i don’t understand photography and neither does my partner

I think you and your fiance need to decide what type of photos you want. For example, do you want very posed photos where the photographer will direct you guys on how to stand and what poses to be in or do them to capture more candid moments that aren't posed and are more natural feeling. Another thing to look at is the style of the photos more like bright and cheery or more moody. As for talking with them, an experienced photographer will guide you and help make the planning process with them super easy.

My husband and I are very shy people that don’t like being in front of the camera. However I found a photographer whose pictures I really liked so I contacted him and after talking to him I realized that he has the exact personality that would mesh well with us and I knew he would make the day great. I worried less about knowing what quality photos I would get (since I saw his work online and in the example wedding he gave us where he showed us start to finish of the photos he took of someone else’s wedding) and more about whether I felt he’d be an asset to our day. I knew he would be and when we met for an engagement shoot we told him that we really need a lot of direction on losing and taking photos and so he was right there with us helping us out. He did the same thing wedding day but also just took candid photos as things were happening and I loved everything we got. I think finding someone who’s quality lives up to what you want is the first step and after contacting them I would then make talking to them the next important thing. And I mean like over zoom or on the phone. All of our vendors we spoke with, but especially the super important ones because if we didn’t mesh with them then we knew we wouldn’t get the quality of service we were looking for. I get the stress. Your wedding photographer is a big deal!

I understand how you feel because my husband said that all wedding photos look the same. Some things to consider:


• Look at photographers who have worked at your venue before. You can search on your venue's Instagram and see what photographers they have tagged.
• How big is your wedding? If you have more than about 40–50 guests, it's recommended to have a second shooter, so look for businesses that offer this option.
• What's your budget? Obviously this is very important but many vendors don't list their price on their website. You will have to actually have a call with them and ask. I found one whose pictures were beautiful but it turns out she was twice the cost of the others.

From what you say (you and FH being more “in the moment”), it sounds like you would likely enjoy editorial style photography, where the photographer will use multiple styles to “tell the story” of your wedding day. They try to capture images in a way that presents what happened during the day in an authentic way. Usually the majority of the photos will be unposed, organic photos of you just going about your day (often times you won’t even know they are capturing them), and they will also mix in some formal, posed photos. You also mention liking photos that are “clear”. Does this mean you prefer photos that are bright and vibrant and true to life color? If so, that is something you will want to look for when searching potential photographers portfolios. A lot of photographers have a very specific way they enjoy editing and/or filtering their photos. For example, the dark moody filter is big right now. So, if you are looking for bright true to life colors, you wouldn’t want to choose a photographer whose portfolio is full of dark moody style photos.
One suggestion I would make is to look through professional wedding photos on Instagram or Pinterest. Make 2 Pinterest boards or 2 photo folders - one for photos you love, or that really stand out to you; and another for photos that you really dislike. After you have saved a good number of photos in each board or folder, go through them and see what they have in common. Likely, you will find that they all have certain things in common (whether it be the color, composure, poses, lighting, etc.). It should help you figure out what you like and gravitate towards in photos. And feel free to share those Pinterest boards with potential photographers! Their professional eye should be able to quickly discern what you are enjoying in photos, and whether their personal photography style will fit what you’re looking for.

View Quoted Comment Thanks for the advice! We currently in the process of moving, so we decided to hold off on photography planning for now. I struggle with finding a style because there’s nothing I really have a strong hatred for because I’m open to experimenting with different styles. I don’t know if I don’t like something until I’ve tried it. I like the dark and moody and the bright ones as well. The dark and moody reminds me of my art style and the bright and vibrant just make for nice pictures. I like the style you mentioned. I also feel like getting something like that would be good for me and my partner. He’s a little weirded out by someone following us taking photos all day (I am a little too).

Something I’ve noticed with myself is that when I take photos, my smile is not genuine. I feel like I look so forced when I smile for pictures. It’s like I over-correct my actual smile. That’s also why I thought maybe id like the dark and moody vibes, but I’m still not sure.

I have a few photos on my Pinterest board saved for photos, but I mean I never really have photos much thought. That is until I came here and was like “omg they are actually like a big deal.”

View Quoted Comment Thanks for the advice! I really liked your first piece of advice! Our wedding is all indoors so that might affect how the photos will look and be taken. As for our actual wedding, yeah we probably will need more than one photographer. And I’ve left some extra money for our photography so we should have a decent amount for photography.