Choosing a wedding photographer is an important decision and it’s not always easy to find someone who is the right fit for you as a couple. This is my list of the top questions to ask your wedding photographer before you say “I do”.
Personally, I feel it’s always worth having a consultation with any wedding photographer you are considering. It really is the best way to get a feel for the photographer’s approach to their work and clients. Here are some of the questions I would ask if I was looking to hire a wedding photographer.
1) Style
Some photographers prefer to work discreetly in the background and shoot candid shots. Others play a much more direct role in the course of the day. In truth, most wedding photographers will need to adopt different styles during a wedding. Trying to get family group shots with wholly ‘in the moment’ shots is unlikely to get the right result. Alternately, candid photography captures some wonderful moments during the reception and speeches where a more unobtrusive style is preferable. Ask anyone you are considering hiring what their approach is and see if it appeals to your priorities as a couple.
2) Experience
Being able to see a photographer’s work on previous weddings is a good indication of how much experience they have. You should be able to see a wide range of consistent images in their website portfolio and on their social media pages. Take a look at reviews that have been posted by real clients on Facebook or their Google Business listing. It’s good to know if they’ve worked at the venue before or if they have any knowledge of the location. Most wedding photographers tend to work in a specific location. For instance, I work across the North East covering North Yorkshire as well as The North East and County Durham.
3) Pricing
Many photographers will offer a variety of different wedding photography packages. These will all land at different price points and include various options. If you know you don’t want the full works, ask your photographer if they will personalise a quote for you. It can never hurt to ask! These packages will often include various options for receiving your wedding photos – through an online gallery or included in an album. It is very hard to compare one package to one provided by another photographer. Typically, you will be wanting to know how many hours of coverage are included and in what format they will be delivered to you. This includes whether the images are watermarked or not and whether the images are standard size or full-size high-resolution images. Printing and usage rights in relation to copyright is another thing to check on. I would suggest you read through the details carefully so you know what you’re getting back. Anything you want beyond what you sign up for will understandably be at an extra cost which you may, or may not, have budgeted for. Everything should be provided in a written quote with a contract so it is clear what is being provided as part of the service.
4) Insurance
All wedding photographers should have public liability insurance to cover the costs if something goes wrong. A photographer who causes damages to people or property in the course of their work may be liable for the costs. Without public liability insurance, the damages will come from their own pocket. It’s a risk most people can’t afford. Many venues these days will insist on knowing all suppliers operating on site have this kind of insurance in place. Personally, I would avoid any wedding photographer who cannot provide an up to date insurance certificate.
5) Back Up Plan
You don’t need a full technical breakdown of what equipment your photographer uses but you do need to know that they are prepared and equipped as a professional. However, an important part of the answer that I would want to hear is that they bring backup equipment – which means at least 2 professional-grade cameras with 2 card slots each, spare lenses, lighting and more – just in case something goes wrong. From my own experience, I would not consider hiring any wedding photographer who did not have the above equipment as a minimum. The risk of damaging a single camera or corrupting a memory card would mean that your whole wedding could be lost. It isn’t worth the risk and I think this would be my single ‘deal breaker’ if the photographer could not meet this requirement. In addition, it’s worth asking what the photographer would do if they were ill or unable to cover the wedding for whatever reason. It can’t be possible to plan for every eventuality but it’s worth knowing your photographer is able to anticipate potential issues. A 2nd photographer is a good way to provide an extra level of security – and many photographers offer this as an option for wedding photography.
Are You Looking For A Wedding Photographer
It would be great to chat to you about what you’re looking for. Contact me and we can run through these questions to see if I am a good fit for what you.