How to find the best photographer in Montreal for your wedding day
A wedding is the one day every girl wants to feel like a princess and play out the fantasies they have had since they were young. Every girl wants her wedding to be perfect and have everything in place – starting from their hair to their dance. No matter what age a girl is in, be it at her early 20’s or late 40’s, a bride is a bride.
And if you have seen a bride before her wedding, you KNOW how much pressure she is under. But at the end of the day, even with the pressure, the tantrums and the drama, all we girls want is to have a magical day to remember when we tied the knots with the love of our life. And what better way to remember it than through our wedding photographs!
Photography has changed throughout the decades, and currently, there are a lot of styles and photographers to choose from, it really gets confusing to pick a winner. In fact, Montreal has some of the best wedding photographers available, so it gets overwhelming at times, because there are so many to choose from.
But fear not ladies! Even though we have not made a list of photographers, we have come up with a few steps through which you can make your own list of photographers based on interest and necessity, within a very short time. So try to keep up.
The strategy involves two steps when finding your photographer
- Before making a list of photographers
- After making a list of photographers
There are many ways by which you can approach making a list of some photographers. But an ideal way, in my opinion, is to divide the required tasks under two categories. These are before and after you shortlist a few photographers you want to pick from. Don’t miss our ultimate guide on how to find your ideal wedding photographer at any price point
Before making a list of photographers
- Ask close friends/relatives
- Ask people who recently got married
- Use Facebook groups to your advantage
- Scroll through Instagram and Pinterest posts
- Think smart
- Go to wedding or fashion shows
- Add every name you find
- Decide on a style
- Decide a budget
- Keep to your fiancé updated
Before you make a list of photographers, you need to do your research. When anyone around me gets married, I usually find them making a big deal about which photographer to pick but eventually going with a popular one and ending up with pictures that look like 50 other weddings photographs. So, sometimes going with the best isn’t really the best idea. Here are the following things you should do before you make the list.
1) Ask close friends/relatives
Start with your closest friends and cousins. If you’re close with your family, you’ve definitely gone to countless weddings since you were little. So, what you can do is try to remember if there were any wedding photos you liked. If you don’t then start going through albums. Start little, and start at home!
2) Ask people who recently got married
Be it your colleagues, old friends on Facebook or even the lady at your convenient store, find people who recently got married. They can give you some ideas about which photographer to pick and also, maybe, some other tips too (if you’re lucky). You can also ask to check out some of their photos as well. 10/10 you will find at least one photo on their phone.
3) Use Facebook groups to your advantage
Facebook is a such a huge part of our lives right now. So why not use that to our advantage, right? Now-a-days, there are countless girl groups on Facebook and pages specifically for weddings. So, make some time, post a query on the groups you are in, and do your research.
4) Scroll through Instagram and Pinterest posts
Instagram is love! Why? WHY NOT? You can find tons of weddings photos by simply searching up with hashtags. Also look for things on Pinterest. After finding a few photographs you like, add those names to your list.
5) Think smart
A good way of finding your dream photographer and saving some time is asking your florist or caterer. As they have a lot of experience simply being at weddings and being in the wedding industry, they can tell you about some photographers whose style matches with the kind of style you’re going for.
6) Go to wedding or fashion shows
When you go to weddings and shows, you will not only get some idea about your outfit, but also you might get some ideas about what photographer will be good. The key is to socialize.
7) Add every name you find!
Just keep adding them. You can sort out what kind of photographer you need. But at first, shortlist a good number of photographers. It is never a bad idea to keep your options open.
8) Decide on a style
After going through photos and looking up wedding themes, it is time to decide on a good theme based on which you can choose a good style of photography you are comfortable with. There are many kinds to choose from such as fine art, traditional and so on. On the contrary, if you want something unique or a mixture of two or more styles, then pick photographers who are experts in that style.
9) Decide a budget
Come up with an approximate budget. For most of us, money does not really matter when it comes to our big day. But spending too much on a photographer is not really that wise. So, at the beginning, simply choose a flexible budget which may or may not change later.
10) Keep to your fiancé updated
Yes, you’re pretty much doing all the planning. But do not forget to involve your significant other-your fiancé. So, ask for his opinion on everything, even if he says he’s fine with whatever.
It is his wedding too and if he points out problems at the last minute, there is not much you can do about, is there?
By now, you should be done making your list. But what are should you do after? Follow our next steps and you’ll know.
After making a list of photographers
- Work on making the list shorter
- Find someone who works more in the style you want
- Go though their work on social media
- Try to find out what kind of setting they usually work in
- See if you like their personality
- Keep your fiancé and your family in mind
- Money matter
- Start making calls
- It’s not only YOUR wedding, right?
- Time to make some hard decisions
- Pick your winner
- Keep a few back-ups
After you’re finally done making your list of photographers, it is time to cut them short. Follow these steps to come up with a few names from which you will find the one you decide on.
1) Work on making the list shorter
First, you need to make your list short. No matter how many names you added, it’s time to shorten them and find the ones you are comfortable with. Filter out the ones that cost too much, or the ones that just are not in your style. YOU ARE THE BRIDE. IT IS YOUR WEDDING. Own it! Cut out the ones you do not like in first glance and then move to the next steps.
2) Find someone who works more in the style you want
Now it is time to do the real research. Start your filtration with the wedding photographers that work mostly in your style. You can want many styles, there is no need to settle for one. In which case, there are a ton of photographers here in Montreal that specialize in a many kinds of style. So filter out the ones that do not go with your preference.
3) Go though their work on social media
After you find the photographers that work in your style, review their work. There are many platforms where they post their work. So, start making time and slowly check out all their work. Most photography agencies post their work not only on Facebook, but also on Instagram. So start your hunt!
4) Try to find out what kind of setting they usually work in
When you will check out some photographers and their work, you will find more than two or three photographers that are in your style preference. So how do you filter them out? I think if you can find which style they work in, then it is really easy to filter out the kind of work a photographer is familiar with and might be better at than others. This will filter out a lot of photographers, if you can do your research properly.
5) See if you like their personality
A photographer is someone you need to be comfortable working with. Because your photographer is the one you will be spending most of your time with; and, of course, your husband. So it is very important you find someone whose personality you, as well as your husband, are comfortable with and would love to have as your wedding photographer.
6) Keep your fiancé and your family in mind
Sometimes, there are photography styles not everyone is cool with. Even after you make up your mind, your family seems to have to problem. Sometimes, it is your fiancé, and it exactly is not only your wedding. So, before you finalize everything, talk to your fiancé, your family and friends. Because, making a decision and having to change for others will get you back to square one. Of course, your likings comes first, but remember to take others into consideration as well. When you filter out some photographers, try to remember the standards of the love of your life, your family and your friends. This is something that in my opinion, is very important.
7) Money matters!
Before making your list, we asked you to come up with an approximate budget. Well, after you are done picking photographers that work in your style, and you like, try filtering out the ones that are far out of your budget. This will help you make your list short as well as not filter out anyone you were specifically rooting for.
8) Start making calls
By now you should be left with a maximum of 10-12 names. Now it is time to start contacting these wedding photographers. Talk to them, or look for an appointment. If there are not any phone numbers or you can not seem to be able to reach them, send an e-mail or leave a message on their Facebook page.
9) It’s not only YOUR wedding, right?
This is something you need to keep in mind. INVOLVE EVERYONE. Remember this is not only your wedding. Keep your family and fiancé in mind but also stay in control. It still is your wedding. But the plus point of considering other’s opinions is that it will make it easier to shorten your list. So consider this while making filtering out photographers.
10) Time to make some hard decisions
The one problem you can not ignore is having to choose between some of your favorite photographers. And it is completely fine. Based on some things, no matter what it is and how odd, make these tough decisions. You can filter out some after you do further research. Sometimes, it is good to get a second opinion. So, ask your fiancé as well.
11) Pick your winner!
After countless steps and filtering, you should have your winner! With three or four photographers to choose from, you will know yourself which wedding photographer you want the most. There are going to be a lot of photographers you will really like and it will be hard to choose from them. Hence, try to make a pros and cons list with the last few names you have left on your list. That way it will be easier for you to understand which one is logically the best pick. So make your list, hurry up and make your decision.
Last but not least, remember to…
12) Keep a few back-ups
Yes, by now you should be done picking your photographer. But it is always good to keep a few back-ups, just in case, your dream photographer causes some trouble ( we all have heard of someone like this). That is why, I think it is a wise decision to keep at least two or three back-ups. Make sure your back-ups are the kind that will not cancel last minute or can come to your wedding on a short notice. Do not keep really popular photographers as they have a very high chance of not working at a short notice. Most importantly, pick photographers you know you can trust.
Your wedding should be perfect. There is no excuse for anyone to not have the wedding of their dreams, and so, you need to remember to do anything you possibly can to make your dream wedding possible. And with that dream wedding, you need to have a dope photographer to capture all your perfect moments. Finding a good photographer is a lot on luck. But still, we hope that with the steps in our article you can find yourself the photographer you have always wanted and get amazing wedding photos taken with the love of your life!
Image credit to Pixelicious wedding photography
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