How We Chose Our Wedding Photographer

Obviously photography was a biggie for us! I’ve been thinking about that for as long as we’ve been in business. It’s also the number one question we get asked.

I can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard “Are you going to shoot your own wedding? HA.” It gets old. 

But seriously, this is a big deal. And not just because we’re wedding photographers! It’s because these photos are basically the only thing that are leftover from our wedding day. 

These are the things we tell clients all the time, but I find myself repeating the same things just to keep it top of mind. It’s important! 

I think the absolute number one thing to consider for choosing your photographer is style. Both shooting style and photo style. 

When it comes to photo or editing style…

These two things are maybe a new thing you haven’t considered. Back in the day, this might not even have been something you’d think about when comparing photographers. 

But it’s 2019, and there are about a million ways for a digital photo to be edited. 

Just like yesterday, I’m not trying to throw any shade at any other photography style. But I would implore you to think ahead when considering choosing a style that is trendy. 

Honestly who knows how your grandkids will even view photos in the way future. But consider even 10 years in the future. 

Remember photos from the 2000s? Those wacky angles and vignetting and weird poses? Those didn’t exactly age well. But they were trendy! 

How did we look at it?

The style is an easy one for us. There are so many photographers whose photo styles we’re into. And it might go without saying, but we are really keen on our own photo style. So a good balance of timelessness, true to life, and film tones were a must for us. 

But there’s also shooting style, which most couples are probably not familiar with.

What I mean by that is the way and the level in which a wedding photographer inserts themselves into the day. It can be the balance between candid moments and posing systems. I think this also means the level of involvement a photographer has leading up to the wedding day too. 

This was hands down the most important thing to me. Like I said yesterday when talking about engagement sessions, it was imperative that our photographer had a (pretty involved) posing system. A hands on photographer was a necessity from the start.

Obviously, the veil has already kind of lifted for us.

And maybe lifted to a fault, because there’s almost no way I can be 100% normal or natural in front of the camera. My mind is just running through too many things for it to be casual.

For that reason, we needed a photographer that had a posing system. And we needed a photographer that we could relate to and let our guard down around.

I could not be more grateful for the way Paige came into our lives. But the way AJ and I befriended her (super casually, amirite?) really sealed the deal for me.

The most important thing I think is that you not only vibe with, but are friends with your photographer. You have to be comfortable enough with the person behind the camera in order to feel comfortable in front of the camera yourself.

Also, your wedding photographer is literally going to be following you around almost all day on your wedding day. Surprise! So you really need to like this person and enjoy spending time around them.

I think one of the reasons our engagement photos are so genuine and so us is because we felt comfortable with Paige. Also because one, Paige is talented and can evoke that response on her own. But two, we feel comfortable enough to let our guard down around her!

So the way we were introduced to her shooting style, and the way we know so much about her process already made it a no brainer to choose Paige.

To me, it was super important that AJ and I both felt comfortable with our photographer. In our business we try really hard to bond with both halves of our couple!

The experience for both of them is really important, thus it was really important to us that both halves of us were happy. 

So to be fair to my sweet groom AJ, I asked him what was important to him in a photographer. After all, he did seek out and chose Paige to shoot our proposal!

He said he was looking for a consistent, clean style. A strong track record and positive reviews were a must. 

He wanted someone who we would feel comfortable hanging out with. It was important that they didn’t feel like just a vendor, but someone that we really trusted.

He wanted a style that is equal parts artistic and editorial, candid and photojournalistic. It’s the artistic slices of life that can really progress and tell a story. We didn’t want just plain portraits and documentation of our ceremony, we want the feel of the day to be conveyed in photos.

Obviously, this was a difficult decision for us.

Like I said, some things were a no brainer, but overall it’s a super important decision! This choice will be how we remember our wedding day for the rest of our lives. We didn’t take that lightly.

It’s been eyeopening to have all of this insight into the wedding planning world, but especially this aspect. I can really understand what our couples go through when choosing a photographer. It can be hard trying to find someone who you can equally depend on and also get along with.

Also, I can really appreciate our couples just on their own so much more! These people are putting our trust in us like we’re putting ours in Paige. It really does means the world. I try to thank our couples as much as I can, but here’s one more big thank you, luv u, y’all are the best !

Sooo guess what’s happening tonight??

Paige and I are teaming up and going live! We’ll be talking all things wedding photography – and specifically engagement sessions!

We’ll be live here at 6:45 pm CST tonight! 

So pull up a chair, grab a drink, and join us for happy hour! We’ll be answering your questions and chatting as both business besties and now bride + vendor! I can’t wait to see you there!

P.S., if you have any questions for us, you can DM me on instagram, or leave a comment below!