WEDDING PLANNING 101: Questions to Ask a Wedding Photographer
WEDDING PLANNING 101: Questions to Ask a Wedding Photographer
Your photographer is the vendor that you will spend the majority of time with on your wedding day. Choosing the right photographer to capture your special day can seem like a stressful task, but I am here to help you! To make this process easier, I have listed below some important tips that you should use when hiring your wedding photographer! These tips include topics such as detailed pricing, number of photographers, printing rights, substitute photographers, backup process, and reviewing their FULL wedding galleries.
Tip #1: DO YOU LIKE THE PHOTOGRAPHER AS A PERSON?
The one thing I always tell my couples is that they should (at the very least) like their wedding photographer as a person. Your wedding pictures will reflect how comfortable you are around your wedding photographer. Being able to talk to your photographer on a personal level as well as a professional level will mean the world’s difference in your relationship with one another!
Tip #2: HAVE YOU SEEN A FULL WEDDING GALLERY?
I mean really think about it… most photographers’ social media accounts and websites only show the highlights- the best of the best. You want to make sure that your wedding photographer can capture your entire wedding day how you envision it! You want to make sure they are great at capturing your MOST IMPORTANT IMAGE (bride and groom photos, family formals, first kiss, sentimental details, etc.)
(Side note: make sure to ask for a real wedding gallery and not a styled/editorial shoot.)
Tip #3: IS HAVING MULTIPLE PHOTOGRAPHERS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
Although this is not required, I personally recommend having two photographers on your wedding day. This may not be important to you, but I am the type of person who wants as many memories captured as possible on my wedding day! The more photographers you have the higher the chance of having everything documented!
Tip #4: HOW FLEXIBLE IS YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BUDGET?
Don’t let price be your only determining factor when hiring a wedding photographer. Some wedding photographers can work with a particular budget while the prices may be firm for other photographers. If the price of your dream wedding photographer are still out of reach then ask about payment plans! Wedding photography is an investment, BUT it definitely pays off for years to come. Your grandchildren are going to want to see pictures of grandma & grandpa getting married!
Tip #5: DO YOU WANT PRINTING RIGHTS?
First of all let me say, a print release is NOT a copyright release. 9/10 your photographer will always maintain copyright of their work. You CAN ask for a print release which will grant you permission to print your wedding pictures. Some photographers do not provide a print release and require clients to print directly through them. Other photographers may only grant printing rights to a specific number of images. And some photographers may give a print release for all images!
Tip #6: WILL SUBSTITUTE PHOTOGRAPHERS BE AVAILABLE?
This should ONLY be an option if the photographer has an emergency ( fire, casualty, or other causes beyond their control). In the instance that an emergency does occur, will a substitute photographer be available for your wedding day? You want to make sure that your wedding photographer does not leave you high and dry!
Tip #7: WHAT DOES THEIR BACKUP PROCESS LOOK LIKE?
I cannot stress how important this is! I have heard so many horror stories about photographers losing images from a wedding day that they’ve captured. Personally, when I photograph a wedding, I am taking pictures on two memory cards at the same time. If one memory card fails, I will have the second memory card available. During the wedding, I have two camera bodies that I use. Photography gear (like all electronics) can fail at any given time. Make sure your photographer is bringing extra equipment. When returning home from a wedding, I simultaneously upload the images on my internal hard drive and two external hard drives. Lastly, I also do not clear memory cards until the wedding images are delivered. Taking these extra measures ensures my couples that if something were to happen their images could be recovered- no questions asked!