Things You'll Need:
- Professionals cost from $1000-$8000
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Step 1
If you are having a large wedding, you'll need to step up and get a professional wedding photographer.
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Step 2
Wedding photographers and their teams take pictures of the day and package them as books, photo image DVDs, and framed and mounted portraits.
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Step 3
Pick a wedding photographer whose price level and appearance will match the cost of the wedding.
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Step 4
At a smaller gathering, get a less expensive photographer. For a large wedding, go for a higher priced photographer, or even a photography team.
At small weddings, a photographer is less likely to be overwhelmed. At large weddings, a true professional needs to step up to the plate with extensive skills in people management, crowds, and photojournalistic shooting. -
Step 5
Book your wedding photographer well in advance. Waiting lists may extend over a year into the future for an in demand photographer. Do your research early.
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Step 6
Look at prospective photographers portfolios online. You will get a sense of the photographers style. Look for good photos in the portfolios that show emotions. Don't be overly impressed by a photographer who relies on special effects like blurring, color enhancement, or special effects to make the photos seem interesting. That can always done later, and never enhances what was actually recorded by the camera. Good photographers take a lot of close up photos, and have well organized crowd shots.
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Step 7
The current trend in wedding photography is a photojournalism style. Wedding photos are captured as if they were being taken for a magazine. The idea is that these photos can be combined with the more traditional photos the photographer takes in order to create both a "scenes" and a "behind-the-scenes" look at the wedding.
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Step 8
Don't interfere with the wedding photographer's process on the big day. If you are concerned that a certain type of image won't being taken, have your friends who aren't part of the alter ceremony take their own pictures, following your recommendation. Make sure your friends who take pictures don't interfere with the work of the professional.
