Me: There's no way around it, is there?
Jason: Nope.
Me: Are you sure?
Jason: Yes. You can't just set the timer and run for EVERY photo.
Of course he was right. He's always right. I knew I needed to hire a wedding photographer. Now let me admit something.....I'm a bit of a control freak. Ok, there I said it. So the idea of hiring a photographer, well to be honest I knew it was going to be a challenge. There is going to be a camera in the room and I won't be behind it. Something in the universe just shifted. The question really came down to, who was going to be able to handle me? And I do mean handle.
I can't believe how many incredible photographers there are out there, not just in Savannah. I realized just how complex the process is for hiring one and it struck me that other brides may struggle with this very same thing. Below I jotted down a few quick tips to help you begin your search.
1. Look for photographers under "preferred vendors" in local wedding magazines or websites. I love using Style Me Pretty as a resource tool for finding local vendors in any area of the country.
2. Hire a single photographer or partner of photographers rather than hiring through a studio. I don't think I can stress this enough. Too often studios display portfolios of their photographers and group all images together. That portfolio is not at all a good representation of the photographer who will be shooting your event.
3. Look at their work. Do they have examples of formal portraits, candid portraits and images of details. You want to make sure they can cover all the bases. But at the end of the day, do you love their work? Do you have an emotional connection with their story?
4. Ultimately, hire someone you like. It's not only important to like a photographer's work, its also important to like the photographer. As a person. Get to know them. What they like, what they don't like. Read their blog. A photographer's personality will tell you a lot about their style of shooting. Not to mention you want to get along with someone you'll be spending so much time with over the course of your planning and on the actual day of your wedding.
Hopefully this will help anyone who is needing a little direction. I know I needed it. So many photographers, so little time. But low and behold I found mine. She's simply awesome. And she gets me. She's Kala Minko and I can not wait to have her shoot our wedding.
