Find a wedding photographer: compare offers and portfolios
The date matters more than it seems
Good wedding photographers are booked well in advance, especially for weekends in the wedding season. So the first things to give in your request are the date and the city. If the date is not final, write a range: replies will come from those who are free.
The second key point is style. Candid coverage captures real moments without posing, posed shooting gives more carefully composed frames, and fine art and film have their own look. Do not judge the portfolio by a few of the best frames; look at a full wedding. That shows how the photographer keeps the pace of the whole day.
How to get offers on BlaBlaPrice
Instead of messaging a dozen photographers, you write one request. You can add one photo, for example a style reference you like. The request is checked, and you are told what else is worth adding.
Photographers reply in the chat: a free date, what is in the package, the price or what it depends on, timing and samples of work. Each one sees where their offer ranks among the others and can improve their terms. The offer with the best overall terms is shown first, with couples’ reviews next to it. Contacts are opened only to the chosen photographer. The principles are on the “How it works” page.
What to put in your request
- Date of the wedding.
- Length of coverage — for example, 8 hours.
- Location — city, ceremony venue, banquet hall or resort, and the distance between places.
- What to shoot — getting ready, the ceremony, couple portraits, the reception, a love story shoot.
- Edited photos — the number and the level of retouching.
- Style — candid, posed, film, fine art.
- Extras — a photo book, a second photographer, video, a drone.
- Delivery date and budget.
Example: “Wedding on 14 December, Lahore, ceremony at a palace hotel and reception at a resort outside the city. I need a photographer for 8 hours: getting ready, the ceremony, couple portraits, the reception. 300 edited photos, 50 of them retouched, candid style. A photo book and delivery in 3 weeks. Budget up to Rs 120,000.”
What to compare in the offers
A “per day” figure says nothing without the contents of the package. Ask: how many hours of shooting, how many finished photos, whether retouching is included, in what format they will be delivered, and whether there is a second photographer. The number of edited photos is the most sensitive item: one gives 300, another 600, but with different editing.
Ask about the delivery time, and whether the best frames are published early as a preview. Find out what happens if the photographer falls ill: is there a replacement, and can the advance be refunded? Be sure to agree whether RAW files are handed over, who holds the rights to the photos and how long the photographer keeps the archive after delivery.
Common mistakes
Choosing only on price without looking at a full wedding in the portfolio. Not agreeing on the length in advance: when the reception runs late, an extra charge comes as a surprise. Not signing a contract and not recording the advance. Not discussing the day’s timing with the photographer, which should include time for portraits and good light for group photos.
If you also want video, there is videography and video editing, and for aerial shots, drone aerial photography. For other shoots see photography and photo retouching. The whole section: “Photo and video”.
