When I started wedding planning, I had no clue what "normal" was in the wedding photography industry – I didn't know what to look for in a portfolio, I didn't know how much I should expect to pay, I didn't know where to look to find someone. So I spent more than I thought I should, went with someone my sister-in-law knew, and still ended up with a relatively inexperienced photographer who didn't quite capture everything I was hoping she would. Because of that experience, I really REALLY don't want you guys to make the same mistakes. I want you to know how to do your own research! Below, you'll find my best guidance for how to research and select a photographer for your wedding day.

Determine Your Budget

Your wedding photography budget will ultimately depend on what you need and how much of a priority the photos are to you! But there are definitely tiers of pricing in the wedding photography world, and it's important that you're aware of them. Scroll through to learn about different pricing tiers in the wedding photo world, and what to expect from a photographer charging that much.

FULL TIME WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS

$2000-$4000


This photographer is in the professional world. They should know how to shoot in all the different lighting situations they will come up against, are experienced posing and directing both couples and large extended families, and have enough experience on wedding days to help you prepare for yours. They're high enough in demand that they can start to raise their prices, take fewer clients, and focus more on the experience for the clients they have. As they're getting more established, their work is usually getting pretty consistent and you'll be able to see what you'll get at your own wedding as you look through their portfolio. They can consistently create good work, know how to handle difficult lighting situations, and are beginning to develop client resources from their own experience. They know how to be assertive with large groups of probably-not-sober groomsmen and how to capture genuine emotion and creative work along with traditional or journalistic photos.

ESTABLISHED INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS

$4000-$8000


These are well-established, full-time wedding photographers. They are in demand because of their style and experience, and tend to be industry leaders in the wedding photography world. You'll be able to see a solid, consistent style across their work, and their business structure will be priced so that they can hone in on their individual clients experiences. They will have a variety of client resources and likely have products included in their pricing or otherwise available for you. You can count on them to create beautiful work even in difficult lighting, and trust them because you know that they know exactly what they're doing and how to help you look your best and your most yourself. They will have set and established philosophies related to show they shoot, edit, and work with clients.

LUXURY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS

$8K-20K+


These photographers usually have a style that's high in demand and have luxury offerings as part of their packages (whether that's prints, albums, client gifts, or other services or products.) They have experience handling high profile events and set systems in place to make sure their work is consistently incredible, every time.

RED FLAGS

$0-$1000


It IS possible to find a wedding photographers for less than $1000, but they will be just starting their wedding photography journey. They likely have never photographed — or even been to — a wedding, and will not be comfortable shooting in difficult lighting, confidently directing you and your family during pictures, or charging you. (If they aren't comfortable charging you, it's because they aren't confident that they can deliver a quality product.) There's a good chance they won't even have a contract, which is always a red flag. (Contracts protect both the photographer and the client!) I strongly recommend against going with a photographer at this point in their career, unless you weren't planning on getting any photos at all or have them paired with an experienced photographer. They may be better than nothing, but they will probably leave you wishing you had prioritized your photographer more.

BEGINNERS

$1000-$1500


This photographer can be the most risky, for two reasons. The first is that you may feel like you're investing a significant amount, and expect professional results — $1500 can feel like a lot of money to many couples! But it's still on the low end of wedding photography. The second reason this photographer is particularly risky is because they likely have experience with photography... just not much with weddings. Their pictures are probably fine, especially in easy lighting situations (like outdoors at sunset) but they may not be very experienced with how a wedding day works or how to be assertive enough to help you get the photos you need. They also may not be confident shooting in harder lighting conditions – outdoors at noon, inside dark venues, anytime after the sun goes down. This photographer may have shot weddings or two, but they're still working out a lot of the kinks. They have a portfolio, but a lot of it wasn't actually taken as the lead photographer at a wedding – it may have been taken while they were shooting with another photographer or may have been from a styled shoot.

my wedding collections begin at $2300, with most of my couples spending around $3000

Research Wedding Photography Styles

Every couple is unique — and I firmly believe there's a perfect wedding photographer for every couple. In the wedding photography world, there are different ways to photograph weddings, and different ways to edit weddings. It's really important that you know what you like so that you can identify it in the photographers you look at! Pay attention to both their editing style and their photographing style. Below are some common words photographers use to describe their work!

EDITING STYLES

Light and Airy

Dark and Moody

Warm

Cool

True to Life

Black and White

Vibrant

SHOOTING STYLES

Documentary

Photojournalistic

Editorial

Natural Light

Fine Art

Flash

Traditional

Some questions to ask yourself as you look at different photography styles:


-Do I like the colors and overall style?

-Do the images seem washed out or oversaturated?

-Are the skin tones realistic or do they seem off?

-Are the greens green? Or are they more gray or brown or yellow? Do I like that?

-Will I like this editing style in the future? or is it something that is a little too trendy and will seem out of date in the future?

-Are the pictures too dark or too bright?

-How does the photographer tell the story?

-Does their storytelling style match what I want from my wedding?


I recommend spending time researching each of these styles and seeing what your favorites are, and then researching photographers after you've gotten an idea of what's out there + what you like. If you like my work, you're probably looking for a more traditional wedding photographer who edits true to life and vibrantly.


You can see some of my photography below ↓


What else should I look for in a wedding photographer?


EXPERIENCE WITH LIGHTING

Photographers will show off their best photos – which are often golden hour, outdoor portraits – whenever they have the opportunity. But wedding days aren't just sunset shoots, they're an all day event. Your photographer needs to be able to handle all of the different lighting situations that could be thrown at them. Ask to see examples of different lighting situations: dark, indoor receptions, rainy ceremonies, photos taken outdoors in the middle of the day. Ask them about their comfort level with each of those too!

PERSONALITY

While you're choosing a photographer, I highly recommend meeting them in person or at least over the phone before you officially book. You'll be spending more time with them on wedding day than any of your other wedding vendors — You want someone you click with, someone you can be comfortable around, someone who makes you feel confident, and someone who helps you have a good time! Another way to see how well you fit together is to book an engagement shoot with the photographer you're thinking about for your wedding. This will give you the chance to see them in action and give you a taste of what you can expect from them on your wedding day

wondering if our personalities are a match? click below to learn a bit more about me!

SAMPLE GALLERIES

While Instagram is a good place to start looking for your wedding photographer, it’s critical to check out some sample galleries before you make a final decision. A full gallery will give you a much better idea of what you can expect them to deliver to you than their instagram feed – which will only ever have their very best images – will. It can also give you a better idea of their level of experience. If a photographer only has partial galleries, it means that they haven't shot a full wedding yet, or not one that they're proud of. They may not be as confident being the lead photographer, as they're likely still inexperienced.

some of my recent weddings

Some questions to think about while exploring galleries:


  • How many photos am I receiving?
  • What are their strengths? Candids? Getting ready pics? Bride and groom portraits? Family pictures? Styled details? The reception? Which of those is my priority?
  • Are the images sharp and in focus? or are they mostly soft focus? Does this matter to you?
  • Does the gallery look consistent + cohesive?
  • Has this photographer shot at a venue like mine before?
  • How does the photographer handle different lighting situations? Do the photos at the reception or indoors look good too? Or just the ones outside at sunset?
  • Do the couples and their families look natural in the posed shots? Or do they seem awkward and uncomfortable?
  • Do the couples look happy and comfortable?
  • Are there any obvious issues that you feel the photographer should be editing out before delivering photos? Acne, telephone polls, stains on dresses? Some photographers edit everything, others do minimal touch ups – both have their perks, but make sure you know what to expect before you commit!
  • Can you see your personality in their images? Do the photos look laid back and candid? Or dramatic and posed?
  • Is there variety between the different galleries you look at? Can you see the different personalities of the couples? Or does everything look cookie cutter?

Where do we find a wedding photographer???


Now that I'm a photographer myself, I know exactly where to look for one – but back when I was getting married, I had no clue! I asked the people I knew, and that was about all I knew how to do. Here are a few more resources for where you can start looking:


Instagram:

it's common practice in the wedding photography world to change your name on your business page to

"[location] wedding photographer" so that you can easily look them up. So if I lived in Alabama, I could search "Alabama Wedding Photographer" or "Huntsville Wedding Photographer" and either go profile by profile or check out the tags and see if there are any pictures that are what I'm looking for. And once you find a photographer, you can also search through the people they follow for "photographer" or "florist" or for other vendors, because they really work hard to build good connections in the industry. You can also find local wedding photographers by finding another wedding vendor on instagram, and going through the photos they've been tagged in — many of them will be from wedding photographers!


Check out my instagram below, and feel free to follow along! ↓

Wedding Vendors:

Your venue or planner may have preferred wedding photographers that they can suggest to you! You can also ask your florist, baker, dress shop, or other vendor for suggestions. They have likely been in the industry long enough that they've worked with a few photographers that they can recommend! If your venue or planner has a preferred vendor list, make sure to ask them how vendors got on that list — you want people they have worked with and had good experiences, not just anyone willing to pay them to be on the list.


Bridal Magazines:

In Alabama, Southern Bride and Alabama Weddings magazines are the ones I would think of first. Anywhere you're seeing beautiful images of weddings, there's a photographer behind that. And these magazines will be crediting those photographers – they may even have an "official ______ magazine photographer" list that you can look through to get you started.


Facebook:

Facebook has a ton of photographer groups. I recommend finding one for your location and posting that you're looking for a wedding photographer – let them know your budget and location and include a picture of the two of you, and you will probably get more messages and comments than you know what to do with from photographers who would love to work with you! Feel free to message me if you want some help with facebook groups to start with.


Friends + Family:

While I don't recommend just having your mom pick someone out, friends and family often have recommendations and real life experience with photographers. Look through their pictures, ask who they went with and if they regretted it, and do your own research on whether their recommendations would be a good fit for you!

Final Tip: Do a Test Run!


My final (and best!) tip for choosing your wedding photographer is to do a test run: hire your potential wedding photographer to do your engagement photos. I mentioned this above, in the "personality" section, but it's worth repeating. Having them take your engagement photos is the absolute best way to know if they will be a good fit for you. You'll get experience with their client experience (How quickly do they respond when you message them? How do you get along? Do they make you feel comfortable, confident, and relaxed? Do their photos match their portfolio?) and learn pretty much everything you need to know about how they'll be as a wedding photographer. Plus, you'll have engagement photos that go with your wedding photos, which is always a win!

Hopefully this guide gave you some helpful guidance for how to find a wedding photographer! If you have any other questions for me (or are looking for a wedding photographer in Alabama!) I'd love to get in touch. Reach out to me through the contact form at the bottom of this page, and I'll get back to you within 48 hours!

MEET SARAH

 

 

Alabama & Southeastern Wedding Photographer

Inspired by genealogy and family legacy, I go into every wedding day with the knowledge that your wedding photos are some of the only photos that stick around generationally — they are a critical part of the story your family will learn about you! I consider it my responsibility and privilege to help tell that story honestly and elegantly.


You should probably know: I will cry during your dad's speech. I will be getting down on the dance floor with your guests. I'll help you plan intentional time with your partner and closest friends and family on your wedding day — and step back so that you can experience those core memories without interruption. I'll guide you through portraits and wedding prep, work closely with your other vendors to make the magic happen, and capture every moment of your wedding day in all its glory.


If that's the kind of wedding photographer you're looking for...


You're in the right place.

VISIT WEBSITE

INQUIRE


Whether you’re getting married in Huntsville, North Alabama, or elsewhere in the southeast, I would love to be part of your wedding day! 


The best way to reach me is by either filling out this contact form, or sending an e-mail to sarahmismashphotography@gmail.com with your wedding date and location. If you’ve filled out the form and haven’t heard from me in 48 hours, please email me directly!

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