Meet Your Photographer Before You Book Them

One of the things that comes to mind for me as a photographer (even as an everyday person) is first impressions. In that first meeting, you can see how that other person reacts to you, read their body language, see their facial expressions and even how they interact with other people around them. 

When a bride calls me about potentially photographing her wedding, the first thing I ask is if she have been to my website. The reason I ask is because I really want the couple to see the kind of work I do. The way I see someone’s wedding day may not be the same way they see it, and if they go to my website and see images of mine of a bride and a groom’s bodies with no heads, they are either going to see the creative side of me or wonder what the heck is wrong with me! A great way to get a feel for a photographer’s work is by looking at it. Once we get past that and know that they have looked at it and really like and appreciate my work, then I set up a meeting.  I always pick out a central location for us to meet and encourage the brides to bring their soon-to-be-husband! 

When I, the photographer, go into these meetings I am usually nervous – it’s like going into a job interview on a weekly basis. I do worry whether the couple is going to like me, if we’re going to get along, exactly is it’s going to go. At this point I already know they like my work and know how much I charge, so really they’re going to base their decision on how well they like me. Since I’ve had many, many jobs that just were not fulfilling to me, I recently decided we are either going to get along great and I’m going to make a new friend and be a part of the biggest day of their lives, or we are just not going to hit it off and that’s that. I feel if I only look at this experience as a business contract and I don’t hit it off with the couple, shooting their wedding isn’t going to be much fun for either of us and there are other photographers out there they might like better. 

Your wedding day is not about the photographer, it is about you! During an initial meeting you are going to be able to get to know a photographer and see how they make you feel. If something is telling you not to work with this person, then don’t. You are not going to want someone following you around for 8 to 10 hours on the most important day of your life if they annoy you. If you can be yourself around them, and you share the same vision for capturing your wedding day in photographs, book them. If not, keep looking! Just because a photographer does amazing work and your friend or cousin booked them, doesn’t mean they are a good fit for you too. Your wedding day is going to be a long (and fun) day and you are paying a photographer a lot of money. They should take the time to get to know you before the big day so you know you’re getting awesome photographs that truly represent you as a couple.