Your wedding day is undoubtedly one of the most significant moments in your life, and I’m positive that you want to capture every beautiful detail and every emotion. Choosing your perfect wedding photographer is crucial to ensure that your memories are preserved for years to come in a way that reflects your style and personality.

If you’ve found this blog chances are you’re early in your wedding planning journey and looking for advice on, well, all the things. No worries, I’m here to help! As a professional Mississippi Wedding Photographer for the past 13 years, I’ve learned a thing or two in the industry so I’d love to help you along the way to find your perfect vendors. In this guide, together, we’ll walk through the essential steps to help you select the perfect wedding photographer for your special day.

Here’s a list of things I suggest to help you figure out who is the perfect wedding photographer for your big day!

1. Define Your Perfect Wedding Photographer’s Style

Before you start your search for the perfect wedding photographer, take some time to define your preferred photography style. Think about what catches your eye when you’re scrolling on social media. Is it the perfectly posed curated moments or the photojournalistic look? Wedding photography, in general, can range from traditional and classic stylistically, to modern and artistic with more trendy elements. A good way to narrow this down is to consider whether you prefer candid shots, posed portraits, or a mix of both. You can also further narrow down your options by thinking about what editing style you prefer. As artists, photographers all have unique editing styles, and generally, a professional photographer is consistent in their portfolio style-wise.

To name a few, there are photographers out there that have a dark and moody vibe, an Earthy toned vibe, a super light and airy look, bold and colorful, or something like mine, a light filled, bright but colorful style. Determining what your preferred style is will help you narrow down your options so much before you even get started!

Example of harsher lighting in rustic luxury venue maintaining my style of photography.

2. Research, Research, Research…(then research some more)

This part is vital. We live in a digital world where so many start up a business online and start booking weddings with little experience. It is imperative to start by conducting thorough research. Ask friends and family for recommendations, browse online portfolios, and read reviews.  In reviews, pay special attention to things mentioned like communication with the photographer, quality of work, ease of working with them, personality, and general skill. Check out the photographer’s website and really read it all. A good professional photographer will have a website that leads you through the process and helps you see what you could expect working with them. It should be easy to flow through their website and find the info you need while giving you a general feel for them and their personality.

Wedding planning websites, social media platforms, and local wedding magazines, like Mississippi Magazine, for example, are excellent resources for finding potential photographers. Create a shortlist of photographers whose work resonates with your vision. This will be your springboard for who you want to contact moving forward.

Additional examples of my work style for reference. Some refer to this style and light and airy, however, my work typically is bright and shows more true color than a true L&A artist.

3. Set a Budget

This is probably where most brides get most stressed out in finding vendors. It’s important to determine your photography budget early in the planning process. I get it, budgets are HARD and weddings are expensive, even just photography alone is expensive. Try to think about what your priorities are in your wedding and allocate a larger budget to those areas. Try to keep in mind as that wedding photography encompasses not only the photographer’s fees but also the cost of prints, albums, and any additional services you may want. Wedding photographers spend roughly 40-60 hours on just ONE wedding, not counting drive time or education to enhance their craft so it definitely isn’t a click and done job.

You can find more thorough advice for setting a budget specific to photography here. For now, to keep it simple, be realistic about what you can comfortably afford, find vendors within that range, and prioritize quality over quantity. If you can make cuts somewhere else to get a more high quality photographer, that’s great! However, I do NOT EVER recommend going into debt for your wedding. Some vendors, (like me!) offer reasonable retainer fees and installment payments for the total so you can get the photography you want without forking over a huge sum at once.

4. Schedule Interviews

Once you have a shortlist of potential photographers, schedule interviews or consultations with them. These meetings are an excellent opportunity to get to know the photographers personally, see how they run their business and what their offerings are, discuss your expectations, and see if your personalities mesh well. It’s essential to feel comfortable with your photographer, as they will be with you throughout your wedding planning process and pretty much all day long on your wedding day.

Some of these meetings may be a phone call, a video chat, or even an in-person meeting if that’s what you prefer. Each photographer likes to do business a different way when it comes to this. This is a crucial step though where you will get most of your questions answered, find out about their process and decide if you are a good fit for each other. Not every photographer is the right photographer for YOU and that’s ok! I know I love doing consultations because it is essential to me to feel like we get along well and are supposed to be working together. I value a personal client experience so these meetings really help me as much as they do you. Not sure what to ask in the interview? Keep reading…

Example of various lighting situations at ONE wedding showing natural even light vs. flash photography at the reception. On these images, we prioritized skin tones to be accurate regardless of lighting.