CHOOSING A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER: 5 KEY THINGS TO CONSIDER
Spring is in the air, the days are getting longer and winter is finally receding. This can only mean one thing: wedding planning season is coming!
This year more than ever, weddings and registered partnerships will offer families and friends in Amsterdam and across The Netherlands an opportunity to connect and celebrate life and love together. Covid 19 has forced too many families apart and cancelled so many get togethers, weddings and celebrations in 2020. Here’s to more love and more special times together in 2021.
But how do you ensure you create wonderful memories and perfect images of your wedding or registered partnership? I am a professional wedding photographer with over ten years’ experience capturing every kind of wedding, from big church services to small gezellig ceremonies on the beach. Over the years I’ve come to understand some important principles when planning a wedding.
Here’s five key pieces of advice to consider when choosing your photographer and planning your big day:
Find a photographer who gets ‘you’
Wedding photographers are like jumpers: we come in all shapes and sizes and with different prices and qualities. There’s quite a lot of us out there too so choosing is quite a complex dilemma. My one piece of advice is don’t just choose a photographer based on price or the images on their website. Have a zoom call or coffee and meet them; talk to them about what you want and see how you gel and connect. This is one of the biggest days of your life and your photographer should add to the experience and gel with you and your family and friends.
Always make a plan for the day
Once you’ve chosen your photographer, always agree a timetable for the day and a list of the key moments you want to photograph. Think about the memories you want to create: from the cutting of the cake or first dance to those tender moments between you and your families that you will want to treasure. I always tell my clients to be a little bit selfish and to build in plenty of time for the photos. You can always keep your guests happy with some bitterballen and bubbly whilst you have your photo session.
Quality not quantity is key.
Some photographers will promise you 3000 pictures, drone footage and various printed photo albums with a cheesy design. But in my experience less is more and you just need beautiful pictures that capture the connection and love between the couple and their family and friends. Keep it simple and focus on creating quality memories.
Think about shooting the pre-wedding build up
The excitement, nervousness and build-up on the morning of the wedding or registered partnership is often as eventful as the ceremony itself. That’s why I always recommend considering some pre-wedding pictures of the bride and the groom getting ready. The emotions and butterflies in the stomach as you put on the suit or the wedding dress are as much a part of the day as the cake and first dance. They can make everlasting memories and treasured photos of you with your parents and best friends as you get dressed and ready together. They also offer quite a contrast to the pictures taken later in the party when the alcohol has been flowing for a few hours!
Detail is everything.
Finally, good wedding photography is always about the details. Capturing the beauty of Amsterdam in the background of the family wedding shot; photos of the wedding cake and champagne reception; beautiful images of the couple’s first dance; or fun portraits of the bitterballen handed out to fuel the dancing party goers into the night. A good wedding photographer should be on a mission to capture all the details, so you have everlasting memories of your wedding day.
So good luck making your selection. Remember it’s not a decision you should rush, take your time and talk to a few photographers to see who you connect with. Get them to talk to you about their creative vision and how they work on the day. You need to choose someone who can tell your story with their camera; someone who understands just how much planning, thought and love has gone into your celebration.