When your wedding is all said and done, all you’ll have left is a new spouse and your wedding photos; that’s why choosing the right wedding photographer is so important if you want beautiful photos you can treasure forever.

Here are a few tips to help you choose a wedding photographer in South Africa, from setting a budget to learning about wedding styles.

Decide on Your Budget

You don’t want to set your heart on a photographer who’s work you love, only to discover they’re too far out of your budget. That’s why it’s essential to discuss with your partner how much you can spend on a wedding photographer and keep that number in mind when researching photographers.

The average 6 hour wedding package for a South African wedding photographer can be anywhere upwards of R8000. This is well within industry standard rates of R1200/hour to photograph your wedding and R500/hour for editing and retouching. Just remember that the more experienced a photographer is and if they have industry-related awards, typically the more they will charge for their services.

Don’t forget that if your wedding venue is far from where our photographer is based, you will need to pay their travel fees and if necessary, accommodation fees too. You can expect to pay upwards of R7-8.00/km for traveling fees, excluding tolls, and fees are typically based on AA rates for your photographer’s vehicle.

What is Your Vision for Your Wedding Photos

Think about your wedding day- what pops out at you as being the most important moments? Is it the ceremony, candid moments with family, your couples photos or your first dance at the reception? Narrowing down what aspects of your day are most important to you will give you clues on how much time you’ll need to look for in wedding photography packages, as well as the style of wedding photographer you should book.

You can also start a Pinterest board where you pin wedding photos that you love. This again will give you an idea of what your vision is for your photos.

Choosing a Style

In the same vein as your vision for your wedding, choosing a style for your wedding photography is important. Each photographer has their own approach to capturing a wedding; some prefer a behind-the-scenes approach, others a more traditional structure and some a blend of both. The three main styles of wedding photography are:

Documentary Photography: This is where your photographer takes a fly-on-the-wall approach to your wedding day, capturing everything as it happens for spontaneous and candid photos. This style’s authentic feel doesn’t rely on any posing to tell a real story of your wedding day.

Formal or Traditional Photography: Decades ago this was the style of wedding photos. While your finished photos will be beautifully shot and lit, they will involve plenty of direction from your photographer, lots of posing and of course, plenty of time too. Plus this style doesn’t truly tell the story of your wedding day.

Illustrative or Contemporary Photography: A blend of the previous two styles, illustrative photography is what is typically seen in wedding photography today. It involves a documentary approach for all the key moments of your wedding, capturing candid photos, and using posing and prompts for group and couples photos for a more polished look. This gives you the best of both previous styles and is my personal wedding photography style.

Recommendations & Reviews

If you have any friends and family who were married recently, ask them about their wedding photographer. They’ll be able to give you firsthand reviews of their experience to help you choose a wedding photographer.

You can also ask your venue for their preferred vendor list that will include photographers they have worked with in the past. This gives you the added advantage of booking a photographer that is already quite familiar with your wedding venue.

View Their Portfolio

If there’s one thing a wedding photographer should have, it’s a portfolio. This will typically showcase their best work and you should look for a range of images of key moments of a wedding day: getting ready, details, the ceremony, couples photos, the reception etc.

A potential wedding photographer would also be able to show you a full wedding album when asked. This will give you the best look at how they capture a wedding day and the quality you can expect from them should you book them for your wedding.

Arrange a Meeting

Out of all your wedding vendors your wedding photographer is going to spend the most time with you on the day. You should feel comfortable around them and confident in their ability to not only capture your day, but be able to handle any hiccups that may arise on the day. This is where a meeting with your short-list of photographers is vital.

Whether you meet in-person or over a video call, a meeting with your potential photographer will give you a chance to get to know them and ask any questions you may have. This could be anything to how they intend to capture your wedding day, to what their turnaround time is for delivery of your wedding photos.