friends and family: This is the one place you will get frank and unbiased feedback about who will work well for you.
The biggest advantage here will be your trust of their opinion.
They can give you real experience perspective and truly helpful hints about something that most people only do once.
Not just in which photographer, but all aspects of your wedding.
Next is the internet: Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask and many more search engines will yield hundreds of results for the best wedding photographers.
Take the time to look at the work of the photographers you find.
Use that short study to find out what your style is.
Some popular styles are: Journalistic, Documentary, Traditional, Story telling and Portraiture.
Once you have the style you like selected, use the keyword(s) for that style (honest, true, dramatic, fashion, romantic, and so forth) and search again.
Including the area you live in helps for this search.
More than likely, you will now get a more closely related group of photographers, to what you are really looking for.
Using that search result, select the wedding photographers you best like, and do a little more research.
Get the wedding photographers name, and do a search specifically on that photographer.
Searching about the wedding photographer by name will often unearth reviews, how long they have been in business, if there are negative comments about them on forums etc.
, etc.
Now you have a good idea of which of your results you really want to meet with.
Wedding planners, or wedding venues can usually help point you to a great wedding photographer: Ask who they recommend, but don't stop there.
Take their suggestions and do your homework.
Search some information on that photographer.
Find out if they are simply the favorite of that wedding planner, or wedding venue, or if there is something worthy of their recommendations.
Often these three avenues will give you what you are seeking...
a great wedding photographer.
Ready to meet?: Here are somethings to remember when you set up meetings with your selected wedding photographers.
Almost all wedding photographers offer only a select few of their top images on their websites, or even when meeting in person.
Ask up front to see full weddings, especially recent weddings.
That will help inform you of their ability to see the moments, capture the details, craft great portraiture and tell captivating visual stories.
When you have satisfied yourself (or not) about the photographers' experience, abilities and vision, you are ready to move on to the next phase of your interview.
Asking about what is included.
It's important to know exactly what you will receive and how much that will cost.
Wedding budgets shrank over the past 5 years, and it should be a good value for what you will receive.
Most quality wedding photographers will offer a range of included products/services for their package price.
Note what is included so you can make good comparisons later.
If you are looking into a wedding photographers service like Bella, or David's Bridal, be prepared to get an unknown photographer, and only average products for your dollars.
It looks like a great deal on the front end, but you will find in 99% of cases, you get somewhat less than you hoped for after your wedding is done.
Independent photographers usually offer the best deal, and quality for your dollars.
Be careful about getting hooked with a wedding photographer service.
Making the choice: By now you have done the homework to make an informed and well considered decision about which wedding photographer service you want.
Here are the criteria I would recommend using, and in order of importance.
- Style (make this #1 priority in your search).
- Personality of the photographer (you need someone you feel comfortable with on your wedding day).
- Recommended (by friends/family, or reviewed well in the public arena).
- Price (not the top priority, because you want the best you can afford)
- Flexibility (be sure the photographer you choose will work to help you make the most of their services).
- Product quality (prints, canvas', books, etc.
)
Assign a point for every time you like what one of the photographers offers.
Assign two points for their personality if you liked them.
Assign 3 points for their style.
Usually you can will already know who you favor by this time anyway, but if you are willing to go through a little work here, you may find out your best fit and your choice will be that much more confident and satisfying (especially when you are looking back on your wedding day years from now).
I hope that helps you find the best Denver wedding photographers, and that you will be happy with the choice you made for the rest of your life.
Best regards and wishes for your wedding.