Choosing a wedding photographer

As a wedding planner it is important for me to connect with the vendors that I work with. More often than not, when I meet a wedding professional they have an excitement and a passion for their work. As one who is extremely passionate about her work, I love to be surrounded with the energy that other passionate wedding professionals bring.

One such wedding professional is Erica Lyn of Erica Lyn Photography. In her words, she loves, loves, loves what she does! This passion pours through to her photos, enabling her to get those wonderful unscripted photos that her clients love so much! She spent many years before shooting weddings, shooting people as well as shooting many various events and fashion-related assignments, which she still adores shooting. When I spoke to her about writing an photography article for my blog she jumped at the idea. Thank you Erica!!!!

Here is a Erica's insights on choosing your wedding photographer.

"Every young girl at one point or another dreams of their wedding day! The dress, the shoes, the glitz & glamour and well of course, the groom :) But how about the wedding photography part of it all, the wedding photographer? This most special day has to be captured in it's true, elegant glory and in a style that reflects both you and your partner. Sound simple? Not necessarily so.



Choosing a wedding photographer should take some time and research. The first step is talking to your partner and deciding on what style best suits the both of you. There is traditional wedding photography, which focusing more on portraits and more posed shots, along with covering the main details of your wedding and some candids. There is also photojournalistic wedding photography, which documents the day as it unfolds naturally; it is also the most unobtrusive style of photography. More direction is given to the couples with traditional style photography as opposed to the photojournalistic style, since the photographer should be like a fly on the wall, not really interfering with the natural flow of the day.



There are also photographers who fall in between the two shooting style extremes that could work well, I would say their style is Nontraditional. Once you have established what style you are leaning towards, your hunt for a photographer should be easier. Usually, we get our first impressions of a photographer's work by visiting their web-site. I would suggest looking at as many web-sites as you can, browsing through their wedding portfolio's as well as finding out what their prices are and what they offer for that price. I would also suggest asking them again what their main shooting style is and then telling them as well what kind of style and feel you are going for. Once you feel you have an initial connection with a photographer/s, you should set up a time to meet in person to review their work. You should also bring a long a list of questions that you would like answered. It's a good idea to meet more than one photographer in your search. You definitely want to compare work as well as seeing if their work truly fits your style, as well as budget.



My personal opinion and experience in working with hundreds of brides and in meeting many new ones almost every day, is to go with your gut feeling. At the end of the day, it's a very important decision, a personal decision and an expensive one, so you want to make sure it is truly worth it and that it feels right. Don't get snickered in choosing just some random wedding photographer because your parents want you to go with that studio or if a family friend offers to shoot your wedding for free, it may sound tempting, but is it really worth the gamble? You have to do your research. I got married 6 years ago, before I even knew anything about weddings and wedding photography for that matter, and my husband, fiance at the time had a coworker who knew a newspaper photographer that could give us a great deal. Well, since we were paying for the wedding ourselves, we jumped on the idea and hired her without even looking at any other photographers. Well what can I say, my pictures are unfortunately not up to par with what I ever expected and we definitely regret our impulsive decision.



Aside from being a professional wedding photographer I was once a former bride myself that has been there, in your shoes. I can relate and can share my experience and opinions with you, in hopes to give you additional insight in the importance of finding the wedding photography style that fits the both of you perfectly, but most importantly in helping you find the perfect wedding photographer for that one special day that has been long, long awaited. All the best.. Erica Lyn, www.ericalynphotography.com.

All photos compliment of Erica Lyn Photography