Your wedding day will be one of the most memorable and amazing days of your entire life, yet at the same time, it can also be an overwhelming experience. This is why it pays to plan well in advance. Your special day will come and go faster than you could have ever imagined, and when you look back, it may be hard to remember all of the fine details. This is where a great wedding photographer comes into the mix as they will provide you with the ability to remember your wedding day for the rest of your life, capturing every last precious detail in picture form.

Finding your perfect wedding photographer however, is easier said than done! As a full-time wedding and portrait photographer based in Hong Kong, I’ve spent years perfecting my craft so the experiences I’m about to share with you are simply to help guide you!  These simple tips can help you find a professional that will provide breathtaking images for you, your families and generations to come.

Finding Your Perfect Wedding Photographer

Set a Budget

In an ideal world, money would be no object, but sadly for most of us, money is a very important factor, so before you even begin the search for a wedding photographer, you should set yourself a budget. Look at a few different photographers whose work you like, and get a basic idea of how much they charge.  That should help you to decide on a budget before you begin looking more seriously.

Decide on Which Style You Prefer

If you thought that wedding photography was simply a case of buying a good camera and other expensive tools and just snapping away, you are very, very much mistaken. Photography is an art form, and like all artists, Wedding photographers will have different styles. For example, a few popular styles include Documentary, Portraiture and Fashion.

Personally, I like to combine Documentary and Portraiture with a touch of Fashion.  This will ensure that couples receive images which are captured candidly such as the bride, groom, and bridesmaids getting ready before the event, or guests enjoying the cocktail reception, dancing the night away and so on.

Formal portraits are ideal images of the happy couple, as well as the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and other guests, all in front of a series of backdrops. And fashion, who doesn’t want a touch of Vogue on their wedding day?

 

Look at Portfolios

This should go without saying, but any good wedding photographer should have a pretty extensive portfolio in which they showcase their best work. Search for a few potential candidates you get a good feeling about, and then take a look at their portfolios to see whether or not you like their style of photography. If you do, this is a very good sign.

Furthermore, make sure your potential photographer does his or her own personal photo projects when not shooting weddings.  These can be in the form of creative work, fashion editorials, and so on.  Why is this important? Because it is these personal projects that help creative people to stay fresh, evolve and grow as artists.

 

Call or Skype with your short-listed photographers

Do you really want to spend the most important day of your life with someone that you don’t get along with? Do you want someone at your wedding who doesn’t understand and respect your culture and your family? Probably not!  So make sure to put aside time to “meet” your short-list in person or other means. Schedule a call: +852 6110 0569

Destination Weddings

Although Destination Weddings can be a lot of fun, they also take a lot more planning. Let me give you a head start with some of my top picks for Destination Wedding locations in Asia!

Follow your gut and base much of your decision on their images

Remember, when hiring a photographer to capture your special day, their job is to take amazing photos, so when you are doing your research, base the majority of your decision on their images. It is always advisable to follow your gut in these situations, so if you do get a good feeling about somebody, good or bad, make sure you take this deeply into consideration.

Looking for more wedding photography tips to prepare for your big day? I highly recommend you to check out my other articles:

• Wedding photography tips: 5 Ways to get the best picture out of your photographer
• Wedding photography tips for brides to get the best wedding pictures
• Wedding photography tips: 9 things to prepare your photographer for the best big day photos

I would love to hear from you! Contact me and stay in touch!

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Ali G Studios   IG: @aligphoto1   Youtube: @AliGStudios

A big thanks to Phottix for the professional lighting equipment provided to Ali G Studios.