FINDING A UK WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Finding a UK Wedding Photographer was actually really easy for me. I spent quite a few hours searching, however I felt lucky as I was left with about five to choose from to make a final decision. I’ve already shared finding a Wedding Videographer with you, so I thought it was only right to show you how I found my Photographer, introduce you to them and offer you tips along the way if you’re on the hunt too.If you read my Videographer blog post you would have seen that was the hardest decision about the wedding. The photographer on the other hand was super easy. I think when you’re just looking at photographs it’s easier to judge as you can tell straight away. Videos are much harder as there’s way more to analyse. When I first thought about a Wedding Photographer, I knew I wanted to find someone that had a relaxed style, to capture raw elements of the day, but also someone who showed a little creativity, as I have a few ideas in mind for mine and Robin’s couple shots. So the research began…

RESEARCH

My research started with google: UK Wedding Videographer, Essex Wedding Videographer etc, and I found this a great starting point. I wasn’t 100% certain I was going to find what I was looking for, so it was great to just have an overall look at what sort of Photographers were out there and I started making a mental note of things I liked and disliked about each photographers wedding photos. It was really surprising that I found a lot of traditional wedding photographers out there. I thought with the ever evolving digital and social media world people would be choosing ‘modern’, ‘alternative’ photographers over the traditional but it seems I was wrong. Obviously if that’s your taste and style, then a traditional Wedding Photographer would suit perfectly. However, I’m pretty sure after you lot seeing whom we chose for our Wedding Videographer, know we we would to go down the more ‘instagrammable’ route.

I didn’t have much luck with my first google searches so I started to be a little more specific by adding in ‘alternative’ or ‘creative’ along with Essex or UK  Wedding Photographer. This started bringing up Photographers that I was much more interested in. Every Photographer I found had great websites which featured a variety of different weddings within their portfolio, and this really helped to see their overall style. Our wedding is a Church ceremony and then a barn/field venue afterwards, so I was attracted to viewing photographs with a similar setting. I would definitely recommend doing this as if you’re looking for a photographer for an outdoor venue and the one you’re looking at mainly does indoor, then I’d probably go searching a little more. You want to make sure the Photographer is comfortable working in your wedding environment as they will need to be on it with lighting etc on the day. You don’t want them to miss that special moment.

Another tip, is once you’ve found a Wedding Photographer you love, to go find them on Instagram or Facebook and to see if anyone has left any reviews or comments. You will also see how many followers they have and can click through to see many more weddings that might not have been featured within their website portfolio.

WHAT THEY OFFER

Every Photographer offers something different, so make sure you know what you want photographed on the day so you can contact them with specifics. A lot offer packages, but most do accommodate. For example with mine we were offered a free engagement shoot, however we decided against that and instead the Photographer has offered a 2nd Photographer to shoot Robin on the morning of the wedding. So that worked out quite well! Robin didn’t actually want to be photographed, but I did and I know his Mum did also! We managed to get our own way; I want to see what he gets up to on the morning as we obviously won’t be together.

Another thing my Wedding Photographer offered us was a printed wedding book for an extra fee. We opted for this as she will know all the ins and outs of the image sizes, colours etc and can create this for us without us lifting a finger.

Make sure you double check how many photographs you will get too and whether they have an online password protected gallery for you and your guests to view the photos. Some Photographers also send out a USB to the couple so make sure you’re clear on what you would prefer.

I received a lot of quotes from various photographers and also saw quotes on websites and just as an FIY, starting price was on average £1000+. This price alters according to how long you want the Wedding Photographer with you on the day and what you want them to shoot.

BOOKING A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

When it comes to actually booking your Wedding Photographer, I would definitely recommend meeting them in person. It will give you a feel for their personality and help you see if you really want to put your trust in them to shoot your big day. Robin and I met our Wedding Photographer and we were so glad we did. She even brought along a copy of a wedding book she’d created so we could see the finished product, and we fell in love. After our meeting, the rest was organised over email, we paid a deposit and voila, we’d found our Photographer!

INTRODUCING MY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Now for the bit you’ve all been waiting for…. Meet Jess Soper our Wedding Photographer.

I was stuck between 5 photographers and whittled it down to Jess as I loved every single element of her photography. There were other Photographers where for example: I loved their ceremony photos but not the rest of their day. Or I only liked the getting ready images. With Jess it was different. I loved every single photo of a whole wedding day. She captures such raw moments that you might not notice have happened. I also love that she includes shots of the decor, guests and general atmosphere. It really brings it all together.

She had that relaxed style I was after too. Robin and I aren’t a very romantic couple; we like to keep our affection to each other private. But with Jess’s couple shots she really captures those natural moments, nothing feels forced. Robin hates being photographed, if you follow his Instagram, he never shows his face really. We wanted to find someone who would work with us on achieving beautiful, natural couple shots of us, being us. And I have trust in Jess that she will get those shots for us. Me being me, I want some creative shots and Jess is 100% up for that. I’ve told her my ideas and we’re going to work together to try and capture a few.

Another thing that really attracted me to Jess’s photos was the colours and editing. I love the slight grain that some of the images feature and their slightly sepia tones. It’s a little different and works really well for the outdoor vibe to our wedding.

We loved Jess’s photos and were so glad we went to meet her because she really reflected her work. She was quirky, really relaxed and very friendly and after the meeting Robin and I felt confident to choose her. She listened to us as a couple and what we wanted and she totally got it. I’m so excited for Jess to capture our day. It was our luck that she is just based about a 20 minute drive away from us in Essex.

If you’d like to see more of Jess’s work, you can do so here.

*All images from this blog post have been taken from Jess’s website.

Peace
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