YAY! it’s picture time!

Your senior year… this is the time that you’ve been waiting for! You’re so close to graduating and moving on to college or whatever else you want to do in life. It’s so important to document these precious times in your life!

Your fiancé FINALLY proposed to you and even though you’ve been planning your wedding since you can remember, finding a photographer is still hard. You want to find a photographer who you absolutely love!

Choosing a photographer for your senior pictures, your wedding, a couples session, or for any type of photos in general, can be a little overwhelming because let’s be real, there’s like 35709345 photographers to choose from! It’s important that you choose the right photographer for you so that you have the best experience possible and so that you absolutely love your photos! Here are 10 tips for choosing the right photographer for you!

1. Personality

It’s important that you choose a photographer who either has a similar personality to yours or who has a personality that you like! If you’re a quiet person, you may not feel comfortable being around someone who is loud and wants to talk your ear off. If you’re very outgoing, you may feel a little uncomfortable around someone who doesn’t talk very much. The photographers personality plays a huge role in how comfortable you feel during your photos and trust me, you want to feel as comfortable as possible for the best photos! You can get to know photographers by following them on Instagram and watching their stories/reading their captions, or reading the “about me” section on their website. I prefer following photographers on Instagram to get to know them because you can get to know them in real time and see what they do outside of photographer to see if you have common interests!

2. Editing Style

It is ESSENTIAL that you choose a photographer whose editing style you love! Every photographer edits their pictures differently. Some photographers have a light and airy style, where their photos are very bright, light, and crisp, whereas other photographers may have a dark and moody style, where the colors aren’t as saturated and the photos are darker to draw in more emotion. Photographers can also edit their photos true to real life color and do minimal editing. I would describe my style as bold and warm! There are sooooo many different ways to edit photos, but chances are photographers aren’t going to change their editing style to edit your photos to your liking (if your liking differs from their style) because editing is THEIR art. A light and airy photographer isn’t going to just switch to dark and moody! You need to figure out what style colors you like in your photos and find a photographer who matches that style!

3. Photography Style

Do you want all posed photos? Or do you want all candid photos? Maybe a mix of both? That’s what photography style is! Photographers will either direct you pose by pose and move you exactly how they want to pose you, or they’ll give you different prompts/things to do to catch those candid moments. Some photographers sit back and capture the in-between moments for a more photojournalistic style while others do a set of poses during their session. If you want all posed photos, find a photographer that does that and vice versa! Every photographer has a certain way of running their sessions, so ask them what that is beforehand to see if they’re a good match for you!

4. Their Response Time

Does anyone like waiting days to hear back on a question they had? I don’t think so! I think that everyone can agree that it’s nice to have questions answered in a timely manner so that no time is wasted. Make sure you book a photographer that replies quickly to your emails/messages so you’re not wasting your time! I also think that response time shows how much a photographer cares about their clients. You’re investing a lot in photography so you should have the best experience possible and I think response time plays a big part in your overall experience!

5. Their Reviews

This one may seem a little obvious but it can be overlooked. Look through a photographers reviews to see what other people are saying. You can learn a lot about a photographers personality, their sessions, and the experience through reviews! If someone has a lot of negative reviews, you may want to start your search for a photographer over again.

6. Their Packages

Almost every photographer has set packages! You need to find a photographer that has a package that fits your needs that’s in your budget. Some photographers will only have one package, while others will have multiple packages to choose from. Some photographers will even customize their packages so you can design a session that is absolutely perfect for you! Look on their website or email them for their packages and see if they are in your price range and have what you are looking for!

7. How Helpful are They?

This is SO important! You are paying for a session with a photographer with your hard earned money! If the photographer isn’t helping you at all then they may not be the best fit for you. You’re investing in them, so they should invest in you. You should have a smooth sailing, stress free time while planning your session and during the actual session. Photographers are here to help you throughout the entire process. You deserve to find a photographer that is going to basically plan your entire session so that you don’t have to lift a finger! Do they send you a guide packed full of useful information to your session? Or do you book them and never hear from them again until right before your session? Find a photographer that helps you and answers your questions thoroughly every step of the way.

8. TurnAround Time

Turnaround time is more of a personal preference, but it’s still important to keep in mind. If you want your photos back really fast, you’ll want someone with a fast turnaround time. Photographers all have different turnaround times, especially during different times of the year depending on how busy they are. Some will have your photos back to you within a few days, while others take months. It’s important to know what timing to expect beforehand so that your expectations are met.

9. Add On Options

Add ons are such a fun thing! If you want hair and makeup included in your session, you’ll want to find a photographer who includes it in their sessions or offers it as an add on. There’s a multitude of different add on options that a photographer may have, so if there’s a particular one that you want you need to make sure they have it!

10. Experience

This may be the most important thing out of allllllllllll of these!! You want to have the best time ever during your session! If you apply the 9 tips from above (experience was also mentioned multiple times in them), I think you’ll have a wonderful time with a photographer who fits your needs and who you jive with! You should be walking away from your session with a new friend, feeling confident as ever, and like you want to do the whole thing again tomorrow! You should have SO much fun during your session! Everything leading up to your photos adds onto your experience. Great communication, helpful tips, a fun-filled session, a fantastic turnaround time… those will all lead to a great experience which is what you deserve! On top of having a great experience, it’s also a good idea to look into how much experience the photographer has! It’s a good idea to book someone who specializes in the type of session that you’re looking for because that means they will be a master in that area of photography!