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Don't choose a wedding photographer on the portfolio alone: ask to see a full wedding
A photographer's portfolio is the best thirty photos picked from dozens of weddings. What you are seeing is their ceiling, not their average.
Ask to see 1–2 full weddings
This is the single most effective move when choosing a wedding photographer. A full wedding meansthe complete set of delivered photos from getting ready all the way to saying goodbye to guests, not a highlight reel.
Here is what you want to look for:
- Performance under terrible lighting: evening ballrooms, dim churches, and yellow restaurant lights. Half the time at a wedding, the lighting is far from ideal
- Control over chaotic scenes: Can they capture fast-paced, crowded moments like the grand entrance, toasts, and group photos?
- Quality of family photos: These are the photos elders will look at most often later on, yet they are most frequently done half-heartedly.
- Consistency: Is the tone and style steady throughout the whole event, or are only a few shots actually good?
If a photographer isn't willing to show a full gallery from a single wedding, it's worth thinking twice about why.
When to book
Before the wedding date 12 to 18 months. Good photographers are fully booked a year in advance, and even earlier for Saturdays in peak season. This is a "one event per day" business, ranking alongside venues and hair/makeup artists as the big three you must secure early (see item 34 on the checklist).
Costs
Typical rates run from $3,500 to $6,500, with a US national average around $2,500. The huge gap is because the packages vary completely, so make sure you clarify what is in "what's included" before comparing prices.
Six things to ask clearly before signing the contract
- Shooting hours, and whether a second photographer is included. One person cannot cover both "bride prep" and "groom prep" happening at the same time
- Delivery time: Typically 6–12 weeks, and longer during peak season. Get it in writing in the contract
- Delivery format: How many photos? Are RAW files included? How long is the online gallery kept? (Many only keep them for 6–12 months, and they vanish after expiration)
- Copyright and usage rights: Can you use them commercially? Can they publish your photos on their website and social media? If you prefer not to have public exposure, make sure to bring this up beforehand
- Backup equipment: What if a camera breaks on the spot? A professional photographer will bring two camera bodies
- Backup photographer clause: If they get sick or something happens, who shows up? Can you decline the replacement photographer and get a refund?
Special details to confirm for Chinese weddings
If you are having a tea ceremony, a bilingual flow, or a lot of family photos, go over the schedule and photo list with your photographer ahead of time. Photographers used to American weddings might not have shot a tea ceremony before and won't know when the key moments are during that part.
Groupings for family photosPut them in a list and give it to them, and assign someone who knows relatives on both sides to call out names. Without this list, family photos will definitely miss people or get delayed by 40 minutes (see items 39 and 105 on the list).
After you get the photos
Download the original files immediately and make three backups (local, external hard drive, cloud). The most common regret isn't that the photos turned out bad, but that years later when you want to view them, the online gallery has expired and your hard drive is broken too (see item 127 on the list).
The bottom line
Review a full gallery, put delivery details and copyright into the contract, and back everything up the day you receive them.