When you decide to do a destination wedding, it’s crucial to hire the best, most reliable photographer to capture the beautiful venue and, of course, your most precious memories. But how do you find the best one? Where do you even start? Not to worry, we’ll give you valuable tips on finding the best destination wedding photographer.
Where to Start
Well, aside from Google, you could turn to social media to find wedding photos you love. Check out Instagram and Pinterest for wedding photography styles that resonate with you the most. You can also check out referrals from friends and family members. Then make a shortlist and head over to their websites to check their portfolio and know more about them.
Factors to Consider
Here are some factors you should consider before hiring your destination wedding photographer:
Photography Style
Most wedding photographers think that, most importantly, clients should already know what photography style they want the most before anything else. Whether editorial, traditional, or fine art wedding photography style, you would undoubtedly find it easier to look for the best person to photograph your wedding day if you know the style you want beforehand.
Client Reviews
What better way to get to know a destination wedding photographer, without even reaching out to them yet, than to scan through their previous clients’ reviews? Aside from looking through their galleries, you should also know about their personalities, how they work throughout the whole wedding day, how they treat their couples, etc. Through these reviews, you will discover many things about the photographer you’re eyeing, which will help you decide whether or not to hire them.
Cost
The price is one of the most obvious factors that couples consider before hiring a destination wedding photographer. For destination weddings, you have two options: you could either choose your venue’s in-house photographer or take a photographer from your place and fly them with you to your destination venue. If you choose an in-house photographer, their rates might be expensive. While if you choose a photographer from your area, their rates may be within your budget. But consider additional costs like plane tickets, transportation, accommodation, and food expenses. Yes, it’s important to stay within your budget limits. But if you highly value preserving your wedding day photos and you really want a certain photographer who you think will not disappoint, then go ahead and hire them, even if it means adding a bit more.
Connection
Once you have already weighed things out and narrowed down your list, it’s time to schedule a call to the best photographer who you think will deliver the best photos for you. During this first contact, it’s important to ask questions and get to know your photographer better. If you value getting great wedding photos so much, then you must have a good connection with your photographer for them to be able to produce the best possible images. Another tip is to hire the same photographer for both your engagement and wedding. Why? Because your engagement session will be the best opportunity to get comfortable with your photographer before your wedding day.
Questions to Ask Before Booking your Destination Wedding Photographer
Have you photographed our venue or any other venues the same as ours before? Do you love to travel?
Do you have an Insurance/ backup plan (for the images)?
What is included in the package? (how many hours, how many images, photo albums, etc.)
Do you have a second shooter?
Who has the rights to the photos?
Securing the Date
Most importantly, make sure that your chosen destination wedding photographer is available on your confirmed wedding date. Because wedding photographers, especially the good ones, are booked way more in advance than you think (like six months to 1 year in advance). So you should have a confirmed date of the wedding even before booking a call with the photographer you want (Some photographers won’t even go ahead and talk if you don’t have a confirmed date yet.) Once you have a date, go ahead and book a call with your photographer. If everything went great and you’re confident to hire them, make sure to secure their availability as soon as you can.
