How to choose Your Wedding Photographer? Tips and recommendations

While planning your wedding on an exotic island like Koh Samui, it's important to understand your special day schedule. For example, what to expect when you hire a wedding photographer. It's a good idea to get in advance some sense about your interaction during the whole day and, most importantly, about the result you are going to get.

1. Portfolio

Every professional photographer develops their working style and ethics so that I can speak only for myself. I'd suggest that the first step to form a view of it should be going through the photographer's portfolio, which represents a relatively small number of his selected photographs from different weddings. Based on this, it's easy to sift out the candidates whose style or quality could be better for you. Here you can find mine wedding portfolio.

2. Wedding Galleries

Since only favorite shots are usually used to form a portfolio, viewing all the photos taken during a single wedding from beginning to end makes sense. It's basically what clients who are not professional photo models get. Sadly, most often in Koh Samui, photographers won't bother to provide such an option. However, for this purpose, I've prepared galleries where you can examine several wedding photography sessions of your choice.

In addition, it gives a client a good understanding of the course of the day, its timing, locations used, and options available.

3. Shooting process

What your communication with the wedding photographer will be like? Will he be invisible, like a hunter, or wouldn't he mind pushing away a priest to get a nice close-up of the ring exchange? Will he give orders on how to pose and when to smile, like a commanding officer, or let you do your own thing and simply feverishly click the camera, like a paparazzi? What if you need some professional tips and guidance but certainly not a bossy director at your wedding?

Well, from my experience, different wedding stages require different approaches to make this day more stressless, fun, and memorable for the clients, not vice versa. In my opinion, by combining both “live broadcast”/“spy camera” and staged (fully or partially) shooting, we are getting the best of both worlds.

For example, during your "getting ready time" in the morning, before the perfect bride's makeup and hairstyle get touched by the tropical climate (or her beloved and passionate groom), we can do a couple of romantic bridal portraits that might need some direction to convey all the beauty of the moment, it's excitement and anticipation. Also, some really funny, elegant, and original staged portraits of the groom and his friends might be obtained during this time.

Usually, right after your wedding ceremony, if there's no hurry, you might enjoy a stroll while getting some semi-staged and magazine-cover-style pictures. I readily give some advice on posing, etc., if I'm asked to.

I never interfere with the most exciting, unique, and solemn events of the wedding (like He is seeing Her for the first time on this day); on the other hand, if you like, I can share some tips in advance, like “when you put a ring on her finger, then do it slowly, — it doesn't only feel and look nice, but also allows me to pick up the best angle without disturbing anyone.” That's why I think it's optimal when 90% of communication between photographer and his clients is done in advance, in person or at least via texts/video calls.

I hope this post was helpful. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Cheers.