5 Tips for Hiring a Wedding Photographer
Your wedding day or elopement is more than a single event—it’s the beginning of a chapter, the continuation of your legacy, and a sacred season of life you’ll want to remember forever. Choosing the right photographer to capture it all goes beyond finding someone with a camera, a beginner, or who has a super cheap pricing option. It’s about finding a storyteller, a guide, and a friend who understands your vision and values! Here are five key characteristics and values to consider when choosing the perfect wedding or elopement photographer (in no particular order)!
1. Connection & Trust
Your photographer should feel like more than a vendor—they should feel like a friend you trust with your most important moments. From the very first conversation, pay attention to how they make you feel. Do they listen to your story? Do they seem genuinely excited about your vision? Trust is everything when you’re inviting someone to document such an intimate day/ season. Your photographer will be by your side for most of your wedding or elopement day, so having a genuine connection with them is crucial.
For me, it’s always been about more than taking photos. I truly want to connect with you, learn about your love story, and be a calming presence on your day. Whether you’re celebrating with 100+ people or hiking, just the two of you to your dream elopement spot, I’ll be present, making sure you feel seen, comfortable, and at ease every step of the way. Let’s start this journey together—not just as client and photographer, but as adventure partners, planning collaborators, and lifelong friends.
Key Points to Consider:
Personality: Find someone whose personality meshes with yours. Do you want someone who brings calm and confidence, someone who brings high energy and excitement, or a little of both? Either way, it’s important to connect.
Shared Vision: Your photographer should understand your vision for the day—whether it’s involved and traditional, adventurous and wild, or a mix of both.
Presence: A great photographer knows how to be present without being intrusive. They blend in like another friend, creating a comfortable atmosphere where real moments can shine.
Why It Matters: Feeling connected to your photographer allows you to relax and trust them, leading to more natural, authentic, and meaningful photos. As well as a positive and impactful experience on your wedding day!
2. Experience & Guidance
Weddings and elopements require more than just photography skills; they require someone who can guide you through the process, anticipate what you need, and help your day flow seamlessly. The right photographer brings experience that allows you to relax, knowing every moment is being handled with care. Photography skills are also incredibly important to research in a photographer because you want to make sure you’re getting a high quality product as well as an industry professional who has many years of hands-on wedding experience.
As someone who’s photographed hundreds of weddings and elopements—and planned plenty of adventurous ones—I wear many hats. I’ll help with timeline creation, permit logistics, and even scouting secret locations to ensure your day feels stress-free and uniquely yours. My goal is to be your guide throughout the day so you can stay present in every moment! I offer many services to both my wedding and elopement clients who help with the planning process as well and keeping everything on track for the wedding day itself. Check out more info on my Wedding and Elopement pages — we’ll also talk much more in depth about how I can help you during our initial consultation call if you’re interested in booking!
Key Points to Consider:
Years in the Industry: Experience brings confidence and quality. A seasoned photographer will know how to handle any situation calmly and professionally.
Continued Education: Look for someone who is constantly improving their craft, whether it’s learning new techniques, upgrading equipment, or staying updated on industry trends.
Backup Processes: What happens if a camera malfunctions? What if files get corrupted? An experienced professional will have backups in place to keep your memories safe.
Equipment: A photographer should be equipped with high-quality gear, backups, and the skills to use them effectively.
Wedding Day Know-How: Experience means understanding how a wedding or elopement day flows—anticipating moments, guiding group shots, and adapting quickly.
Sample Galleries: This is a big one! Ask your potential photographer for a full sample gallery if they haven’t already sent one. This will show you their quality of work and how they document a wedding or elopement day from start to finish.
Why It Matters: Weddings and elopements are one-time events with no do-overs. Experience and quality ensures your photographer can handle the unexpected and deliver beautiful results no matter the circumstances.
3. Style & Vision
Every photographer has their own artistic style and approach to storytelling. When deciding what style is right for you, consider these questions: Do their images feel timeless and true to life or are they edited with trendy filters? Do they capture emotion, intimacy, and the ‘in-between’ moments? Are the images themselves of high quality in regards to being clear and shot professionally or are they blurry and low resolution? Look for someone whose style resonates deeply with the way you envision reliving your day for years to come.
I believe in delivering emotion-filled images that feel both timeless and true to your experience. Style and vision link with the quality of images from the section above as well! My editing is crisp and natural, ensuring your photos stand the test of time so you can look back generations later and they still have an authentic reality to them. Something I provide as a gift for all of my wedding and elopement clients is a wooden keepsake box that has printed photos as well as little elements I collected from your special day (dried flowers, vow books, speeches, wedding invitation, special heirlooms like cuff links, earrings, etc). This is my version of a modern-day hope chest like our grandparents and parents might have had. It’s a true passion of mine to make sure your memories are preserved in a beautiful way that can be easily passed down throughout the generations!
Key Points to Consider:
Timeless Editing: A photographer’s editing style should stand the test of time—avoiding overly trendy filters in favor of classic, natural tones just as they were scene and presented on the wedding day.
Clear, Crisp Images: Your photos should be sharp, clear, and focused. Blurry or poorly exposed images are a red flag.
Balancing Styles: Look for someone who blends traditional portraits with candid moments. A mixture of posed, emotional, and artistic shots creates a complete story of your day.
Keepsakes and Prints: Find someone who values, provides, and encourages physical prints/ keepsakes and doesn’t just rely on digital photographs to be the end product of your experience.
Why It Matters: Your photos should feel just as beautiful decades from now as they do today. Artistry ensures that your memories are captured with care, intention, and creativity while helping to carry on your family legacy!
4. Personal Approach & Professionalism
Your wedding day isn’t just another session on a checklist—it’s your day, your adventure, your love story. The right photographer will craft a personal experience tailored to you, helping you feel valued and celebrated. It’s goes along with experience in the industry, but professionalism is also something the can often get overlooked with photographers.
When you work with me, you’re not getting a cookie-cutter experience. Each of my couples receives a carefully curated journey: from a personalized Wedding Guide Magazine and an Alaska Adventure Guide to thoughtful planning, vendor connections and timeline creation. It’s my heartfelt desire to pour into your day, so you can look back and know every moment was captured intentionally and beautifully. Professionalism and running my business well is something I take seriously and pride myself in. I’ve shadowed and observed many photographers over the years who have taught me the benefits and downfalls of professionalism just by witnessing the way they work with clients and groups— and let me tell you, professionalism makes the world of a difference to the couple’s experience.
Key Points to Consider:
One-of-a-Kind Care: Choosing a photographer that truly cares about you as a couple is invaluable. You don’t want just another vendor who’s going to give you a cookie-cutter experience— you don’t want to be just another couple on a long list for the season, you want to be personally seen and cared for!
Taking Charge: On a hectic wedding day, a professional photographer knows when to take charge—guiding family photos, communicating with vendors, and keeping the timeline on track.
Staying Organized: Before the wedding, they’ll coordinate with you to plan timelines, locations, and must-have shots. On the day itself, they’ll show up prepared and focused.
Bringing the Right Energy: A photographer’s presence affects the couple and their families. The right one will bring a calm, reassuring energy and keep everyone at ease.
Running a Business: You’d be surprised how many photographers struggle to balance their art with the professionalism of running a business. Look for someone who knows how to handle contracts, communication, and timelines seamlessly.
Why It Matters: A professional photographer doesn’t just show up and take photos—they anticipate needs, solve problems, and bring peace of mind to your day all while treating you and your families with personal care and attention.
5. Process & Value
A big part of choosing a photographer is someone who fits within your wedding budget as well! I suggest that you consider all of the key points above and evaluate the price value that comes with them. If you’re planning an elopement, having a photographer and planner all-in-one might be of the highest value to you. For a larger, more traditional wedding it might be of great value to hire a photographer who offers a complimentary engagement session and who has a high level of experience working in a large group environment.
Sometimes couples’ budgets for a photographer a fixed and that’s completely okay too! Take all of these key values and find a photographer that fits within your budget. But being in the industry for as long as I have, many photographers with a lower package prices aren’t able to offer the highest of quality in all of these areas. As is true for many other products and service industries: high quality comes at a higher price. I personally try to make my wedding and elopement packages accessible to many while also providing the highest quality and experience for each one. I take a set, limited number of weddings each year so that I’m able to give my full attention and provide the absolutely best experience! Quality is more than just the end product—it’s about the entire process of working with your photographer.
Key Points to Consider:
Value for the Price: Do you feel that the photographers experience, quality of work, professionalism, offerings, prices, etc. line up with your vision and budget?
Consistent Work: When you look at galleries or portfolios, is the quality consistent across different lighting, locations, and conditions? Remember to ask for sample galleries if they haven’t given you some to view already.
Package Offerings: What’s included in their packages? Do they offer engagement sessions, albums, or prints that add value to your experience?
Processes: A professional photographer will have clear, organized processes for communication, booking, delivery timelines, and everything in between.
Why It Matters: Your wedding photos are an investment—not just in the photos themselves but in preserving your story for generations to come. Quality and value ensure you receive a seamless, stress-free experience with results you’ll cherish. The higher value the photographer is, the higher their prices will be.
Bonus: Passion for Legacy
Photography isn’t just about snapping beautiful images and receiving just an email link with a few hundred photos —it’s about preserving memories that tell your story for generations to come. It’s about legacy and keepsakes. Years from now, these photographs will be what you share with your children and grandchildren.
For me, documenting your legacy is at the heart of what I do. I see every wedding and elopement as a contribution to the sacred stories you’ll pass down. These aren’t just photos; they’re keepsakes—mementos of the laughter, tears, and breathtaking adventures that define your love. All the choices I make in my business and our journey of working together is based on the core value of legacy. Your story deserves to be told and cherished—now and for generations to come.
I Value All These Things (and So Should You!)
Choosing the right wedding or elopement photographer isn’t just about hiring someone to take photos. It’s about choosing someone who values your story, connects with you on a personal level, and is committed to documenting your day with care, creativity, quality and intention.
Your story deserves to be told in a way that feels authentic, meaningful, and uniquely you. If this sounds like what you’re looking for, I’d love to be a part of your journey. Together, let’s plan an unforgettable experience and create keepsakes that honor your love and legacy.
