As a wedding photographer you must be prepared for everything. No two weddings are the same and each brings its own challenges.

Start off with a conversation with the bride and groom to understand what they hope to achieve with their photos. This will help you plan the day accordingly.

Choosing a Photographer

The process of searching, finding, meeting and picking a wedding photographer can feel like an endless task. It's so important to take the time to find someone whose work jives with your visual style and who you genuinely get along with as a person. You'll be spending essentially your entire day with them (and possibly after that for a while too) so it's important that you're able to connect.

When viewing photographers' work ensure that you are seeing full galleries (not just a handful of 'best of' images), this gives you a more accurate view of their quality and style. Also make sure to ask how many hours they'll be shooting, if they include a second shooter and if an engagement session is included. Also find out if they've shot at your venue before as this will help narrow down your options.

Getting Ready

Once the invites have been sent and your family and friends are starting to RSVP, you can begin to see the day coming together. This is when all the weeks, months or even years of planning start to take shape and it's really fun to watch.

Your photographer will usually arrive at your house or hotel to capture the preparations and candid moments of you getting ready. This is a great time to get to know your photographer and make sure they are a good fit for you.

Editorial: Inspired by fashion magazines, this style combines dramatic, stylized poses with quality lighting and editing. This isn't to say that your images won’t be authentic, but the aim is to create wedding photos that are worthy of a magazine cover.

The Ceremony

An experienced photographer will know how to capture the most important moments at your ceremony. This may include traditional posed photos of you, your family and the wedding party as well as candid (photojournalistic) photos of key moments during the religious or civil ceremony and reception that follows.

Whether it’s an epic drone shot of your gorgeous venue or a portrait that showcases the gorgeous rays of light cascading through a window, these photos help you remember what it was like to be there. A photographer should be able to maximize your photo time by capturing all of these beautiful backdrops at your ceremony site.

This is a great book and I highly recommend it, although his style of photography leans more towards the more “traditional” approach. He also shows examples of his lighting on almost every photo in the book, which is really helpful and informative if you are interested in learning more about this type of lighting.

The Reception

The wedding reception is a great opportunity for the photographer to get creative and capture more photos that tell the story of your day. This includes a wide shot of the whole room, detail photos such as dinnerware set up, or even florals that may have been scattered around the venue.

It’s also important to ask the couple for any last-minute requests such as a quick photo with their grandmother or one with their best friends from college. Doing so allows you to give them the photos they want while still giving you time to finish up your work before it’s time to head off.

Photographers can use a variety of editing styles to create unique photos that feel just like the day they happened. Some may use a natural look, others might lean more toward editorial (inspired by fashion magazines) with heavy editing or a mix of both. It’s up to you as the couple to find a style that feels right for them.