So you’ve recently got engaged and now you’re wondering, how to find a wedding photographer.
The internet is a wonderful tool full of great resources but it has a lot of rabbit holes you can fall into that can get very overwhelming. Especially when you’ve never hired a professional photographer before. This is a once in a lifetime event and it’s important to find the right vendors to hire.
This is my quick guide to get you started on your search and please reach out if you have any questions.
ASKING FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOR REFERRALS
One very common path people take is to ask friends and family if they know of anyone personally.
However, I see a lot of times where the photographer a friend uses may not be the best fit or provide the services you’re looking for. Having other options is always a good idea so you don’t limit yourself to the first photographer mentioned as they may not be what you’re looking for.
Next on the list would be to check the good old google search for “Photographers Near Me”.
This will give you some options but may not always yield the best results
(no one really checks out the second page of google so your first options are usually limited).
If you are going to utilize google I highly recommend using useful keywords that are relative to what you’re looking for such as
Documentary Wedding Photographer in Charlottesville, VA
Virginia Intimate Wedding Photographer
Wedding Photographer in Central Virginia
Using some of the classic keywords such as ‘documentary’ or ‘Intimate Wedding’ can help you find photographers with those specific skills or interest. When using google as a tool I highly recommend at least checking out the second and third page of google for more options.
DIRECTORY WEBSITES
Because Wedding photography is such a vast industry there are plenty of websites dedicated to photographer directories. These can be very helpful because you can see pricing, location, and portfolio without have to scroll too much. The negative to this type of search is that the photographer you’re looking for may not be listed. Which is why I highly recommend avoiding the Knot and WeddingWire for vendor searching in general. They only advertise people who pay for their service so when you’re looking through them it will be limited.
Below are a few websites I recommend checking out:
Directories in Multiple States:
https://wanderingweddings.com
https://www.zola.com
https://www.fearlessphotographers.com
Virginia Specific Directory:
Another place that can be a great resource is Specific Facebook Groups (i.e. family photographers of Virginia, Wedding photographers of Charlotte, NC, etc.).
However, I do warn you that if you post a vague “I need a Wedding Photographer in Lynchburg, VA” you will get a LOT of people commenting and it can be overwhelming.
When posting in specific facebook groups I recommend having as many details as possible in your post.
I put a general example below, this will help make sure that the people commenting are within your range. Without at least a budget and location on your post you will get a VERY large number of people responding which can be very overwhelming.
Looking for
True to Life Wedding Photographer in Lynchburg, VA
Date: October 3, 2022
Roughly 7 hours
Budget $2,000-$2,500
My last suggest would be to utilize Instagram Hashtags and Locations.
This one will be a more time consuming because it will involve a LOT of scrolling.
You can either use specific hashtags (i.e. #VAphotographer, #Your specific Venue Hashtag, #LynchburgVAweddingphotographer, etc)
OR you can look for locations you like (i.e. Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah National Park, etc) and click on the photos linked to those locations.
Either way this can help you determine the style of photography you like and possibly where you’d like your photos taken!
CONCLUSION
As a photographer it can be easy to forget that not everyone knows how to begin looking for a professional photographer. It can get very overwhelming and I hope that this blog post provided some help. If you have other suggestions or questions please feel free to reach out!
Check out my blog (link below) to get an idea of what to do when you find a photographer you’re interested in!
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