Karen Allamby Photography

Karen Allamby Photography

As soon as possible! Popular dates book up early for all photographers so once your date and venue is locked in this would be my next step - especially if you find a photographer that you already have your heart set on (and if that is the case you could even ask what dates they have free to take when booking your venue as well). 

Karen Allamby Photography

If you feel awkward in front of the camera an engagement session is the perfect way to build rapport with your photographer and feel more prepared for you big day! In essence it is a short portrait session where your photographer will guide you through some of the poses you will be doing on your day, explaining little things like where to place your hands so that you don't have weird floating hands behind each other or the way you will stand to make sure you look natural and at ease etc. It should also be a lot less pressure and fun - your photographer wants you to be comfortable and focussed on each other on the day so after an engagement session hopefully you walk away being able to trust them to make you look great and in love with the way your photos look.

Karen Allamby Photography

It's so important to be comfortable with your photographer, I can't tell you how may horror stories I have heard of couples that booked a photographer that made them feel uncomfortable on the day and it made them hate their photos! 

I think to begin with make a shortlist of photographers whose work makes you feel emotional when you look at it and picture the couple being yourself and your partner, and then meet with them in person. You can tell a lot through a quick chat on the phone but you can tell more from a quick coffee catchup to discuss your plans for your ideal day! They will have ideas and suggestions they can make as you walk through your plan but really it's to tell if you feel comfortable with them and connect, if you have a couple of laughs and think "that person could be a friend" then you have found the one! 

I also think it would be naive to not mention pricing as well, unless your photographer offers payment plans, if they are out of your budget than it makes sense to find another photographer. It's hard to try and save up extra money to cover the additional costs while you're planning your wedding so I have had a lot of couples take up the payment plan offer and it makes life so much easier! 

And lastly what do their packages actually include? I have moved away from digital file only packages because from my personal and professional experience is that the digital files never end up getting used and after the initial excitement of showing everyone the photos on the computer, the USB is put away and never taken out again. Make sure that what is included in your package will be something that reflects you and your style, prints, framed artwork, albums all of them are such a beautiful way to display your photos so make sure you think about after the day and how you want the photos in your everyday life too and that your photographer has that option available.