How to Choose An Adirondack Wedding Photographer in 8 Easy Steps

Summary:

Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life, and capturing all the magic and memories is crucial. If you’re planning a wedding in the Adirondack region, you’re in luck – the stunning scenery and natural beauty make for the perfect backdrop for your big day. But how do you choose the right photographer to capture it all? With so many options out there, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. That’s where this guide comes in.

This guide contains the 8 steps that every engaged couple should take to make sure that they choose the best Adirondack wedding photographer, everything from knowing when to start researching, where to research, how to choose a few photographers to reach out to, and when to finally choose your perfect fit. So sit back, relax, and let us help you find the perfect wedding photographer to capture the magic of your big day in the Adirondacks.

1. Pick an Adirondack Wedding location and date first!

Before you start reaching out to photographers, decide on a venue and a date for your wedding. A wedding photographer won’t know if they’re available or what packages might cost if you don’t know when and where you’ll be tying the knot!

Here’s some suggestions of Adirondack Wedding Venues if you haven’t started the process yet:

• Gables and Gardens Event Barn
• The Barn at Lord Howe Valley
• The Inn at Erlowest
• The Sagamore Resort
• Forest Lake Camp

2. Understand different styles of wedding photography

There’s so many styles of wedding photography, but here’s a few of the main styles to look out for:

The Classic Photographer – This is the photographer who is a wiz with poses and provides a luxury feel to the day. Think high-end, glitz and glam!

The Documentary-styled Photographer – This is all about candid moments and capturing the emotion of the day! Their goal is to help you relive the day and hear all of the interactions in your photos. This can also be called the photojournalistic wedding photographer.

The Editorial Photographer – This is the creative, artsy, inspired photographer who is ready to make you look like a model! They’re going to play a lot with lighting, backdrops, and more to infuse their artistic vision into the day.

This doesn’t mean that a documentary photographer won’t take posed photos, or that a classic photographer won’t capture candid moments, but these styles will drive the photographer and impact how they capture your day.

Take a look at your favorite wedding photographs and find the common theme as to why you’re drawn to the images. Is it the editing style? The perfectly posed photo? The candid moments? The artistry? This will help you figure out what style is best for your day.

3. How to find the perfect Adirondack wedding photographer

Okay, so you know when and where you’re getting married, in addition to your favorite style of wedding photography. Now where can you find this Adirondack wedding photographer? Here’s just a few places to look:

• Google
• Listing sites like The Knot, Wedding Wire, Zola, etc.
• Referral from friends
• Referrals from your Venue/other Wedding vendors you have already booked with
• Social Media (Instagram is the most commonly used among wedding professionals!)

Pick 5-7 that match your criteria and make an effort to look more into their business to see if you’d like to reach out!

4. Go to their website (if you haven’t already!) & read their reviews

Look them up on Google and find what other couples are saying about their wedding photography experience. What is the most common theme between all of the reviews that you’ve seen? That’ll help you determine their main approach to wedding photography.

If an Adirondack wedding photographer has been in the industry long enough, there’s bound to be at least a few negative reviews. But if you see that the majority of reviews are negative, then it may be a sign to not reach out to them.

5. Schedule a call to talk to 3 or 4 photographers – do you click well with them?

Make sure to have a conversation before hiring your photographer either via Zoom, on the phone, or in person. Most Adirondack wedding photographers prefer to be contacted via an inquiry form on their website and they’ll let you know what the next step is in regards to inquiring.

Take notes while you talk with them so you can remember and compare between the different photographers, but gut feelings can also tell you a lot about whether or not they’d be a good fit for your day.

6. Ask each one for a full, REAL wedding gallery – not just their highlights

If you don’t read anything else I say, read this.

Many wedding photographers participate in something called “styled shoots” – these are curated photo opportunities to help photographers gain portfolio pieces and attract the type of clients they’re looking for. They’ll post these photos on social media and their website to gain the right clientele.

That’s great and helpful for photographers to keep creative juices alive, but those photos don’t actually determine skill level when it comes to taking photos in a pressured situation. Wedding photography is all about capturing high-stake moments like the first look, first kiss, etc, and styled shoots don’t showcase whether or not a photographer has the eye and ability to take photos in the moment.

Seeing a full wedding gallery (or two!) helps you know what you’re actually getting. And if an Adirondack wedding photographer won’t let you see a full gallery, don’t hire them.

7. Tips for working with your wedding photographer: Communication, Planning and Trust

Every photographer has an expectation in regards to communicating and planning with their couples. Some photographers check in regularly with their clients and others don’t check in until right before the wedding. Depending on your preference will depend on what type of photographer sounds best for you.

Notice how responsive they’ve been throughout the whole wedding inquiry process. It’s normal and common to not hear back from a wedding photographer for a few days, or up to a week. BUT, if you’re not hearing from them for weeks on end, it may be a sign that this photographer is not a good fit.

If you’re concerned about their method/frequency of communication and planning, ask them about it!

Also ask them how much they’ll be around to help with the planning process. Do they have a specific meeting just for your timeline? Are they available for questions when needed? Ask them how involved they usually like to be.

The most important part of your relationship with your Adirondack wedding photographer is trust. Make sure you trust them to do their job well and take care of you before, during, and after the wedding is over.

8. Remember that you get what you paid for

Any Adirondack wedding photographer can be a good photographer if the lighting and situation is *just right,* but not all photographers can take good photos in most lighting scenarios. There are so many factors when it comes to pricing for different wedding photography services: years of experience, equipment, education, etc. Some photographers only take a certain amount of weddings per year so they can give undivided time and energy to their wedding couples. Other photographers will take on multiple weddings per weekend.

Know that when they send you a custom proposal with collections, they are keeping all of these things in mind and making sure that they can dedicate their full attention to their wedding couples by charging those prices. I promise you that you will get what you paid for.

Bonus Tip: If you still don’t know, test it out with an engagement session!

If you’re still not sure, there is no shame in asking for an engagement session first before hiring them for your wedding. This gives you the ability to test out how you connect with their personality, the communication that they have through it all, and the quality of photos that they send.

Conclusion: choosing the perfect Adirondack wedding photographer is worth the investment.

The photographer is one of – if not THE – vendor that spends the most time with you on your actual wedding day. You want to make sure you enjoy talking with them! Not only that, but you can’t fake comfortability and you want to be able to have natural wedding photos to look back on.

There’s no going back with wedding photos! Many couples wish they had invested more money into their Adirondack wedding photographer. These tips should set you on the road to success to choose the best Adirondack wedding photographer for your day!

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