HOW TO CHOOSE
A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
A small guide to help you on your way
edding day doesn’t unfold in straight lines. It moves in layers — quiet, fast, slow, overlapping. Choosing a photographer isn’t about how perfectly you’re posed. It’s about who notices what matters: the pause before the ceremony, the glance you share just before everything begins, the hands meeting under the table.
A photographer doesn’t just document a wedding. They shape how it will be remembered.
This is a simple guide to choosing the photographer who will see your day with clarity and intention.
W
1. Look for presence,
not performance
A documentary photographer blends into the rhythm of the day. You shouldn’t feel watched, managed, or directed. You should feel free to be yourselves —talk, move, forget the lens completely. Look for someone whose images feel natural, unforced, and alive. Someone who photographs the in-between moments, not just the expected ones.
2.Study a full
wedding, don’t
settle for
highlights
“If you can, ask to see a complete wedding, ask for two. They reveal everything.”
A portfolio will be beautiful, everyone’s. But it doesn’t tell the whole story.
A full wedding gallery shows you:
how they see light
how they handle difficult spaces
how consistent their storytelling is
whether the tone feels true from morning to night
You want someone who doesn’t just capture good frames —but someone who can hold an entire day with intention.
If you can, ask to see a complete wedding, ask for two. They reveal everything.
3.how their work FEELS
Two photographers can stand in the same moment and will create something entirely different.
What matters most is the feeling their images leave with you.
Ask yourself:
Does the work feel calm or chaotic?
Observed or performed?
Quiet or dramatic?
True to life or heavily stylized?
Choose a photographer whose work feels you.
The right fit will feel like recognition.
4.Understand their approach to posing and directing
It’s absolutely fine, if you feel like you want to be carried and posed through the day! But if you want to avoid stiff or staged images, look for someone who works with:
minimal direction
trust in natural interactions
gentle guidance only when needed
respect for the moment itself
Documentary photography is not about orchestrating people—
it’s about observing them.
If the portraits feel effortless, the photographer probably created space for that to happen.
5.Consider the experience, not just the images
A photographer is with you more than almost anyone else on your wedding day.
So it matters so much how they make you feel.
Ask yourself:
Do they listen?
Do they seem calm, do you feel calm?
Do they give you space to be yourselves?
Do they make the process easier?
Do you feel safe with them?
Beautiful images come from genuine comfort.
When you trust the person behind the camera,
your story becomes effortless to capture.
6.Make sure you choose the one
your values align with
Some photographers chase perfection.
Others chase truth.
If you value:
real emotion
honest storytelling
the beauty of the unscripted
connection over performance
…then choose someone who works the same way.
Your photographer should not reshape your day—
only witness it.
7. Choose someone whose presence you’d welcome into your
INNER CIRCLE
On your wedding day, the photographer is close—physically and emotionally.
They’re there for every quiet moment, every small breath.
So choose someone you’d feel comfortable having:
in the room while you get ready
standing beside you during emotional moments
sitting next to your closest people
observing the parts of the day no one else notices
You don’t need a best friend.
Just someone who feels safe to be yourself around.
8
Trust your Gut more than any checklist
Yes. It’s actually THAT important.
Logic helps narrow down the options.
Your intuition makes the final decision.
When you find the right photographer,
you’ll feel it before you rationalize it.
A sense of calm.
A sense of being seen.
A sense of yes, this feels like us.
Trust that.
If you’d like to see how I document a full wedding
Or if you want to learn more about my approach
And if you are ready to begin our journey