How to Pick a Scottish Wedding Photographer

Oooh it’s the start of a new year, and in wedding photography land that means one thing. Enquires! Lots and lots of them. I don’t know if loads of people get engaged over Christmas, I don’t know if it’s at the front of peoples to-do list for wedding planning. Or maybe you are stuck inside in the Scottish winter with nothing else left to do. Whatever the reason, this is the single busiest time of year for couples reaching out.

And I was just thinking to myself “Graeme in this day and age it must be a massive job just picking the wedding photographer”… I get it! It seems like there are a million of us in Scotland and we all have a vast range of styles, experience, and maybe more importantly prices.

So I thought I would share my own personal thoughts on picking a wedding photographer and the best way to do this. Keep in mind everyone has different preferences. Plus many couples may feel the pressure to keep up with the Joneses or present themselves in a specific light on social media. Don’t worry I get that and am in no way against it, I love a good stylized shot… All I am saying tho is at its best wedding photography is all about the long game and I think you have to keep in mind that the best photos are timeless ones.

So without further ado below are the steps I would take in finding my perfect Scottish wedding photographer in 2025

Step 1 – Research is Key

These days the best single place to start has to be Instagram. So take a deep breath dive in and start taking note of all your favorites and complete a list of say 8 or 10. Try also not to get sucked into the rabbit hole. Get in and get out!

Step 2 – Like all things wedding – spreadsheets are king!! #wedmin

Once you have your shortlist in place. Get out the excel or google sheets (I don’t discriminate) and set up a list with separate columns for things like oh I don’t know… Cost, Style, Availability, Maybe rate the work you see online out of 5, experience, location, etc.

Step 3 – Reach out

Now get on their websites and make sure they are more than just the highlights on insta.. And how do you do this I ask… Well, first reach out, let them know a little bit about you two, the date, the guest count, and location (yes people don’t do this) to first see if they are available. Then ask for… Step 4 of course.

Step 4 – Request a RECENT full-day gallery… or 2 or 3

Even better – from the same venue

So why a full gallery you ask? Well without this, you can’t get a true feel for what your photos will look like. Instagrams and portfolios tend to show lots of trends and stylized photos (which is beautiful and no doubt why you got in touch with them) but they also regularly miss showing the super important pictures that I think people might lose sight of in the search. i.e do you want a picture of you and your gran to have a heavy stylized preset look in moody lighting? I know I don’t ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Also, find out how they like to run a wedding day. A person can have beautiful work but if they are a bit hopeless in the planning department. That’s lots of time that can potentially eat into your wedding day.

I can show you a wedding with a guest list of 50 people and it will look a lot different than one with 250 believe me!

Things to keep in mind

Preset/Colors – The main reason your going to pick someone is most likely because you like the work. But what you may or may not know, is that in this day and age, every wedding photographer has their “style” and most (not all) of this “style” comes from the presets they apply to their images. So you have to ask yourself. Do you like bright and colorful, do you like dark and moody with lots of grain, do you like a more traditional true-to-life color palette? This also comes back to my thoughts on longevity. My god you should see what people thought looked good 20 years ago. Make sure you think, il be happy with the way these look in 20-30 years time.

Emotions – How your photographer connects with you and your guests also matters. After all, you are going to be spending a lot of time together. Do you want someone that’s laid back and candid or do you want someone who will take charge and make sure to capture what you want. Both are legit fine btw. I think this is something you can be direct about and ask, but you can also sus it out a little from the sample galleries.

Compare images – Literally just that, bring them up side by side on a computer screen and see which ones you like best.

And voila! hopefully, by this point, you have weeded out all the options and found your perfect Scottish Wedding Photographer.

Other key things to ask.

Are you insured? do you have a travel radius or charge extra for this? is VAT included in your prices? what is your sickness protocol? Can you supply a second photographer if needed? what is your favorite movie?…nah not really, just checking.

Remember these photos are forever, I’ve seen a million styles/looks come and go. But the pictures people return to year after year are the ones with your family and friends. So if nothing else make sure you have someone who can do the fundamentals well.

..and lastly, if that all just seems like too much you could always just hire me 🙂