How to Choose the Right Elopement Photographer For You

Picking the Elopement Photographer For You: A Step by Step Guide

I’m very stoked to write this blog post as it’s a topic that’s (probably pretty obviously) near and dear to my heart. Picking the right elopement photographer is, in my opinion, the crux of your elopement planning process. But before we go ANY further, I want to be super explicit about something: 

This is not a thinly veiled self-promotional post. I have ::gestures:: a whole other website for that. I very genuinely want this blog to be in service to you, whoever you are :). Picking the right elopement photographer is such an essential part of your day. I say this on my calls, but my hope for every couple I come into contact with- whether thats you’re visiting my site for the first time, you’ve been following me on Insta for years, or you scroll past one of my images on Pinterest- what I want for you is to be over the moon stoked on the elopement photographer you hire. Regardless of if that’s me or not. The last thing you need is to come here looking for actual advice, but really it’s just a whole think piece on why you should hire me. Bleh. 

Okay ::steps off soapbox:: There’s SO MUCH to consider when you’re trying to narrow down who to hire to document this uber important day. There are TONS of elopement photographers out there, which ultimately is a good thing. No two couples and no two elopements are alike, which means there’s 100% an elopement photographer out there that’s a perfect fit for you. A lid for every pot, and all that :).  I’m going to go over some things to look at, keep in mind, and watch out for while you are choosing your elopement photographer. 

Connection to Images (AKA the Art of it All)

Okay so I think the first and easiest thing to look out for is images you really love. There’s tons of different styles out there- dark and moody, bright and airy, true to life, colorful, film stock emulation… ultimately you don’t have to necessarily know how to describe what you love right away (or ever, really), just start perusing Instagram, Pinterest, Tiktok, and Google for images that hit home in your chest. 

For me, it’s always funny because I will start being drawn to certain images, and after a while realize that many of them are from the same photographer. So start saving images you love. You may find you wind up coming back to someone’s work over and over. 

But what it boils down to, is when you see a new photo or blog post from that person, you’re like “YES!” And can’t wait to go look. Or when you see a full gallery, you are totally swept up into the story. When you see photos of past couples, you think to yourself “I want that for *me*.” 

Connection to the Elopement Photographer: The Human Side

While it’s SUPER important to love the images a photographer produces, it’s literally JUST AS important to love the vibe they give. You are spending a huge portion, if not the entirety, of your elopement day with your elopement photographer, PLUS being in contact with them for the months leading up to the big day, so it’s super important that you vibe with their energy. 

How do you get a good sense of an elopement photographer’s vibe? You’re doing it right now! Read their site. Read their about section. Check out their social media accounts to get a sense of their voice and how they present themselves and their work to the world. Most importantly, make sure you hop on some kind of call with the top photographers on hour list (also, PRO TIP: Don’t inquire with 20 photographers. Narrow that down to 2-3 photographers and inquire from there. Otherwise decision making paralysis/fatigue sets in and the whole process just get’s confusing!)

Maybe you want a photographer that very much comes across as an expert who is gonna get the job done. Maybe you want to feel comfortable, like chatting with an old friend. Maybe you want someone super decisive who can help you make tough choices. Or, maybe you know EXACTLY what you want your day to look like and all the choices have been made, you just need someone there with their camera to make art of it all. 

Whatever personality characteristics you’re hoping for, go with your gut here. This, more than anything else, is pretty intangible, so it’s important to listen to feelings here.  If your gut isn’t sold- listen. If your gut is like “YES, THIS PERSON” that’s usually a good sign 🙂 

Budgeting for Your Elopement Photographer

The elephant in the room! But ya’ll budget is so real. I once had another photographer say that “there’s no such thing as a budget for couples” and it COMPLETELY took me aback. Because… budget is absolutely real for couples? It was real for me when I booked my wedding photographer! There are some folks where it’s less of a concern, and some folks where it’s at the forefront of decision making, and I am here to say that neither of those is better or worse than the other. It’s just important that you honor where you are. 

Just as a teensy aside- running a photography business is likely more expensive than you think. And when you are hiring a photographer, you are not just hiring them for the hours they are there for your elopement. You are also hiring them for the planning work (often including online and in person location scouting, pulling permits, cultivating relationships with vendors, sending over resources for you to utilize in the planning process, timeline construction, planning phone/zoom calls, plus culling the whole culling and editing process). Please believe me when I say I share this not to convince anyone of anything with regards to the money they elect to spend- more so just to provide context because I know sticker shock is sometimes a thing when looking for elopement photographers 🙂 

Potentially controversial opinion: don’t go into major debt to pay for a photographer. No photographer is worth that financial burden, and I say that *as* a photographer. I think it’s normal for folks to move funds around within their elopement budget to accommodate a dream photographer (or airbnb, or location etc) or even up the budget slightly. But seriously, don’t give future you financial stress. There’s always anniversary and vow renewals if you have your heart set on a photographer you can’t quite afford in the moment. 

You probably have an idea of your budget, but if not, do some research! Look up some elopement photographers in the area you want to elope in, and see both what they charge and what they are offering (photos only? Photos plus logistics assistance? Etc). Using that info, decide with your partner where you want to comfortably sit budget wise. 

The Nitty Gritty: Elopement Photographer FAQ’s

Insurance

Is your photographer insured? As I said before, running a photography business is pretty pricey, and having insurance is one of the green-flags of a responsible, legal, and well run business. Plus, this insurance is there to protect your photographer, but also you as the client should anything go awry.

Reviews

Does your photographer have reviews? Check to see if your photog has reviews, either on Google, Facebook, or The Knot (but know that lots of elopement photographers aren’t on the knot. Why? It’s expensive and their reps will never stop calling us EVER to upgrade our plans. Haha so don’t take it as a bad thing- it’s just not a platform tons of elopement photographers use consistently). Read those reviews! See what past couples are saying about this person or team, and see if their praise is what you are looking for in the person you want to hire for your day. 

Full Galleries

Can you see full galleries or comprehensive blog posts of their work? This is huge: the art of photography is all in lighting and different parts of the day, weather, and environments create different shooting conditions, which often can be difficult for a novice photographer to manage. Seeing full days that show your photographer can handle basically whatever is thrown at them will give more assurance that they can provide beautiful images no matter what the environment, weather conditions, or time of day.

Responsiveness/Engagement

Is this person active/responsive? Does this person have up to date social media posts or blog posts? And are they responding to your emails within a reasonable time? This is “best foot forward” land, so it’s important you feel important and heard during this phase of things as that is likely how you will feel during the entirety of working with that person. 

Expertise Level

Does this person have experience in your location/type of day? For example, if you are wanting to elope in a city, does this person have experience doing elopements in urban settings? If I were to get this type of inquiry, I legitimately would refer that client out as that is simply not my specialty. You deserve to have an expert in the kind of day you are hoping to have. Doing elopements is a skill (and same with the subsection of elopements- adventure elopements, micro weddings, urban elopements, etc). Elopement photography is a skill and it is 100% different than shooting a traditional wedding (I say this because I 2nd shot over 25 traditional weddings before getting into this business. They are SO different). Knowing how long someone has been an elopement photographer or how many elopements they have photographed is essential info 🙂

Inclusivity + Stewardship

Is this person LGBTQIA+ friendly and does their work showcase the entire spectrum of humanity (aka different sizes, shapes, skin tones, etc)? This is a real show don’t tell area, in my opinion, and the easiest way to sniff out if a photographer is inclusive is to look at their website and social media. How are images portrayed? Do they have LGBTQIA+ couples represented in the first place?

And this is pretty specific to adventure elopement photographers, but does your photographer talk about stewardship or Leave No Trace anywhere on their site? Being either advocates for, or at least, stewards of the public land we work in again shows professionalism and a high level of care. Definite Green Flag.

Equipment

This can be such a boring topic for non-photographers, but this stuff really matters. Does this person have up to date gear with dual card slots (meaning that every photo they take has an automatic backup) and do they have a regimented back up system (for example: every elopement I photograph has *five* back ups. Two on cards, one on an external hard drive, one on the cloud, and one on my computer until delivery. And every 2-3 years everything gets put on another massive solid state hard drive). Your images are SO important. Protecting them is an essential part of the job.

Legalities

Aka- is the business legit. Does this photographer have a registered business, website, and do they use a contract when booking clients.

So there you have it folks 🙂 Genuinely- I hope you find the most amazing elopement photographer for your day 🙂 You deserve to have exactly what you are hoping for and more. If you did want to learn about me or what I offer, here’s why I became an elopement photographer and a little bit more about me. If you want to reach out, I’d love to chat. If not- wishing you all the best in wedding planning and beyond 🙂