1) Make sure he is a professional and not just someone who earns a bit of extra cash at the weekend. This is not always easy to determine as producing a half-decent website and cobbling together a few good pictures isn't difficult. Ask to see ALL the pictures taken at his last wedding and not just the best in his portfolio and ask to speak to couples he has photographed recently, If he has an online blog, so much the better as you will see how many weddings he is shooting. (Our blog is HERE)

2) Don't spend too little. It is tempting in todays tough economic times to get the cheapest photographer. It costs over £4000 to buy the equipment needed to photograph a wedding and the camera needs to be replaced each year. If a photographer is charging less than £500 he is probably using old/cheap equipment or is not a full time professional wedding photographer. You wedding photographs cannot be re-taken, they have to be 'right first time"

3) Make sure your photographer is a wedding photographer! It may sound silly to say this, but in reality a lot of wedding photographers do studio/portrait work during the week and only do the occasional wedding at the weekend. Being a good wedding photography isn't just about being good with the camera, but also being good with people. Here at Northwest Photography we photograph over 100 weddings per year, mostly from recommendations.

4) Get the copyright to your pictures - if not you will have to go back to the photographer every time you want a print. (eg if 20 people at your wedding want 2 A4 pictures and each costs £15 then you will get a bill from the photographer for £600!. If you have the copyright to your pictures and your images on DVD you can take the disc to Boots/Asda/Jessops etc and get each print for just 72p!)

5) Make sure your wedding photographer is insured.

6) Be careful about qualifications and membership of societies, Did you know most of the letters after a photographers name can be purchased without any proof of ability. If you dont believe me, try it. Go to most wedding photography society sites and all you have to do is send a cheque to get letters after your name. You could do it! (The most respected professional organisations are The SWPP and The Royal Photographic Society.) The same is true when it comes to 'photography awards'. Many organisations give out 'wedding photographer of the year' awards to anyone who submits a picture (along with a £50 judging fee of course!).

7) And finally ...... There are many styles of wedding photography and many differing photographers, make sure you pick one that suits want you want.
At Northwest Photography we concentrate on the more relaxed, informal and artistic wedding pictures. If you want an 'old fashioned' style of album with your guests stood in a line facing forwards saying 'cheese', we are probably not the photographers for you. If however you want something a little more 'modern' then take a quick look at some examples of our work HERE