three questions to ask yourself before booking a wedding photographer
What style of photographer do you want at your wedding? Two distinctive photographer approaches that are particularly buzzy right now are editorial and documentary. These styles are by no means new, but with Instagram and TikTok they have become key words to identifying how a photographer may show up on your day.
An editorial photographer is a bit more stylized, think editorial spread in vogue. The photos may look either very posed or very unposed, but reality is there was a lot of intention to the setup. These photos can be absolutely stunning and so creative. It also means there may be more time invested in taking portraits or detail photos throughout the day. The emphasis in editorial is on direction of the subjects to dictate the end result.
Documentary photography is more about observation than direction. While documentary photographers take portraits and detail photos in addition to capturing candids, they are less likely to interrupt the activities to catch the most stylized photo. A documentary approach views the day as the art itself and wants to capture it as it’s viewed but in the best way possible.
There is no right way to photograph a wedding, but this is a good starting place to determine how you want the photos to look, but perhaps more importantly how you want to interact with your photographer on the wedding day.
What approach to editing do you like best? This is another “there’s no right way” but it is an important consideration. Look at Pinterest or Instagram and see what colors draw you in. Do you like warm tones like every hour is golden hour? Do you like images that look true to life? Do you like photos that are super close-cropped to the subject? Are you drawn to images with lots of background? Do you care about color vs. black and white photos? You can love a photographer and the photos they take, but dislike their editing style. Or alternatively, love how they capture colors but not vibe with another element of their approach. It’s important to know editing is as much a part of the final package as the pictures taken and you should love both! Ask to see full galleries when you inquire with a photographer to gather a sense of the final deliverable.
What vibe of a photographer would suit you best on your wedding? Do you want to work with someone who is organized, timely, and professional (yes, duh). But what else? How do you vibe with them as a person? Read reviews of photographers! This is a HUGE insight into how someone operates on a wedding day. Most people don’t realize before a wedding how much time a couple spends with the photographer at their wedding. Therefore you need to like them as well as liking their photos! You can learn so much not only about how they are during the wedding, but also before and after. Is the photographer communicative? Were they timely? Professional? Kind? Based on the reviews, is this someone you would want at an important celebration and someone who is smack in the middle of the whole day?
For context, I describe myself as a documentary-style photographer who edits true-to-life. I care more about you living in your wedding day than me directing how it should go. I don’t want your wedding to feel like a photo session. I want it to feel like your ideal celebration, while I capture how it plays out. I still take your portraits, details, ceremony, and you! I aim to tell the story of your day as it unfolds and include images in your gallery that are sweet, silly, and emotional. Emotions and the individuality of your day are of the utmost importance to me. You can anticipate a mix of black & white images, and timeless color photos that reflect the true colors of your. I adore the people I work with and feel lucky that they feel the same way about me. Here’s what a handful of them have said about working with me: Rollins Studio Reviews
