Your wedding day is the happiest and most important day of your life ! Isn’t it ? You need to ensure you capture it properly so you can look back over the years and remember how much of a blast it all was !
I hope you find the following tips useful … even if you don’t book Xiss Photography.
Start the selection process early – Most good photographers can easily be booked up at least six months to one year in advance, especially on popular summer dates. I have bookings 17 months in advance already !! Make use of professional bodies like the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers (AIPP) or Wedding Photojournalists Association (WPJA) – who will be able to send you a list of photographers in your area.
Get ideas – Visit photographers’ web sites, not just those in your area, to see what is fresh and current, check out what’s new in bridal magazines – put together a wedding photography mood board which you can then bring along to any photographers you decide to visit – I had a couple who bought a scrapbook to me with images they both liked and didn’t like. It made much easier for me knowing what needed doing on the day of their wedding
Choose your style – Traditional, reportage, colour, black and white – or a mix of everything – I will be posting in more detail on this in a future blog – don’t forget to check back
Portfolio – Ask to see the photographer’s work – you should make sure you get to view work from an entire wedding, preferably an album or a set of proofs from a recent wedding they have photographed
Coverage, album and costs – Find out what type of services are offered, such as how many hours of the photographer’s time are included in the price, what album styles are available, etc
Equipment and Backup – Make sure only professional equipment and labs are used – also, does your photographer have backup equipment, in case of breakage on your day – or what happens if the photographer is ill, do they have backup photographers available to step in? I take 3 camera bodies and 5 lenses to each wedding – I also have a network of photographers, all pros, that I could call on to help if that ever happened to me
Testimonials – Don’t be afraid to ask if you can contact a previous client for a reference – any good photographer will be happy to oblige!
Feel comfortable with your photographer – They are going to be a very large part of your day – getting on well can make the difference between looking natural and comfortable in your wedding images, or not – also, make sure that the person you met and whose portfolio you viewed will be the one actually photographing your wedding
Get it in writing – Once you agree coverage, album choice and costs, get it in writing!
Get a recommendation – Of course, there are times when you will just land on a web page and love that photographer’s work and no-one else will do – but you should still feel comfortable asking questions and making absolutely sure they are the right fit for you and your future husband / wife. If a particular photographer is not available, ask if they have anyone they would recommend, hopefully with a similar style – most photographers would be happy to oblige, saving you trawling through the phone book 
Please feel free to leave comments on the blog – or contact me if I can be of any help in your decision process.
James
Thanks to Gill Taylor , a fantastic UK based wedding photographer for letting me reproduce her blog with some minor changes.
Gill’s blog here
