Do I need to hire a wedding photographer that has shot at my venue before?
If you’ve locked in your date and venue and have now begun your search for a wedding photographer, one of the early questions that might come up is “what if the photographer has never shot at my venue before?” This is the first and only wedding you’re ever going to plan and so you may default to vendors who have worked at your venue before. But if you’re here exploring the options because you’re not necessarily in LOVE with their work, here is some assurance for you.
What former brides are saying
If you want to hear what other brides are saying first, you can read this thread on Wedding Wire.
“A good photographer is a good photographer, no matter the location.”
“I wouldn’t worry. Professionals know how to adapt to different environments.”
A wedding photographer’s personal process if I haven’t shot at your wedding venue before
As a Calgary wedding photographer, if I haven’t shot at your venue before, I do a few things:
I look at venue photos and previous work of other photographers. The reason I do this is to gauge if there are unique lighting circumstances at your venue. As a photographer of many years, I can look at a photograph and tell how that photograph was taken (such as what kind of lighting is used or what angle it was taken at). Even by just looking at a venue through photos, the shape, structure, and material of a venue can give me enough information for me to know what equipment I need to shoot at your venue. I also look at previous wedding photos to see if there are common locations for photos.
I show up a little bit before coverage time to scout the space. If there’s some extra time before coverage begins, I often will take a peek at your venue to do a last-minute check on how everything looks. This is most common to newly opened wedding venues that don’t have too many photos in their space.
How do photographers scout your wedding venue the day of
Professional wedding photographers need to adapt to different lighting circumstances in an instant to make sure photographs turn out well. One thing I tell my couples is that I don’t necessarily do scouting before your wedding day because it can be redundant.
Factors that affect how your photos turn out include:
setup/layout of your unique event. Decor can change the entire vibe of a venue and most of the time, decor isn’t ready until a few hours before you need to enter. If everything isn’t already where it needs to be, there will always need to be changes to a photographer’s approach.
what time of day are you in the exact moment for photos. Checking out an outdoor ceremony space in the evening will give a completely different feel if the day of is sunny at noon. This reason is why I don’t scout outdoor weddings - because you will need to adapt the moment of.
Trusting the wedding photographer you hire is such an important detail because if you don’t cooperate with what your photographer suggests, chances are, you’ll be disappointed with the outcome.
If you still have doubts about hiring a photographer that’s never shot at your wedding venue before, consider asking your venue if previous photographers who have shot there expressed concerns about lighting, or request your photographer to join you on a tour of the venue to make you feel at ease. But if the photographer lacks enthusiasm with checking out your venue, take it as an indicator of confidence rather than anything else.
Remember at the end of the day, the wedding photographer that you should hire should be a photographer that you can connect with and whom you trust their quality of work.