Now that you are all set to tie the knot with the partner of your dreams, it is time to find someone who can freeze these special moments in an eternal album that you can look and cherish over the years.

While important, finding a suitable wedding photographer often gets relegated to the last minute. But according to wedding planners and experts, you must start looking at wedding photography and videography packages as soon as the wedding date is fixed. This will allow you to go through the process of choosing the best one from an exciting pool of talented photographers that will be available at your disposal, provided you book ahead.

But with so many options and each one better than the last, how do you choose the perfect photographer and videographer for your special day? Don’t worry because this article will tell you how!

Choose the kind of photography you want

For wedding shoot, you can either choose the candid style or the traditional one. Candid photography has gained a lot of traction in the last few years for being more realistic and spontaneous. It tends to capture raw emotions that always evokes a sense of connection every time you flip through the album.

However, candid photography requires specialized skills and is only possible if your photographer has the experience and the eye for such moments. At a more technical level, they should know how to plan their shoot and must carry high-end equipment to capture those moments effectively.

Traditional photography, on the other hand, is staged and involves taking complete charge of the process. It intends to cover all parts of the wedding and typically cost less.

Choose the kind of videography you want

In a world of wedding photography, you can either choose cinematic or traditional videography.

Just like candid photography, cinematic videography is all about being more creative and focus on storytelling while documenting the events leading up to the wedding. This video is usually 20-40 minutes long and captures the people important to bride and groom. This type of videography not only requires creative skill but also specific equipment such as drones. While expensive, it is much more realistic and passionate as compared to the traditional videography.

Traditional videography only films each and every moment of the wedding with some basic equipment.

Set the right budget

The best way to find a professional photographer and videographer is to first know how much you are willing to spend. Start with defining the total budget of your wedding. Once you have that figure, you can determine the amount that you want to invest in your wedding photography. Usually you can set aside at least 5-10% of your wedding budget for photography/videography.

You can also shop around to know what are the ongoing market prices for traditional photography/videography and candid photography/videography. Once you know the market prices, you can work with the ones that fall within or around your budget.

Things to consider when hiring wedding photographers

Now that you have the basic understanding of what you want, it is time to also understand if the photography aesthetics of your preferred photographer aligns with your needs or not. You can analyse their body of work to get an objective view of their skill. At the same time, it is also a great exercise to review their reputation in the market. Once they check all these fields, you must then ensure that they fall within your budget to take the discussions to the next level.

Things to discuss before finalizing

Before you officially hire them, be sure to discuss their available dates. You must also communicate to them the list of functions where their services will be required. Don’t hesitate to share your own budget if you really like someone and they are somewhat expensive. It is possible that they may be willing to work on the prices that are suitable for you!

A professional photographer will always share the deliverables clearly such number of edited photos, raw pictures, time taken for delivery etc. They will also specify if they will be covering the wedding themselves or appoint someone else from their team.

While you are at it, you must also have clarity about the payment policies on taxes, cancellation, refunds etc. Don’t forget to ask if the extras will be chargeable such as drones, live photo booths, LED screens etc.

Once you have finalized all the details, including the small ones, you can sign the contract and keep a record of it. This will help you overcome any misunderstanding later.

Follow all these tips to ensure that you get the most professional and skilled photographer to record your big day!