About us
We are Cotswolds wedding photographers based in Hereford, UK and we have photographed over 400 weddings so far. Our photographic style is creative, relaxed and unobtrusive. Is this the style you are looking for? What can you do to make booking your wedding photographer a nice and easy process?
Booking your wedding photographer can be a really big task. Especially when you look at instagram and can’t really see the difference in quality because all acounts just look the same. So how do you find your ideal photographer? How can you make sure this is going to be a good choice?
We would also love to find our own amazing couples and this is the reason why we have written this blog post.
Wedding photography – personal choice
Wedding photography is such a personal choice and it is so important to find the right match. I mean, you want to feel relaxed, happy and comfortable all day on your wedding day, right? Only then your wedding pictures will be natural and beautiful – because you will FEEL amazing. So you need the right person with you.
Booking your wedding photographer – 10 TOP TIPS
Our most important top 3 tips for booking your photographer would be:
Top 3 tips
- First of all have a think about what photography style you like. Something more formal and traditional or something more relaxed, unobtrusive and creative? How wold you like to feel on your wedding day and how would you like to remember your day?
- When you are looking at a photographer’s website, how do you feel about their photos? Excited, connected, emotional – how do their images make you feel?
- When you chat with the photographer – what’s your impression? How does the chat feel? Salesy, pushy, automatic or is it as if you were talking to a friend who really cares about what you need?
7 more helpful tips
- Can the photographer prove their wedding photography is top quality? What awards have they won? I know awards are not the most important factor but they always mean something because they are really hard to win. Sometimes literally tens of thousands photographers compete and only the best of the best win – so those photographers must be doing something right, right?
- What do their clients think about them? Testimonials and recommendations – so read the testimonials and ask your friends.
- How do their wedding contracts and backup plans look? Are they insured? Would you feel safe knowing that they have everything covered, just in case?
- Are they full time wedding photographers? Especially after 2020 there was an influx of many new photographers who still work part time or have just left their 9-5 jobs and now pursue their dream career and are still learning.
- Would they be able to photograph winter or rainy wedding day well? How about a dark church or an evening dance party? Many new photographers only show the prettiest, trendiest images on their instagram and website but how do they cope when it gets cold, dark and rainy? Will they still be able to produce consistent, top quality work?
- Do they shoot in manual mode? Can they control the camera settings well or is it just hit and miss for them?
- Are they creative? Being creative and having your own style sets a photographer apart from the crowd. If they only show what other photographers show, something that is trendy right now – this might indicate lack of experience, own style and creativity.
Wedding photography is THE FEELING
In order to help you choose YOUR ideal photographer and also to find our ideal couples we have asked our amazing couples how they felt before booking their wedding photographer. We got many amazing answers and we really hope our couples’ experience will help you book your wedding photographer. Maybe we will be the right match, who knows?
As every engaged couple our couples had many worries before booking their wedding photographer. But when they saw their wedding pictures, they loved them. Please let us know what you are worried about right now when it comes to booking your wedding photographer, we would love to chat with you about that!
We asked our awesome couples what their most pressing concerns before booking a wedding photographer were and why and here is what they said:
Will the ‘feel of the day’ be captured on my photos?
“I wanted my photographer to capture the feel of the day. Getting natural shots of all our favourite people and moments we may not have seen or remembered until the photos arrived. Photos that show the full day from getting ready right through to the party!”
“Will the moments we specifically wanted be captured?”
“I also wanted to make sure the key moments were captured like my dad seeing me, groom seeing me, the first dance etc.”
“I wanted to make sure all the really special bits were captured! Would the photos be everything we wanted?”
Our approach
As reportage wedding photographers we are all about capturing the natural and authentic moments. We work tirelessly all day to make sure all those moments are captured for our couples. Every wedding is unique and we love capturing the feel of that day for our couples. We will get to know you and your story before the day, just so we know what is important for you and what to focus on.
Will I look good and feel comfortable in front of the camera?
“Being in front of the camera, wanting to feel comfortable. I was worried that we don’t photograph well and might be nervous and that our photos might look staged.”
“I was worried that when I had my photos taken, I would feel awkward. Some of my other friends had awful photographers! I was worried I would look rubbish in my photos!”
“We wanted to feel comfortable being photographed all day by our photographer.”
Our solution
We totally get it – nearly all our couples worry about that and this is the most natural thing! That’s why meeting up and chatting before your wedding day is so important to us. Pre-wedding shoot is so helpful and makes a really big difference.
During the shoot you will find out that this isn’t actually about posing, it is all about chatting and laughing. And meeting your wedding photographer before your day makes all the difference. We have a blog post about the benefits of having the PRE-WEDDING SHOOT too, have a look.
What will happen if it rains?
“I was most worried about the weather/rain. What would be my photographer’s approach if it rained all day?
“Inconsistent weather conditions causing continuity issues through the day.”
Don’t worry!
Just embrace the rain and enjoy your day! We actually LOVE rainy wedding days. They look very romantic (or fun, like the one abobe) and the rain, especially at night, is just beautiful. We have a special blog post about RAINY WEDDINGS, have a look.
Will my photographer fit in?
“We really wanted someone who would fit in to a relaxed day, and that would just blend in to a crowd/party feel. Having someone to take photos of the boys getting ready, not just the girls. Would they make it fun and enjoyable for guests?”
“I was concerned that the photography might be intrusive, or inhibit how relaxed people felt at the wedding. My sister in particular has an aversion to being photographed and I really wanted her to feel comfortable.”
“We wanted a photographer that took beautiful natural photos and understood what we were looking for, but also someone who we could also get along with.”
“Liking the photographer as a person. They are with you all day on a very important day. I had seen and liked their photos, I had found out what we would get for our money etc. But if we didn’t like them as a person then we couldn’t use them.”
Our approach
Being a part of your group is our goal. We love weddings and our couples. It’s all about that perfect balance – we really want you and your guests to just have fun and be happy. It is your day and not a photo shoot – so we just blend in and document it for you! You can find out about what others think about us by reading the TESTIMONIALS.
Will we spend AGES having our photos taken?
“Jon and I really didn’t want to spend ages away from the fun, taking photos. We wanted to avoid hours of awkward posing, and remember the moments spent with our loved ones instead. We’re also super awkward, goofy people in general so posed pics aren’t really our thing!
It was way more important to spend time enjoying the day with our guests, so we really wanted to find a photographer we trusted to deliver some nice photos without having us pose for them. We were aware the trade-off might have meant fewer good pics, but in the end, we got LOADS of pics we loved anyway!”
“Spending all day having photos taken!”
Our solution
That’s why we always chat with our couples before their wedding day. Some couples LOVE more photos, other couples don’t. And our shoots never last long anyway because we believe your wedding day is not a photo shoot. That’s why we ‘whisk you away’ in the most convenient time, at the time when we can use the most amazing light to create the most amazing pictures for you.
Let’s chat about what you like and we will deliver the photos YOU want, so if you’re happy to have more photos on the day, we’re more than happy to do that for you.
Will my photos look too posed?
“We didn’t want our photos to look too posed or dated. The style of photography was really important to us – we wanted relaxed photos.”
“I wanted candid pictures and was wondering what the right balance of formal vs informal was.”
“My husband was not comfortable about ‘posing’ for photographs! So we wanted to find someone who would make us feel comfortable and at ease with the whole process! We definitely found that with Marta and Artur!”
“I was keen not to have someone who would just ask us to stand and smile and get very posed pictures.”
“Finding the right person to photograph the wedding in a way that felt like us and not too formal.”
Our approach
We have photographed over 400 weddings so far and we really love the natural AND the more original, creative look. We have a couple of tricks that will help you feel and as a result look natural on your photos. Portraits are just a small percentage of the photos we deliver, the rest is capturing the real and natural moments and we never stop capturing those real moments at weddings.
Will my photos be unique and will they tell OUR story?
“We were looking for someone personable and wanted our photos to feel emotional and not just be generic nice photos. We wanted unique poses in each photo and wanted someone who might achieve something ‘different’.”
“Also we didn’t want a photographer that our friends had used. We wanted individual and different!”
“Having nice wedding photos to keep.”
Our solution
Again, getting to know our couples before their wedding day is so important to us. We learn about what they like and don’t like and about their unique stories. Every wedding and every couple is unique and we want to capture that uniqueness for them.
Will there be enough time for all the photos?
“Fitting everything in during the day and making sure we captured everyone and everything.”
“Having time to get photos of both of us getting ready in the morning due to separate locations.”
Our solution
We chat with our couples and plan the day with them. Every wedding is different and we will find the way to get all the pictures the couples want. You can read more about the GROUP PICTURES AT WEDDINGS. This is one of the key things and being organized is so important here.
Will my photographer be too expensive?
“Budget – I knew I wanted more than I could afford! Quality – It was really nerve-wracking looking at photographer’s portfolios and trying to work out if they were really good or not! It’s difficult to know who to trust and it’s such an important part of the wedding to get the right photographer.”
“What the costs would be, as weddings are expensive!”
Quality and prices
Can you put a price tag on your memories? We know that we do our job of capturing moments and emotions really well because we know how important they are to our couples. That’s what we always have in mind when shooting and then editing wedding photos.
We are really proud of our AWARDS – they are our QUALITY CERTIFICATE. Our packages are flexible and you can choose the option that works best for you. We have a special page about WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PRICES. Get in touch with us to find out more and chat with us.
Will my family behave?
“My main worry in general (if this is what you’re asking) though was family misbehaving.”
Our answer
Well, we can’t control your family but we can say that we love crazy dance floors and fun and hilarious moments at weddings, we really do! So please don’t worry about your guests and family and just enjoy your day! Take a look at all the beauty and fun we capture at weddings (this is the video we submitted to TWIA and later found out we won THE BEST UK WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER 2023:
Booking your wedding photographer – summary
What do you think? I bet you were asking yourselves similar questions. It is so important to choose a good photographer, someone experienced, friendly and creative. And it would be ideal if you really liked their style and liked them personally.
Wedding photography is such a personal choice, you’re actually looking for that right feeling. Would you like to find out if we are the right match? If you want to keep reading, find out more about our unposed wedding photography or just:
Get in touch with us
