How to Choose a Wedding Photographer When They All Sound the Same
- May 7
- 6 min read
These are what I'd tell my enquiries if they wanted advice on how to choose a wedding photographer.
The problem you’ve got nowadays is that there’s one hell of a lot of jargon thrown around in the wedding photography world. And I say that as someone who’s absolutely guilty of using it myself.
Everyone says they’re natural and relaxed photographers, everyone says they capture candid moments, and everyone says they’re unobtrusive and documentary and all the rest of it. And don’t get me wrong, those words do mean something, but when every photographer is saying the same sort of thing, it all starts to blend into one a bit, doesn’t it?
You’ve most probably been scrolling through websites, looking at Instagram pages, reading the same kind of captions over and over again, and after a while you’re probably thinking, “This is all well and good… but how do I actually choose one?”
Because on paper, a lot of wedding photographers can sound (and look!) very similar.
Nice photos are important, obviously
Let’s get this bit out of the way first. You absolutely need to like the photos. That goes without saying really.
If you like light and airy photos, look for a photographer who shoots that way. If you like true-to-life colour, look for that. If you like darker, moodier, slightly more dramatic stuff, then look for someone who does that. There’s no point booking someone whose style you don’t actually like and then hoping they’ll magically shoot your wedding in a completely different way.
That’s not really how it works.
So yes, editing and the overall look and feel of the photos matter, but I don’t think that’s the only thing you should be looking at.
Anyone can take a good photo now
We’re in a weird place now where cameras are ridiculously good. You can get decent photos on a fairly affordable camera. My favourite camera that I carry with me everywhere is an Olympus OMD EM10ii and you can pick one of these up, in excellent condition, with a lens, second hand for around £500, which is insane for the quality of photos you get from it.
(Olympus OMD EM10ii)
(Olympus 25mm f/1.8)
Obviously there’s a difference between cheap and expensive gear. I’m not saying gear doesn’t matter at all, because it does to a point. But for most couples, when you’re looking through websites and Instagram pages, you’re not always going to be sitting there analysing camera quality, dynamic range, lens compression, colour profiles and all that technical stuff.
Nor should you be, really.
You’re probably just looking at the photos and thinking, “Do I like these?” And that’s fair enough. But because cameras are so good now, and because photographers, generally, are shoehorned into a particular kind of style, it does mean that loads of photographers can start to look quite similar from the outside.
Same sort of colours, same sort of wording, same sort of “natural relaxed candid storytelling” line.
So the thing that really starts to separate the photographers are the people behind the camera.
You’re not just booking photos
This is the bit I think couples can and shouldn't forget. You’re not just booking someone to turn up, press a button, take some nice photos and then disappear.
You’re booking someone who’s going to be around you for a massive chunk of your wedding day. They’ll be there in the morning when everyone’s getting ready, when the nerves start kicking in, when the timeline inevitably starts going slightly sideways, when family members are asking questions, when someone’s gone missing before the group photos, and when you just want five minutes to breathe.
So yes, you need to like their work, but you also need to actually like them. Or at the very least, you need to feel comfortable around them. Because if you don’t, that’s going to make things harder than they need to be.
Can you spend the day with them?
This is probably one of the biggest things I’d tell couples to think about. Can you imagine spending most of your wedding day with this person?
I'm not saying you need a photographer to be your wedding bestie, but do they feel easy to talk to? Do they explain things properly? Do they make you feel like you can ask stupid questions without feeling stupid? Do they seem calm and Do they actually listen? Do they get what you want from the day?
Because that matters WAY more than you'd think.
Especially if you’re someone who doesn’t love being photographed. If you already feel awkward in front of a camera, the last thing you want is a photographer who makes that feeling worse.
You want someone who can make the whole thing feel a bit more normal. Someone who can guide you when needed, but not turn the day into a massive photoshoot. Because your wedding isn’t a styled shoot. It’s your wedding. You want to actually experience it.
Experience matters when things go wrong
Another thing that makes a huge difference is experience. And again, I’m not saying this to scare anyone, but weddings are weddings. Things can, and inevitably will, happen.
Timings run late. Weather changes. People disappear. Rooms are darker than expected. Transport gets delayed. Someone suddenly decides they want a photo with 47 different family combinations. The shit can, occasionally, hit the fan.
And when that happens, you want someone who’s been in enough wedding situations to stay calm and deal with it properly. Because there’s a big difference between someone who can take a nice photo when everything is perfect, and someone who can still do the job well when things are a bit chaotic.
That’s where experience really shows. Not always in the obvious stuff, either. Sometimes it’s just knowing when to step in, when to leave things alone, and when to quietly sort something without making a massive fuss of it.
That kind of thing is hard to show in a portfolio, but it makes a massive difference on the day.
Good service is a massive clue
One thing I’d really pay attention to when you’re enquiring with photographers is how they actually deal with you.
Do they reply properly and promptly? Do they answer your questions? Do they explain the process clearly? Do they make you feel looked after? Do they seem interested in your day?
Because that’s probably a decent sign of what they’ll be like to work with. If someone is confusing, vague, awkward or impossible to get hold of before you’ve even booked them, that’s not exactly ideal, is it?
I’m not saying every photographer needs to reply within twelve seconds. We’re all human. But the way someone communicates with you before the wedding gives you a bit of a clue about the kind of experience you’re going to get, and when a lot of photographers have similar-looking work, that service side of things becomes really important.
So how do you actually choose?
I’d start with style. Find the kind of photos you’re naturally drawn to. Light and airy, true to colour, dark and moody, whatever it is. Don’t overthink it too much. You’ll probably know fairly quickly what you like and what you don’t.
Find a few photographers who work in that sort of style and then, this is the important bit, actually speak to them.
Don’t just look at the photos and make the decision purely from that. Read their website, look at how they talk, send an enquiry, ask questions, and see how they come across. You’ll usually get a feel for who you click with.
There might be five photographers whose work you really like, but only one of them makes you think, “Yeah, I’d actually feel comfortable having them there on the day.”
That’s the one you want to pay attention to.
And please don’t ghost them
Tiny side note. If you enquire with a few photographers and decide to go with someone else, just let the others know.
We're grown ups. We actually appreciate you letting us know you've chosen someone else.
We’d much rather get a quick “thanks so much, but we’ve decided to go with someone else” than hear absolutely nothing ever again.
Will we be devastated? Maybe a little if we loved the sound of your wedding. Will we dramatically stare out of a window in the rain for a few minutes embracing our inner 15 year old emo self? probably (and it wasn't a phase, Mam) Will we get over it? Absolutely.
But still. It’s better than being ghosted.
The photos matter, but the person matters too
So yes, wedding photographers do blend into one a little bit nowadays. Same words, similar styles, similar promises.
Natural. Relaxed. Candid. Storytellers.
And again, I’m not slagging that off, because those things can be genuinely important. I use those words myself because they do describe how I work. But when you’re choosing your wedding photographer, try to look past the jargon a little bit.
Ask yourself whether you like their photos, whether you like how they edit, whether they seem experienced, whether they communicate well, whether they feel like someone you could spend the day with, and whether you trust them to handle things if the day goes a bit sideways.
Because that’s the bit that really matters.
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