10/09/2026
Hills I will die on as a wedding photographer of 10 years
1. A ten-minute phone call before booking will tell you more than a hundred portfolio photos.
Anyone can curate a beautiful grid. What a call reveals is whether you actually vibe with this person — because they’re going to be inches from your face on the most emotional day of your life. If the call feels awkward now, it won’t magically feel different on the day.
2. You do not need to disappear for two hours for portraits.
Some of the best wedding photos happen in 15-20 focused minutes, not a chunk of your reception where your guests are drinking without you. A photographer who plans well doesn’t need to hold your day hostage to get the shot.
3. Your Pinterest “candid” inspo photos are staged. Every time.
That laughing-over-shoulder, wind-in-the-veil moment? Directed. Repeated. Shot twenty times until it looked effortless. There’s nothing wrong with that — but if you’re expecting your photographer to just “catch” that exact moment without any guidance, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Great candids come from a photographer who knows how to prompt real moments, not just wait around for them.
4. If you’re not a “camera person,” a huge production crew might work against you, not for you.
Photo, video, content creator, AND a film crew all in your space at once? That’s a lot of lenses pointed at someone who already feels self-conscious. More coverage isn’t always better coverage — sometimes it’s just more pressure. Know yourself, and build a team size that matches your comfort, not just your Pinterest board.
5. Personality and energy matter as much as the final gallery.
You will spend more one-on-one time with your photographer than almost anyone else on your wedding day — more than your florist, your planner, sometimes more than your own guests. If their presence stresses you out, it will show up in your photos, no matter how talented they are. Skill gets you a beautiful gallery. The right energy gets you a relaxed one.