Questions to ask your wedding photographer
Booking your wedding photographer is sort of a big deal. These are your memories and moments we are talking about, so you want to make sure you bring on a photographer who understands how important their role is and ultimately can provide the vision you have. When picking a wedding photographer you need to know what is important to you and what type of images you are drawn to.
Before reaching out to photographers you should have an idea of what you are looking for. My first piece of advice is to go on Pinterest and create a vision board of images you love. And identify what you love about them, is it the editing style, the posing, or the creativeness? What about that image makes you drawn to it? Once you know the styling of imagery you are drawn to you know which photographers to keep an eye out for.
For example, when I hired my wedding photographer I knew I wanted someone who had true to color, warm and emotional imagery. I did not like editing which changed the way things looked. Like dark and moody or bright and airy. And my husband just did not want to look pale. So I knew I wanted to find someone who had those bold and vibrant but true-to-color styles but also who made things slightly warm to we didn’t look too pale. Once we determined the style we wanted we took to Instagram to start looking for photographers in our area that met the criteria.
The next step in this process is to ask your photographer important questions and to make sure they are a good fit for your personality and your wedding day. I wanted a photographer who was good at keeping a timeline on time because I knew my bridal party has a tendency to run behind. I wanted someone who could direct and who could communicate well.
When I am in a booking meeting with couples I want them to ask me questions. Question everything you can think of. If your photographer says something you do not like or you do not like them during this meeting then you won’t want them on your wedding day. Something to keep in mind is that your photographer is the vendor you will spend the most time with. So my biggest piece of advice when choosing your photographer is to get to know them before your wedding, you can do this by asking to do a zoom or personal meeting with them before your wedding. Most photographers require this to book, I know I do because I want my couples to know me before I spend 8-10 hours with them on a very important day of their lives. And do an engagement session with them to make sure you like how you look in front of their camera. People say that the photography industry is over-saturated but this is a good thing because that means there is someone out there who will fit your wedding day perfectly.
The first question I expect from potential clients is about my pricing. Budget is a big deal and not everyone is made out of money. From the first email, I send my pricing guide right away, this way I am not wasting your time if I am out of budget. I never want someone to feel pressured to book with me if they can’t afford to. I do offer payment plans to assist with financial things but sometimes even that is okay. I will never judge someone for this. And I will always be upfront and honest about my pricing. And if I am made aware of your budget I can typically help you out or at least help direct you to some talented photographers in your budget.
The next set of questions you should ask your photographer is how they handle a wedding day. Do they build you a timeline? Do they assist during the day? How do they handle difficult situations or things going wrong? What is their approach to photographing your wedding day? These are all important questions that will help determine if the photographer you are talking to is a good fit. I know I wanted someone who could keep us on schedule. So I wanted to find someone who was direct and more Type A and organized.
After you determine if this photographer is a good fit for handling your wedding day I would ask about protection. Do they have insurance? How do they protect your photos? What is their backup process? These are important questions to ask too. The last thing you want is to pay a lot of money for photos only to have them disappear on a corrupt SD card and your photographer wasn’t prepared.
If your photographer is hitting all the checkboxes so far you might have hit the jackpot. Here are the last few questions I would ask your photographer; I would ask about their delivery process and products. How long will galleries take to be finished? What happens if they miss their deadline? What about albums or other deliverables how do those work? These are things I wish I would've asked my own photographer because I just assumed her process was similar to mine but we are all so different so it’s good to ask those questions.
You can learn a lot of things about a photographer and how they handle their business just by asking simple questions. Booking your wedding photographer is kind of a big deal and you want to make sure you are choosing someone who will fit your needs perfectly. So make sure you start by asking yourself what you want out of a photographer, what you expect from them, and what you need from them. Determine the style and approach to photography you like. Figure out if your personalities click and if they communicate enough with you. Make sure that you can be friends, the last thing you want is a photographer who will stress you out during your wedding day. There is no such thing as a bad question, ask as many as you need to feel comfortable booking with a photographer and paying them thousands of dollars to photograph your day. It’s a big investment and it’s important to take your time and find a perfect fit for you.
