How to Choose a Las Vegas Wedding Photographer

Choosing a Las Vegas wedding photographer comes down to seven checks, and they are easier to do in order. First, decide what you want your photos to look like, so you can say it in your first email. Second, ask each photographer for one complete wedding gallery, start to finish, instead of judging anyone by an Instagram feed. Third, read what their past couples said about them. Fourth, find out whether the person you’re emailing is the person who will show up on your wedding day. Fifth, ask your venue what it allows before you sign a photography contract. Sixth, work out how many hours you need, because hours are what set the price. Seventh, get quotes, compare them on the same terms, and pick.

I’m McKenzie. I grew up in Las Vegas, I’ve photographed weddings every year since 2010, and I’ve shot more than 300 of them myself. Clark County issues around 80,000 marriage licenses in a typical year, and its marriage license bureau is typically the busiest in the world. A city with that many weddings supports an unusually large number of photographers, which is why your search turns up so many names to sort through. Two of those checks are specific to getting married here: finding out who will actually show up, and finding out what your venue allows.

What Photography Style Do You Actually Want?

Most couples know what they like when they see it, but they don’t have a word for it. Having the word is what makes your first email useful. A photographer can’t tell from “I love your work” whether you want bright and soft or deep and dramatic. Here are the terms you’ll run into, what each one looks like, and how it tends to feel when you open the album years later.

Light and airy. Bright photos, lots of natural light, soft and pale colors, white dresses that actually look white. Colors aren’t heavily filtered, so skin tones look the way they do in person. Years later, these photos look about the way the day actually looked. This is what I shoot.

Dark and moody. Deeper shadows, richer and warmer colors, more contrast. It’s a dramatic, cinematic look, and the couples who choose it are usually after that drama specifically. Just know that the photos will feel more dramatic than the day itself felt, so if you want your album to match how the day looked to you, this isn’t the direction to go.

Documentary or candid. The photographer stays back and photographs what happens, with very little direction. You get the day as it actually went, including the moments nobody planned. The tradeoff is fewer perfectly arranged group photos, so if the big posed family shot matters to you, say so.

Editorial or posed. Directed and arranged, closer to a magazine shoot. Everyone is placed, nothing in the frame is accidental, and the photos look polished. This one takes real time out of your wedding day, so it has to be built into your timeline.

Film. Photographed on actual film rather than digitally. It has a softer, grainier look that a lot of couples love. If you’re considering it, ask how many images you’ll get and how long they take to come back.

You don’t have to use these words perfectly. The fastest way to communicate is to send three or four photos you love and say what you like about each one, whether that’s the brightness, the colors, or the fact that nobody looks posed. If bright and natural is the direction you’re leaning, I wrote more about what that actually means in light and airy wedding photography.

Why One Full Gallery Tells You More Than a Hundred Instagram Posts

Ask every photographer you’re considering for one complete wedding gallery, start to finish, from a wedding like yours. An Instagram feed is the best ten or twelve photos out of a hundred weddings, and it proves that the photographer can make a beautiful picture. A full wedding gallery runs into the hundreds of photos. I count on delivering about 60 edited images for every hour of coverage, so an eight hour wedding comes back with at least 480 of them, and all of them, not the best ten, are what you end up with.

Here’s what to look for when you open that gallery.

Look at whether the quality holds up all day long. The photos from the ceremony in good light are almost always good. What you want to see is whether the photos taken at 9 PM in a dim ballroom are just as good, because a reception indoors, after dark, is usually where the difference between photographers shows up.

Look at the family formals. Check whether they’re sharp, whether everyone has their eyes open, and whether the group looks organized instead of herded. Those photos are the ones your parents will want, and they’re a fair test of whether a photographer can run a room full of relatives.

Look at whether everybody in the frame looks good, not only the couple. Check the parents, the grandparents, the guests, people of every size and every skin tone. Lighting and directing all of those people well takes practice, and not every photographer has had it. If a portfolio only ever shows one body type and one skin tone, that tells you what that photographer has practiced on.

Ask for a gallery from a wedding that resembles yours. Same kind of venue, similar time of day, and an indoor reception if you’re having one. If it matters to you that your photographer has photographed couples like you before, ask for that specifically. It’s a fair question, and I go into it more in my guide to finding an LGBTQ friendly wedding photographer in Las Vegas.

What Do Other Couples Say About Them?

Read the reviews before you email anybody, and read the reviews themselves rather than the star average. What you’re looking for is what couples repeat. If several people mention that their photos came back when they were promised, that’s a pattern you can trust. If several mention that the family photos were organized and fast, that’s another one. If every review is warm and none of them says anything specific, you haven’t learned much.

Pay the most attention to reviews from weddings like yours. A review from a couple who had a big indoor reception tells you more about your wedding than a glowing review of a portrait session does.

Two more things help. If the only reviews you can find are the ones posted on the photographer’s own website, notice that, because those were chosen by the person selling to you. And you can ask to email a past couple directly. It’s a normal request, photographers with happy clients can usually find someone willing, and one honest conversation with a bride who has already been through it will tell you things no review will.

Who Will Actually Photograph Your Wedding?

Before you decide based on a portfolio, find out whose portfolio it is and whether that person will be at your wedding. A lot of the listings you’ll find in Las Vegas belong to companies with several photographers working for them. You look at the company’s portfolio, you book the company, and the photographer who shoots your day gets assigned later, sometimes not long before the date. Plenty of couples are fine with that arrangement. Just ask about it now rather than finding out in the last week before the wedding.

There are three questions to ask. Ask whether the person you’re talking to is the person who will photograph your wedding. Ask to see that individual photographer’s own complete galleries rather than the company’s collected work. Ask what happens if that person gets sick or has an emergency, and listen for whether they name an actual backup.

A good answer names a person, shows you that person’s work, and puts the name in the contract. When you book me, I’m the one at your wedding, and every photo in my portfolio is one I took. In 17 years I have never missed one of my own weddings, and other photographers here call me when they need somebody to cover one of theirs. If you want the longer version of how the assigned photographer model works, I explained it in what an associate photographer is.

Does Your Venue Let You Bring Your Own Photographer?

Ask your venue about outside photographers before you sign a photography contract, because the answer decides whether you can hire an outside photographer at all. Las Vegas venues really do differ on this. Some chapels and resort properties require you to use their own photographer for the ceremony itself. Some allow an outside photographer and charge a fee for working on the property. Some have no rule at all. A Little White Chapel says couples may bring their own photographer at no additional charge, subject to its chapel policies, and I have photographed inside it.

Outside vendor fees are common. Properties keep lists of approved vendors and can charge a fee or an extra deposit when you bring in someone from outside the list. The amount is different at every property, so ask your venue what its fee is and get the answer in writing.

Here’s what to ask them. Can I bring my own photographer? Is there a fee, and how much is it? Does the rule cover the ceremony only, or the whole property? Do you need anything from my photographer ahead of time, like proof of insurance? If the answer to that last one is yes, ask each photographer about it before you book, because it’s the kind of requirement that otherwise turns up two weeks out.

A photographer who works in this valley can help you with this part. I grew up here and I’ve already worked at most of the venues in town, so I usually know a place well enough that I don’t need to visit it before your wedding day. I also know which outdoor spots need a permit before anyone can photograph there. I photographed one of the first weddings The Forge in Boulder City ever hosted, and they still use those photos in their own advertising.

If your chapel keeps the ceremony for its own photographer, you can still hire the photographer you want for everything around it. Portraits at the chapel beforehand and a session afterward in your wedding clothes, at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, on the Strip, or out in the desert, all sit outside the chapel’s rule. Book your chapel time first, then book a photographer around it.

How Many Hours of Coverage Do You Need?

Your hours have to cover everything you want photographed, from getting ready through however far into the reception you care about. Eight hours is the most popular choice for a traditional wedding day, meaning getting ready, a ceremony, portraits, and a full reception. Shorter days are common here too. A photographer who works in this city a lot should go through your timeline with you and say so if you’re paying for an hour that won’t get used. I go through how to land on your own number in how many hours of wedding photography you need. If you’re eloping with no reception at all, the whole choosing process is shorter and simpler, and I wrote about that in eloping in Las Vegas without a chapel.

What Does Wedding Photography Cost in Las Vegas?

Wedding photography here is priced mostly by hours of coverage, so your hours decide your total more than anything else does. Photographers charge in two ways. Some charge an hourly rate. Others sell packages, which commonly start at six to eight hours with one photographer and add hours, a second photographer, and an album as they go up.

I publish my own rates, which most photographers here don’t, so I can show you what the arithmetic looks like on a real price list. My rate is $300 an hour when you book two or more hours. Six hours of coverage with one photographer is $1,800. Eight hours, which is the most popular choice for a full wedding day, is $2,400. A second photographer is $100 an hour on top of that, so eight hours with two photographers is $3,200, and at eight hours or more an engagement session is included. Short bookings are priced flat instead: $350 for a single hour and $500 for an hour and a half. That means two hours is $600, which is more than the hour and a half costs. Two hours is the point where the hourly rate takes over. Prices can change, and all of mine are on my pricing page so you can see them before you ever email me.

You can’t compare two quotes until you know what each one includes. Only about a third of wedding photographers include a second photographer in their starting price, so one quote may cover two photographers while another covers one. The same goes for an engagement session, the number of images, and whether you get printing rights.

The payment schedule is the other thing to check. A wedding photography contract normally includes a deposit or retainer that is nonrefundable, plus a written schedule for when the rest is due. Read that clause before you sign it, and make sure you know the date the balance comes out of your account. My deposit is $500 to hold a date, and the balance isn’t due until one month before the wedding. For the full picture of what couples spend here, see how much a wedding photographer costs in Las Vegas.

Questions to Ask Before You Book a Photographer

These are the questions that change your decision. Send the same ones to everybody on your list so you can compare the answers, and notice how specific each answer is.

• Will you personally be photographing my wedding? A good answer is yes, with a name, and the name written into the contract.
• Can I see one complete gallery from a wedding like mine? A good answer is a link, sent without hesitation, from a wedding at a similar venue and time of day.
• What exactly is included in that price? You want the hours, the number of photographers, whether an engagement session is in there, how many edited images you get, and whether you can print them.
• Is a second photographer included, or is that separate? Either answer is fine. You just can’t compare two quotes until you know.
• How many hours do you think my day needs? A good answer asks about your timeline first. If someone gives you a number before asking anything about your day, they’re selling rather than planning.
• What does the contract say about when I get my photos? You want a number that’s written in the contract, not a number from the conversation.
• What happens if you’re sick or have an emergency? Most working photographers have a plan for this, and you want to hear what theirs is.
• Have you worked at my venue, and do you know its rules about outside photographers? A local photographer will usually know both, and will tell you to confirm with the venue anyway.
• What’s the deposit, when is the balance due, and is the deposit refundable? Get all three numbers before you sign.

Meet Them First, and Treat the Engagement Session as a Trial Run

Talk to a photographer before you book them, on a call or over coffee, because a portfolio tells you what the photos look like and a conversation tells you what spending eight hours with that person will feel like. You’ll be around your photographer more than almost anyone else on your wedding day. Whether you relax around them changes how you look in every photo.

An engagement session is the real trial run. You find out how a photographer directs you, whether their instructions make sense to you, and what you look like in their photos, all before your wedding day depends on it. Almost every couple tells me they’re awkward in front of a camera, and I’m the same way, which is why I use prompts and give people something to do rather than telling them where to put their chin. Here’s more on why every couple should do an engagement session.

What Should Worry You

None of these automatically mean a photographer is bad at their job. Each one means you should stop and get an answer before you pay anybody.

• No written contract. A contract tells you what you’re getting and what happens if something goes wrong. If someone wants to book your date on an email agreement, ask for a contract before you pay anything.
• A portfolio that only ever shows one kind of light. If every photo is outdoors at sunset and your reception is indoors at night, you haven’t seen the work that matters for your wedding.
• A company that won’t tell you who is shooting. You’re allowed to know, and asking twice is fine.
• Pressure to decide today. Discounts that expire in 24 hours and dates that are about to disappear are sales tactics. Most photographers will simply tell you whether your date is open or booked, and then let you take your time.

When Should You Book Your Photographer?

Book your photographer as soon as your venue and date are confirmed, which for most couples means 12 to 18 months before the wedding, and 9 months out at the latest. The venue has to come first, because the venue is what sets your date, and a photographer can’t hold a day you might still move.

You can absolutely email photographers before your venue is signed, just to see who’s available and get pricing. The Knot recommends checking availability early even while the rest of the planning is in progress. Email early to check availability, and sign once your venue is set. I hold dates only for couples whose venue and date are confirmed, so the moment that part is locked in, you’re ready to book.

If your wedding is already closer than nine months away, you haven’t missed anything. Put your date in the first line of your email, so that anyone who is already booked can tell you right away instead of three days later. Then plan on making your decision in a week or two rather than over a month.

How Do You Decide Between the Ones You Like?

By the time the quotes come back, you’ll usually have two or three photographers you would be happy with. Here is how I would choose between them.

Take anyone off the list who failed one of the checks. No full gallery, no straight answer about who is shooting, no written contract. Those are not close calls, and there are enough photographers in this city that you never have to talk yourself into one.

Then make the remaining quotes say the same thing. Write down what each one covers: how many hours, how many photographers, whether an engagement session is included, how many images you get, and whether you can print them. Two quotes that look far apart often differ by nothing more than a second photographer and an album.

Now decide on the two things a quote can’t show you. The first is whose complete gallery you would be happiest to receive. Picture the whole set landing in your inbox, not the best photo in it. The second is who you would rather have standing next to you for eight hours on the biggest day you’ve planned.

If those two point at the same person, that’s your photographer. If they point at different people, I would go with the one you were most comfortable talking to, because how comfortable you are is what shows up in the photos.

Questions Couples Ask Me

Do I need a second photographer for a Las Vegas wedding?

One photographer is generally enough for a smaller wedding, and at about 75 guests or fewer two can be more than the day needs. Over 100 guests, a second photographer is usually worth it, and so is one when you and your partner are getting ready in different places or the day moves between locations. Ask whether a second photographer is in the quote you were given, since most photographers charge for one separately. Mine is $100 an hour on top of my own rate.

How long will it take to get my wedding photos back?

Most wedding photographers deliver a full gallery in four to six weeks, and many send a small preview set in the first week. Ask what number is written in the contract rather than the number someone says on a call, because the contract is the promise. My contract allows eight weeks and I try my best to deliver in two.

Tell Me About Your Wedding

If you’ve gotten this far and you’re ready to start emailing photographers, I’d love to be one of them. Send me a note at mckenzie@msweddingimage.com or through my contact page with your date, your venue, and a few photos of the style you’re after, and I’ll tell you right away whether I’m open and what your day would cost. If you’d rather look at more work first, you can see my Las Vegas wedding photography right here.