedding photographer out there who offers exactly the level of posing support you’re looking for, you just have to ask. 

How to choose a wedding photographer who fits your vibe

To determine how your wedding photographer will fit into your day, make sure to ask: What’s your energy like on a wedding day?

Chill, laid back brides or grooms sometimes want a photographer who matches their easygoing energy, but sometimes they want someone who is the exact opposite who will keep them on schedule and counteract their lack of attention to detail. 

Like with posing, there’s no right way to be. Photographers come in all different vibes and energies – calm, relaxed, direct, authoritative, organized. 

If you need someone to be very direct and in charge and you hire a quiet, reserved photographer who prefers to be behind the camera and not directing your chaotic wedding party, you won’t be happy with the experience or the resulting images. 

Think about what matters most to you and make sure you find a wedding photographer who fits the bill. 

You should also ask any potential wedding photographers: How do you interact with your clients on their wedding day?

This is really important! You need to choose a wedding photographer who not only has the energy and vibe you want, but who also has the same level of desired and expected interaction.

Maybe you want to hire a photographer who loves becoming BFFs with all of her clients and feels like another member of the wedding party by the end of the night, or maybe that’s your worst nightmare and you want someone who is strictly professional and will be mostly in the background. 

How to get the photos you want

Always make sure to ask: How would you describe your photography style?

If you find a wedding photographer you love who has exactly the personality and vibe you’re looking for… but you don’t like the way they take photos… that’s going to be a problem. 

Photographers have pretty set styles and approaches to taking photos and editing. Don’t expect that someone will change their style to make it more like what you want, just choose the right photographer from the beginning. 

Someone who takes dramatic, highly-edited images isn’t going to magically take light and airy photos just because that’s what you want. 

In addition to editing style, make sure you understand their overall style as well. 

Here are some common ways photographers describe their styles and want they (probably) mean:

• Traditional – they take a lot of posed shots and capture the main moments from a wedding day, like you walking down the aisle, your first kiss, and your first dance.
  
• Documentary – they capture what happens as it unfolds, without interjecting themselves or posing you. Documentary-style photographers focus on telling the story of your wedding day instead of capturing individual big moments.
  
• Artistic – they focus on creating art and generating emotional responses. These images may be highly edited or dramatically posed for the biggest artistic impact.
  
• Candid – they capture people in the moment, often in action. These may include images without ideal lighting or that include motion/are blurry – but they feel organic and natural. 

Making a decision after you’ve asked the right questions

The 5 questions I shared here will give you a lot of the information you need to inform your decision. 

At the end of the day, you want to make sure you’re choosing a wedding photographer who will capture your wedding day memories the way you want them to be captured. 

Your wedding photos are the only permanent reminder you have of your wedding day (other than your love, of course!) so it’s important you get the images you want. 

If you ask the right questions, look at a lot of portfolio examples, and trust your gut – you won’t go wrong! 

And if you’re in the Bay Area and are looking for a documentary-style photographer with true-to-life editing and a great sense of humor – I know someone you should chat with. (It’s me – I’m the photographer you should contact!)