How To Choose Your Wedding Photographer
Inn on Peaks Sunset | Portland, ME
Inn on Peaks | Portland, ME
Choosing The Right Photographer
Hundreds Of Couples Told Us What Matters Most To Them
When we meet couples at wedding shows who are looking for a wedding photographer, we don’t jump in with “Pick us!” right away. In fact, we usually don’t start with us at all. The truth is, we might not be the right fit for that couple — and at Focus Photography, we really try to work only with couples we’re a genuine match for.
We’ve talked with wedding couples for almost twenty years about what matters to them, and I’m going to distill everything that people have told us into a one-page how-to article for you!
So let’s get started. What do other wedding couples say you actually need to learn, decide, or feel to find the photographer who is 100% the right match for you?
There’s a lot in this article (because there’s a lot that matters!), but if you don’t have the time, patience, or attention span, here’s the super-short version:
You need to Like, Trust, Believe, and Know to find your perfect photographer.
Like — You need to like their work, their style, their vision, their process, their personalities, and the products they deliver. If the photos don’t make your heart jump a little, keep looking.
Trust — You’re paying thousands of dollars up front for photos of a once-in-a-lifetime event. You need to trust that they won’t vanish, under-deliver, or miss the moments that matter. And you should know what happens if life throws a curveball—because sometimes it does.
Believe — Once you like them and trust them, you need to believe in their skills. The kind of skills that help you look and feel your best in front of the camera; communication skills that keep you informed, answered, and supported; and the experience to handle weddings like yours—plus whatever surprises might show up on the big day.
Know — Finally, the details. You need to know the costs, the deliverables, the timelines, the fine print, and any extra fees or contingencies. This is where clarity saves you from stress later.
And before we break this all down, here’s a quick note for Type A readers: at the end of this page, there’s a form where you can request a printable copy of this article for your binder or to use as a checklist; plus a list of the exact questions to ask when you interview photographers (including us).
–Will (and Lucia)
Grey Havens Inn | Georgetown, ME
Grey Havens Inn | Georgetown, ME
Things you need to like about your photographer
Every photographer has a different eye and a different rhythm. Look through full galleries and make sure their style, editing, and storytelling feel like something you’d proudly hang on your walls. Our images are bright and natural, and our lighting showcases our clients.
If you’d like to learn a little more about the 8 ways to describe pictures (Subject Interaction; Movement or Posed; Emotion; Artistry; Composition; Coloring; Tonality; Dimensional or Flat Lighting), we have a whole page about that.
I’m not talking about ‘this one time, at band camp’ stories – I’m talking about how they tell the story of a wedding day. This could be about the way the albums unfold, but many couples choose not to get albums, and so often is about how do the pictures unfold.
Are there gaps in the story-telling or whole sections of the day unphotographed? Some photographers won’t shoot the Cocktail Hour. What about Behind the scenes shots? Details of the day? Reaction shots as events happen?
Photographic stories are why you hire photographers. Make sure you like the way yours will be told, and that you’ll be able to relive every part of your wedding day in pictures.
Many photographers just offer digital files, and some don’t edit the images they deliver. Where does that leave you?
If you’d like to be able to give prints to your parents or wedding party; have an album; or hang a wall-print from your wedding day, your photographer provides (or doesn’t provide) all of that.
Here’s the thing – we’re not like florists, who just drop flowers off and leave. Wedding photographers are around you all day long, and can either relieve your stress, or add to it!
Don’t pay someone to annoy you – find a photographer who will help you enjoy your day.
People tend to interact with their wedding couples for at least 18 months, and often continue corresponding long afterwards.
If you’re waiting weeks to get replies right now, imagine how long it will take to hear from them in the middle of summer.
Dunegrass Golf Club | OOB, ME
Dunegrass Golf Club | Old Orchard Beach, ME
Trust – Feeling Confident about your photographer
Hiring a wedding photographer is more like having a dress custom-made for you, than buying a dress off the rack.
If you go to a bridal shop, they can let you try on many styles, and even though you’ll have to wait six months for them to order it, you have a good idea of what it will look like, and you know where the store is to try it on.
But if you have a dress made for you, you’ll pay the designer to create something you haven’t seen yet, and you can only hope you’ll love it when you see it.
You probably wouldn’t hire a designer you only met at a coffee shop, or who had never made a dress like the one you want, but had a really nice sewing machine.
That sounds harsh, and scary! Sorry to alarm you. But wedding forums are filled with couples who haven’t heard from their photographers in months, and now are scrambling to find a new one.
Some will never get their money back, simply because they can’t find anyone to complain to.
With all of your wedding vendors that you’re investing more than a few hundred dollars with, make sure they’re a real business, and that you can go to their store or offices if you’re unhappy. Don’t meet vendors at a coffee shop or only online.
Real businesses have real offices, studios, or warehouses with awards, tax-licenses, permits, and industry recognition on their walls. Photographers will have dozens of albums, and samples of every product they offer. Anyone whose business in on Facebook or Instagram only, may not be around next year.
As a wedding photographer, I find myself shooting engagement sessions and weddings, helping plan people’s days (for photography timelines), editing images, and putting together wedding albums and print orders. For us, that’s enough.
But there are many wedding photographers who will offer to take on additional roles, such as DJ, Officiant, Videographer, and Wedding Planner, and I’m not sure how they can do it all well.
You probably think I’m joking, but there at least six photographers in Maine who will photograph your wedding, while also officiating it and DJ’ing the reception.
There’s a few ways you can do this. First, make sure you get to look at complete weddings, and not just a highlight reel.
It’s easy to capture a few images in a day for an Instagram post, but another thing altogether to capture hundreds of images all day long to really tell your story. Photographers should be able to show you complete galleries from weddings similar to what you’re planning, so you’ll know what you’re really going to be getting.
There are a lot of booking services in the wedding world who will subcontract a photographer for your wedding. Some are photography companies who advertise in every state in the country, but there are also tux and dress shops that claim to have photographers, but then will try to sell your wedding to anyone willing to shoot it. In Maine and in Boston, some well known photographers will bring in ‘associate’ photographers to shoot additional weddings for them, and neither you nor they may know who that photographer will be, never mind how they’ll do.
Always state that you need to know who you’ll be working with, and that you only want to look at samples created by that photographer.
At our studio, we don’t have other shooters, so our owners Will and Lucia will always be the photographers at your event.
Fort Williams | Cape Elizabeth, ME
Inn by the Sea | Cape Elizabeth, ME
Belief
Believing that an artist you’ve hired can create the images you want is the central premise of wedding photography!
There’s a million great photographers who don’t know how to pose, light, and direct you to look amazing. The pictures they take of your wedding flowers and shoes may look incredible, but if you don’ t like the photos you’re in, you will not be happy with your wedding pictures, and it will sour how you feel about the whole day!
This is the mistake many brides make: believing that because a photographer’s portfolio is pretty, that they (the bride) will feel pretty when they’re in those pictures.
Ask for examples, and potential photographers will handle your concerns. ‘How can you make sure I don’t feel’…short; tall; skinny; fat, pasty-white; very dark; manly; frail; chesty; wrinkly; whatever. As humans, we all have our own concerns. Make sure your photographer has a plan to counter your concerns, and ask for photographs that support that they have the skills to help you look and feel your best!
Personalities are important on wedding days. You’ll be around your photographer for most of your wedding day, and they can either help you enjoy your day, or make it uncomfortable.
This is true for all genders, but particularly if you’re marrying a guy. Our gender doesn’t like being photographed, and can sometimes turn stone-like and unnatural in pictures. Photographers should have a plan, and a personality, to keep it fun.
There are a lot of fun rants on YouTube from couples that are horrified that the expensive photos they paid for don’t look as good as their guest’s iPhone pictures.
Photographers will tell you that iPhone cheats when it darkens the skies and boosts the light in people’s faces, and that the phone pictures will never look good enlarged (all probably true), but the challenge remains. Do they have the skill to capture blue skies and a white dress and natural skin tones on your wedding day, or will the sky be white in your photos, your dress yellow or green, and your skin ashen or yellow?
Most of us who are photographers have strong opinions about what we do. We think our way is the best way to pose, arrange, light, schedule, plan, etcetera, and that certainty comes from years of experience and being good at our jobs.
But your wedding is your wedding.
Make sure your voice is heard, and that what matters to you, matters to your photographer.
Wedding photography is a gift you give yourself. You don’t need it to get married – you choose to have your day recorded so you can remember it for all your life.
Make sure it’s a gift that you can’t wait to open.
Fore Street - Portland, ME
I love the little girl eating an ice cream sandwich in the background. Wharf Street | Portland, ME
Knowing All The Details
Knowing all of the policies, costs, and contractual items now can help you avoid any unpleasant surprises from your photographers later.
Wedding photography can be priced in a lot of different ways. When budgeting for a photographer, it’s important to know what upgrades you might be purchasing, and what additional charges you’ll be expected to pay.
Will you have to pay for printable files? Edits and retouching? Additional time? Travel Fees?
Some photographers want everything in cash, and others will let you put your wedding on a credit card that gives you miles. Can you make incremental payments, or do you need to pay it all at once?
This is less about your photographers, and more about how you value photography. But when you talk with teams, ask them what the benefits of the second, third, or fourth photographer is, and decide if it’s right for you.
This isn’t a morbid question – things happen. Backup plans matter. Collisions, Covid, and Calamity are all real. How will your photographer handle it, and how have they handled it in the past.
It’s an oddly specific question, right? But this one happened to me, and every photographer I know has had a camera break on the job.
How will it affect you, and will you lose pictures from the rest of the day?
Every photographer has their own policies about this. Before there’s an incident, or someone gets scolded, you should know how this will be handled.
I don’t want to be the voice of doom, but statistically it rains on 1/4 of all wedding days. You should know how your photographer will handle that.
Will the price you pay now include prints, galleries, retouching, albums, slideshows, or future photo sessions?
You’re probably reading this 12 months before your wedding, and you don’t really care about when the photos will be ready.
But you will…
Because after the wedding, everyone you know is going to ask you about them. Here’s what you need to know: will you get a handful of favorite images right away to share? When will all your images be ready? When will you be able to print pictures? When can you show your grandmother?
Back in the film days, we would send our rolls to a lab, and they would develop the film and make proof prints or contact sheets, and our clients would choose their favorite images. Those were good days, when all the work was done by our labs and our clients.
As photographers went digital, we started capturing more images, and weeding out those that had eyes shut or bad expressions. Some of us started spending a lot of time (often weeks) editing images to ensure the files we gave to you matched our standards, and the price for wedding photography increased to cover the additional editing time.
But now there are dozens of AI programs that will cull end edit wedding pictures, and photographers are automating this part of the job. You should decide if you want a robot picking the pictures you see, and editing how you look.
Before you make your final decision, get a look at a sample contract, and ask about all of the rules.
They say that past performance is the best indicator of your happiness. Ask to see reviews on wedding sites like The Knot, Wedding Wire, as well as Google and Facebook.
This is a great question to ask any wedding vendor. Do they have a guarantee? Are you just out of luck. Have they ever had an unhappy client before, and if so, how did they handle it?
First Look at Sugarloaf Mt
Sugarloaf Mountain
Get The Printable Files
If anything in this article was helpful to you, get a printable copy of it for your binder or to use as a checklist, by entering your email below.
There’s no hoops to jump through, or second questions or emails, our website will send an email with your files straight away.
You’ll also get a list of questions to ask photographers when you interview us. The best way to learn how photographers will react on your wedding day is to ask us about it!