Between couples not knowing what to ask and the recent flare up of fraud photographers I thought this list may be helpful to the couples out there that are still looking for a photographer and don’t know what to ask or what they should be looking for! Below are just a few questions that you should ask your photographer when interviewing them. Do you have any suggestions? Let me know by commenting!!!
How long have you been a wedding photographer? With each year a photographer shoots, they gain not only more experience but also have worked in more situations when it comes to lighting, time lines and so forth. They more experience the photographer has, the more likely they are to be able to handle tough shooting situations. With experience comes price and the photographers that are typically value priced are priced as such for a reason and usually the main reason is lack of experience. This doesn’t mean that the pictures will be bad, but it is taking a risk.
How many weddings have you been the primary shooter? Make sure that you ask how many they have shot as a PRIMARY shooter here, as some photographers shoot as an associate or secondary shooter for many weddings/months/years before taking on their own work. Most photographers will agree that being a second shooter is nothing like being a primary shooter. Again, as with the above question, more weddings is more experience. Sometimes a photographer can be a photographer for many years but not take many weddings so make sure to ask.
What happens if you are sick/your child is sick/there is a death in the family? Any professional photographer should have a backup plan in case the worst case scenario happens.
Do you have backup equipment? Is it equal to the quality of your primary equipment? A professional photographer should have backups of not only the camera they shoot with (another professional body, not a point and shoot) but also back up lenses, flashes and other essential shooting equipment in case something goes wrong.
Do you have liability insurance? Equipment insurance is not so big of a deal, if a photographer chooses to get it that’s their own decision but what clients need to be worried about is liability insurance in case something happens. If I set up off camera lighting and someone knocks a light over and it hurts someone, that’s where liability insurance comes into play. Any pro should carry this.
Do you have a vendors license and do you have a business license with the State of Ohio (or applicable state)? Ask for proof. One thing that’s been a sticky subject locally is that there are photographers that have been operating without a vendors license and have been shut down because of it making their clients loose their photographer. In Ohio since Photographers sell products, we must have a license to do so. Any professional photographer should have a license and be able to prove it if need be.
Will you be shooting my wedding? Some photography companies have multiple photographers, if the person you are meeting with will NOT be your photographer, I highly recommend having a meeting with the person that will be before you sign a contract to ensure that you will enjoy being with that person for the entire wedding day.
What do you wear for a wedding? Sounds silly but there are photographers out there that show up in jeans and t-shirts and there are some that show up in tuxes! You need to know what to expect and if it’s not something you would prefer to address it before the big day.
Describe a typical wedding day from your perspective. It may seem trite but you have your wedding day in your mind already, you want someone that is going to go along with that vision you already have formed. It also helps you get an idea in mind of what happens and goes on – the less surprises the day of the wedding the better!!
How many pictures, on average, do you deliver after a wedding? This number is always variable per wedding, however a photographer should be able to give you a ballpark on what number of finished proofs to expect from a wedding. This not only gives you an idea of what to expect but prepares you so there are no surprises later. Some photographers will deliver a max of 500-600 images, some go upwards of 2000.
May I see an entire wedding from start to finish? Everyone can show a best-of album but you want to make sure that you will like the end result from a full day including all of the non-album images.
How long after the wedding will it take to see all of my pictures? Make sure that you know up front how long the process will take and make sure you clarify ALL of the pictures. Some photographers deliver a “favorites” slideshow of a select images but take months later to deliver all of the images, some have them up within a week and others are in between. There is no “right” way to do this but asking ahead of time gives you the opportunity to know what to expect and when to expect it.
What kind of images are on my disc? Every photographer has their own way of doing things when it comes to delivering the files on disc. You want to know two things, the file size and the edit style. The file size is either full resolution, high resolution, mid resolution and low resolution. The higher the resolution, the bigger the file which means the larger you can print the images. Make sure you know what you are getting as the mid and low resolution files either cannot be printed or can only be printed to a certain size. The edit style is also something you want to know. Typically you either see SOOC (straight out of camera), Color Correted and Fine Art files. SOOC files are exactly what the photographer took the day of the wedding, without any corrections or edits. Files may be overexposed or have color casts. Color Corrected is the next step up with typically all exposures corrected as well as color balanced so there is no color casting. Fine Art files are generally what you see on blogs and on websites. You want to make sure that the images you fall in love with are the type of images that you will receive.
How do you back up your files? This is one that should be asked more often! Many photographers dump on one drive and have no backups so if something happens, your wedding is gone. Almost once a week I read on photography forums that someone’s hard drive failed and they have lost a wedding and don’t know what to do. Sometimes data recovery works, but not always.
How long does it take to get —– product? Whatever your package includes, make sure you ask how long, on average, it takes to get the item.
- The Christy House Wedding with Ashley and Stephon - March 11, 2024
- Peninsula Wedding with Colleen and Eric - March 10, 2024
- Winter Inn Walden Wedding with Julia and Walter - February 29, 2024