How to choose a wedding photographer

A couple faced with choosing a wedding photographer enters a world which should be fun but rapidly becomes daunting. Every photographer they visit shows them a majestic leather bound tome in which the perfect couple looks stunning. With nothing to distinguish one photographer from another, the couple asks the photographer if the photographer is discrete and into candid photography because they hate posing. “Of course”, each photographer responds. So without staging a wedding rehearsal to test each photographer ,how do you choose a wedding photographer? On price?

I think the main question to ask yourself is do you want fairytale photography or photojournalism? The former focuses on the material symbols of weddings such as the couple as an ideal unit, the rings, the bridal party and  the dress whilst the latter is about candor, images not necessarily technically perfect but capturing the wedding as it actually was. 

A fairytale photographer might criticise the photojournalist as being all substance with no style whilst the photojournalist might criticise the fairytale photographer for being all style and no substance.

A great example of a fairytale wedding photographer is Yevant, a brilliant Melbourne based wedding photographer. In my view, the following photo by Yervant (www.yervant.com) is stunning. The lighting is intriguing, the composition  classic and the use of the building to frame the couple perfect. Interestingly, the groom's face is partially hidden and this is most likely because males are generally far more awkward than females about posing so the photographic compositional trick is to 'bury' them. The female in this portrait also has her eyes shut - possibly in rapture or is it because Yevant wanted to avoid the wariness that is often found in normal (i.e. not a professional model) peoples' eyes when they are asked to pose?

However, as a wedding photographer  I don’t aspire to take this type of photo because it is a posed image and does not focus on what I consider to be the most important quality of my photography which is capturing tenderness.

A great example of a wedding photojournalism is the renowned English photographer Jeff Ascough (www.jeffascough.com) whose photo is below. 

With  photojournalism wedding photography, the couple may not look deeply into the camera, there may not be perfect lighting but the photo is unmistakably that of a wedding and chances are the couple will remember how they felt at the time when they see the photo.  My only criticism of this photo, based on the groom’s grin, is that he has either been asked by the photographer to pose, or knows the photographer is there. Like Yervant's photo, the couples' eyes are shut.

I personally prefer wedding photojournalism to fairytale photography because for me, the photo’s worth is less dependent on the material surrounds and therefore is more humanistic. 

My wedding photography style is a variant on photojournalism in that I am endeavouring to capture a wedding by photographing the unique emotions present on the day, those which can never be repeated. The following photos for me exemplify my photography.




In the first image, the surrounds aren’t opulent but the mood is overwhelmingly tender - a father is farewelling his son as a single man and the son is deeply grateful for everything his father has done.

In the second image, the image is posed but has an intimate feel and uses soft afternoon light.

So perhaps there are as many types of wedding photographers as there are reasons for marrying and you may need to understand why you are marrying in order to work out which photographer will meet your expectations.

Once you have decided what style of photography you want, make sure you are happy with how the  photographer responds to the following questions before you engage him or her.

Will you be the photographer on the day? Some studios may outsource photography and this may be disconcerting if the first time you meet the photographer is on your wedding day.

When will my wedding album be ready? Some studios only want to focus on signing up clients and taking photos in the ‘wedding season’, preferring to prepare albums in the quieter winter months so if you don’t want to wait six months, ask the studio to commit to a delivery time that meets your expectations.

When will my wedding photos be viewable on line? For friends and loved ones overseas, they want to see your photos sooner than later and anything more than three days may be too long for you.