We would boil it down to our most practical tips and tricks to find the right match.
1.Approach.
You are likely to spend more time with your wedding photographer than with your honorary maid on your wedding day, so you want to make sure that you are someone with whom you jive. The easiest way to start is to sort the vendor listings on a wedding websites where you feel you fit. Look at their About pages once you've found photographers you're interested in. These pages are carefully designed to give you a sense of who and how the photographer is working.Look for written philosophies that feel like you just click and see if you meet the photographer personally or talk to him on the phone.
2.Does the photographer fit your personality?
Once you have narrowed down photographers whose work you like and whose approach you seem to be freezing with, set up a meeting in person. Then, see if you LIKE them. Please don't hire them if you don't. You spend enough time with your photographer on your wedding day to find them at least as pleasant and possible forever. You only know how much you love them, but make sure that you like them.)
3. Lighting
Before we get too far into this idea of " just hire someone whose work makes you feel happy, " let's quickly check the reality. The easiest wedding to shoot is a daytime wedding, with a shade ceremony and great natural light. Ignore the remainder of this paragraph if it applies to you. However, if you get married in a dark church, if you have an outdoor wedding reception in the evening or wedding formals in summer in the middle of the day, it is really important that you look for a photographer who is qualified with these lighting environments. Do not assume that experience is equal to low lighting skills. Look for weddings shot in similar lighting environments in the portfolio of your photographer and ask them how they deal with your specific situation. (Some photographers use external lights for dark receptions, while others may rely on their camera’s ability to see well in the dark.) If you notice that after it gets dark, all wedding photos in the portfolio are processed in black and white, that’s a hint that the photographer may not be super comfortable in darker situations. Note: your Gothic cathedral wedding won't look like a sunlit wedding, no matter who you hire, so don't expect magical tricks.)
4. Reviews and word of mouth
Each photographer has his strengths and his weaknesses. It's pretty easy to understand the strengths of someone (assume that taking amazing pictures is one of them). The trick is to get a precise sense of what the weaknesses of a photographer are and then decide with what to live with. This can be done through a strong conversation with a photographer. Just ask them flatly what they're weak. You'll be told by a professional. Run away if they say they have none.) Here are a variety of weaknesses I’ve observed in various photographers (most of whom are kick-ass people and artists): not super good time managers on the wedding day, slightly socially awkward, slow delivery of photos, slow or poor client communication, not cheerful and outgoing with the couple, don’t take direction well. The trick is to find out what strength and weakness balance works for you. I could be less concerned about photographers being good time managers or late delivering my photos. But I want someone who is incredibly nice to me and who does all I ask for on my wedding day, plus offers to give me earrings if I lose mine. Many people feel the other way around — as long as they are organized, they don't care how nice their photographers are. When you interview photographers, find out what your needs are and what you are dealing with. Just remember that you are not perfect and neither will your photographer be perfect. The relationship between the photographer and the client is personal, so find out how best to be imperfect.