Wedding Photographers – A mini guide to choosing the best frame freezers

Weddings – the word can trigger a thousand emotions and memories and make us look back on all those special events in our life. Browsing through images on the laptop, we find those stills where we looked chuffed at our best friend’s wedding or tearful while the couple read their vows. We often cling to those pictures like our most prized possession and more often wish we had made a little bit more effort on finding the right apparel, jewellery, hairdresser even the right photographer.

Finding a wedding photographer can be a really tedious task as we shift through lots of photographer profiles trying to guess if this person will capture our event as we’ve dreamt of it. I remember choosing a mainstream fashion magazine photographer recently for my friend’s wedding, so sure that the shots will be fantastic. To my horror the lighting was bad, the angles were wrong and he took more photos of props than of the bridal party. I am still pleading guilty for encouraging my friend to go for him, who had to collect a lot of pictures from the guests and edit them personally for her wedding album. This post is a dedication to that friend and a precaution to the ‘would be’ brides.

Moral of the story – hire people who know their trade. By trade I do not mean photography. Photographers who are good should have in depth experience and knowledge of capturing wedding shots. Every event and its requirements are different, so should the skill set and experience of the photographer.  Capturing speakers at a conference is very different to capturing models, both of which are very different to capturing a bride. Do no spontaneously hire a friend of friend who captures media events or parties and can give you a discounted rate.

Experienced wedding photographers are those who understand the importance of the biggest day of your life and capture natural shots without being obstructive. These natural moments make some of the most beautiful moments as stills.  They are aware of the angles that can make a bride look curvy instead of chubby and delicate instead of skinny. Professional makeup also needs the right light to be captured correctly on stills. Hampshire based wedding photographers Moore & More have some very insightful tips on understanding your face shape which can be very important when deciding on the hairstyle. I also went through their wedding portfolio and was gobsmacked by their photographs. The wedding photography shots were surprisingly very natural, the angles were modern yet dreamy and the editing was just right.

Choose wisely and make sure your wedding photographer is thrilled when you describe the ceremony. The only sure-fire way to selecting the best wedding photographer is to make sure they love what they do. Keep them involved with the wedding party, introduce them to the near and dear ones to ensure all the right people are captured at those funny emotional moments. The photographer is the bride/grooms entourage and should be treated like one to ensure the best is delivered.  

If you are planning your wedding this year, be it a Summer or Winter wedding – ensure you plan ahead, smart and strategically. Spending more money on products or services will not guarantee flawless results. Research is key and browsing wedding photographers, hairstylists, make-up artists and caterer’s work is the only way to ensure a smooth execution. Overall, it’s important to ensure that they love weddings as much as you do. Have a chat with your photographer about your wedding theme, your make-up, hair and give them some inspirational pictures to work with. Show them a magazine image, a fashion show or a movie whose wedding you want to emulate.