What Kind Of Photographer Is Best For YOUR Wedding?
This is a question I sometimes get from couples and it’s honestly a pretty deep question. What kind of photographer is best for your wedding? Now most people probably think that there is only one kind of photographer… The person that picks up a camera, takes a picture, and emails you the final product. But, there is so much more to it. There’s so many different styles and types of photography. In this blog I’d like to explain to you a little bit of my background, as well as what I mean by what kind of Photographer is best for your wedding.
How Photography Started For Me
For me, photography started becoming very important in my life when I lived in Haiti. 99% of Americans will never experience what life is like in a Third World country. Haiti is less than a two hour flight from Florida, yet is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. So when I decided to move there with my wife, it seem like the perfect opportunity to share our experiences while living there.
At first I was just posting pictures from the orphanage that we worked at, and low resolution iPhone 3 photos. I was getting a lot of really positive feedback from the photos that I was posting on Facebook and Instagram and I realized that I needed to step up my game. I didn’t want to just share random photos from my own life. I wanted to be able to use the photos to tell stories.
Fortunately my wife is a really good writer, and we made a great team bringing those stories to life through her blogs and my photos. I learned the power of storytelling through my time down there. I began to use this passion of photography and storytelling to help other organizations to further their work in Haiti. I helped to tell the stories of businesses and the tourism industry.
In a way, I was helping to tell the story of northern Haiti.
When I Moved Back To America
When I move back to America, I wasn’t able to use the same platform to tell the stories of people struggling or of the growing tourism industry. But I did find that I could work with couples to tell the STORY of their LOVE.
So I built my new photography business around telling the stories of these couples. I wanted to experience life with them. I wanted to go on adventures with them. I wanted to capture the raw emotion that comes between two people who are madly in love.
These are the stories that began to excite me and bring me so much joy.
Photography In General, Believe It Or Not, Has A Lot Of Different Types Of Photographers.
A few examples would be: documentary photographers, portrait photographers, wedding photographers, sports photographers, travel photographers, humanitarian photographers, landscape and wildlife photographers, lifestyle photographers, and so many more beyond this.
With there being so many different types of photographers out there, how do you ensure that you were getting the best photographer for your wedding.
Ask yourself the question, can a landscape and wildlife photographer take my wedding photos? Can a humanitarian photographer take my wedding photos? Can a portrait photographer take my wedding photos? The answer to this question is… yes, of course they can. Any photographer can take wedding photos, but the bigger question is… are they going to be the BEST photographer for you? Really, what kind of photographer is best for your wedding?
Here’s what I mean, with all of these different kinds of photographers, it take a lot of skill to master that particular type of photography. It takes a lot of skill to be a good sports photographer. It takes a lot of skill and very specialized camera equipment to capture beautiful wildlife photos, and in the same way, it takes a lot of skill to be able to capture beautiful wedding photos.
Wedding Photography is all about storytelling. It is all about capturing the memories just as you have them in your head. It’s about bringing to life the emotion that you have with your new husband or wife.
I Recommend All Couples Consider Something For A Second.
When you’re looking for the right type of photographer for your big day, be sure to ask one question… how many weddings have they shot? This is a really important question. If you are someone who is making photography a priority for their relationship and especially their wedding day, then this is a question you NEED to ask.
If you are looking for a budget photographer who is going to shoot your wedding for $500, then maybe you should read my blog about Is Wedding Photography Worth It?
But if wedding photos are very important to you, have the confidence to ask how many weddings a photographer has shot. If the photographer can tell you that they’ve shot at least 25 weddings, then you know they may have the experience and the skill to take care of you.
I say “may” have the experience and skill to take care of you, but that does not guarantee that just any photographer will be the best fit for you and your fiancé.
So How Do You Know If This Photographer Is Best For YOUR Wedding?
Here are three ways that you can ensure that you have found a the right photographer for you:
1. How is your Experience with this photographer? Have they made you feel welcomed, have they offered to speak with you face to face, or do they hold the same personal values as you?
2. How is their Style? Can you see yourself in their images? Do their photos “speak” to you?
3. Is the photographer shooting weddings Full-Time? This is an important question because you want a photographer that is going to give you all of their attention. You not only want beautiful photos taken with professional equipment, but you want your photos back in a timely fashion! (You should never have to wait for several months to get your photos back! I typically get wedding photos back to you within 1-2 weeks.
There is a lot that goes into wedding planning and finding if the a photographer is best for your wedding!
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to reach out and we can talk more to see if I am the RIGHT Photographer for your Wedding Day.
