Don't Choose by portfolio Alone.
You are spending thousands of dollars on wedding photography for a day that you cannot recreate. So how do you know your photographer will actually deliver what you are hoping for?
Of course, there are some basic things you should check. Look through full galleries when possible. Read reviews. Make sure you consistently like their colors, posing, and overall approach. Understand the pricing and what will actually be delivered.
All of those things matter.
But I don’t think you should choose your wedding photographer based on their portfolio alone.
A portfolio can tell you whether you like a photographer’s work. It cannot completely tell you whether you will trust the person behind the camera.
Meet Your Photographer Before the Wedding
At minimum, I recommend actually meeting your photographer before booking, whether in person or through a video call. You should feel comfortable asking questions, communicating honestly, and having them around your families and closest friends.
In simple terms, you need to see if you actually feel comfortable with them.
But personality is not the only thing that matters. It also helps when your photographer understands the context of your wedding.
For me, I have found that some Asian couples, as well as Christian couples, feel especially comfortable working with me because I understand parts of the culture surrounding their weddings. Being able to communicate in Korean can help when working with Korean parents and relatives, while understanding prayer, worship, blessings, and Christian wedding traditions helps me recognize moments that may carry particular meaning.
Your photographer does not need to share your exact background or beliefs. But I think it helps when they understand what matters to you without having to explain everything from the beginning.
Still, even a great meeting cannot completely tell you one thing:
What does it actually feel like to stand in front of their camera?
Which is why, if possible, I think there is an even better way.
The Best Trial Run: An Engagement Session
I think one of the best ways to know whether you can trust your wedding photographer is to have your engagement photographs taken by them first.
You get to experience how they communicate, pose you, give direction, and help you feel comfortable. And afterward, you get to see photographs of yourself edited in their style, not just photographs of other couples from their portfolio.
Just as importantly, your photographer gets to learn how to photograph you. They can understand how you naturally interact, what makes you comfortable, what kind of direction works for you, and how to photograph you better when the wedding day comes.
And if you discover that the experience or photographs are not what you expected, it is much better to learn that during an engagement session and make a decision before the wedding day. An engagement session can be photographed again; your wedding day cannot.
So at INNER DELIGHT STUDIO, 50% of your engagement session fee can be applied toward wedding photography if you decide to move forward with me. I want that session to help us build trust before the wedding day.
“남는 건 사진뿐이다.” In the end, the photographs are what remain.
Of course, your marriage and the relationships behind those photographs matter far more. But after the wedding day has passed, the photographs are one of the few things that can bring you back to what it looked and felt like.
So if possible, don't only look at your photographer's work. Meet them. And better yet, experience what it is actually like to be photographed by them before the wedding.
I hope you love your photographer’s work. And just as importantly, I hope you feel confident in the person you chose, from the first conversation to the final delivery.
