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What To Tell Your Wedding Photographer

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The reality is come your wedding day you’ll spend more time with your photographer than the person you’re marrying! Their images will be your forever memory of the day. You want it to be the right fit. We sat down with Binita Patel from Binita Patel Photography to understand what to tell your wedding photographer to make sure it’s the right fit.

If you’re on the go you can watch our full conversation here.

Narrow Down Your Options

Generally, we have many couples that do photography research and end up with a list of 100 candidates. We suggest not sending out a mass message to every single candidate asking the generic questions of their availability and pricing. You want to build a team that you trust and that you feel comfortable with. Take a moment to narrow your list down to at most 5 candidates that you absolutely love. Once you’ve established that, personally email each one of them asking when they have availability to hop on a phone call or meet for coffee, even Facetime! Also, include the location and time of year of your wedding. Binita says that she loves hearing this bit of information first so she can start to understand what type of a wedding you are having. Don’t be nervous about what to tell your photographer. Remember, this is your day, your rules!

Test Your Chemistry

You may be wondering why it’s worth taking the time to meet for coffee with your photographer. The chemistry you have with your photographer is crucial. Binita likes to remind her clients that they’re most likely going to be “spending more time with me than the person they’re marrying” on the day of their wedding. And that’s a super important point! You want to hire someone you actually like! You’re trusting them in capturing the entire day, something you want to remember forever.

What To Tell Your Photographer

six questions to ask

What To Tell Your Wedding Photographer

Pintrest Overload

Yes, we’ve brought it up before and we’ll bring it up time and time again! Pintrest can be a great tool in shaping your opinion on which photos you think are the most major. However, when looking, remember that every photographer has their own look. When a couple shows her Pintrest board musts, Petel likes to “respect where they’re coming from but ask why they’re drawn to the photo.” This allows her to understand the feeling and emotion the couple is aiming for but then allows her to recreate the photo within her own aesthetic.

Formal or Candid? Building Your Album

Your wedding album will be the forever keepsake of your wedding. To make sure you capture the moments and people you know you’ll want to have printed in your album I always suggest couples draft a shot list.

Take into consideration who do you absolutely need to take formal pictures with and who would you prefer to be captured candidly. You don’t want to spend hours taking photos with the entire family on both sides before the ceremony has even began. Take a moment to make a list of groups you would like formal photos with then make a separate list of photos that are must-haves during the celebration. Like that special dance with your favorite cousin or you hugging a great-aunt.

Although, you may think it’s necessary, a great photographer does not need to be reminded to take those kissing shots or your mom getting you into your dress. If you spend time stressing over whether or not the shot has been taken you will miss out on enjoying the moment on a personal level, a moment you will enjoy for the rest of your life.

Truly the shorter the sweeter. Grab our template below.