We’ve all seen that Pinterest list of questions to ask wedding photographers. Today I wanted to go through that list, answer the questions, and debunk whether this is something you ACTUALLY need to ask <3
- “What is your preferred style of photography?” I tend to keep things pretty natural and documentary. While I will absolutely help to pose and guide you through the portrait section of the day, I prefer to capture things as they naturally unfold.
- “How many weddings have you shot in your career?” This is a tough one, but between lead shooting and second shooting I’d say right around 50 weddings. That’s a lot of best days ever!
- “How many weddings will you shoot on my wedding day?” This one always cracks me up because who in their right mind would willingly shoot two weddings in one day?! The answer to this will always be one – YOURS!
- “Have you ever shot at my venue?” Depends on the venue, haha! But here’s a bit of info – a true pro will be able to walk into a venue without ever seeing it before and do just as good of a job as if they’d shot there a hundred times before.And I pride myself on being a true pro 😉
- “Do you bring your own lighting?” Of course!! Although 90% of the time I choose to work with the ambient lighting available, I do bring all the lighting that could be necessary to shoot your wedding.
- “Do you work from a shot list?” The only time during a wedding that I work from a shot list is during family portraits and here’s why: If I’m consistently looking at a list to ensure I’m capturing specific photos, I will miss important moments. The way your dad looks at you as you’re walking down the aisle? It probably wasn’t on the list, but I got it <3
- “Can I ask specific shots to be taken at the wedding?” In short, yes. I feel like this ties into the question above. If there’s something in specific that you want photos of, let me know!
- “How many hours are included in your package?” I offer three different collections – 4 hours (up to 20 people), 8 hours, and 12 hours. 8 hours is definitely the most popular option.
- “How much does an additional hour of coverage cost?” I offer add-on hours at $500 per hour.
- “Do you bring a second shooter?” Totally depends on if you’d like one! I do offer second shooters as an add-on option, but I always tell my clients that I really don’t consider it an absolute necessity. The moment your man sees you as you’re walking down the aisle? No worries, it’s literally a .01 second turn for me to capture. I gotchu!
- “How many images can I expect to see from my wedding?” Again, this is dependent on how many hours I’m there, how many events will happen during the day, the amount of details incorporated into your wedding, etc. I like to prep my clients by telling them to expect 60-70 images per hour which is about 1 image per minute. Rest assured that I don’t hold back good images from you – basically as long as it’s not blurry or a test shot, a duplicate, or completely unflattering then it will end up in your final gallery.
- “Do you have a limit to the amount of images you will edit?” Nope! See the answer to the questions above <3
- “How long does it take to see the proofs from my wedding?” I do my best to ensure you will see images within weeks, not months, so you will most likely have your gallery within 4 weeks from the date of your wedding. If something happens and I’m unable to achieve this turnaround time your images will be outsourced to my hired editor at no cost to you to get your gallery in your inbox ASAP.
- “Do I receive a disc of the images or do I have to order prints through you?” I actually don’t offer discs for a couple of reasons – the main one is that many times your file sizes are so large that it would take upwards of 10-15 discs to fit them all. I utilize an online gallery delivery system where I send you a link to your own private website. From there you’re able to download the high resolution and websize images directly to you computer or phone, easy peasy. And while I definitely offer prints through my online shop, you absolutely don’t have to order through me. I give a full personal print release to each of my clients o you’ll be able to print for any personal use you could imagine.
- “How much are prints?” I’m always willing to send you a link to a gallery so you can check out print pricing online.
- “Is an album included?” I offer albums as an add-on option which starts at $300.
- “Will you use my images in any advertising?” Most likely, yes! I’m a photographer and we make our living off of the images we take. However, if you prefer your images to remain private I’m totally ok with that and will respect those wishes. Just let me know in our consultation and I’ll make a note in your portal to not use these images in any public forum.
- “Will you request the photography guidelines from my venue?” Absolutely! I always like to get in touch with my fellow vendors prior to the wedding day to ensure all rules and guidelines will be respected.
- “What will you wear?” This is another one that cracks me up, haha! As a photographer I spend the majority of my day bending, climbing on things, and performing moderate aerobics to get the shot. Comfort is definitely a priority, so most of the time I’ll wear black or neutral colored dress pants with a loose, flowy top. I always try to blend in as a guest so if there’s a certain type of dress you’re requesting from guests be sure to let me know.
- “What is your plan if you’re ill or there’s an emergency and you can’t shoot my wedding?” First of all, I always like to assure my couples that there would literally need to be restraints on me to keep me from shooting your wedding. If I was on my death bed and literally could not physically shoot your wedding then I have an awesome community of photographers and I’m certain I could find someone of equal ability to step in for me.
- “How much is the deposit?” I ask for a signed contract and 25% retainer fee to hold the date for your wedding.
- “When is the balance due?” I try to make paying for your photography as easy as possible. After the 25% retainer you’re definitely able to make payments at your leisure – the full balance is due two week before your wedding day.
- “What is your cancellation policy?” This is something that is outlined in my contract so once you inquire and we chat on the phone I’ll go over all the policies with you <3
You know, this was actually kind of fun! I hope I was able to answer some of your questions with this list. If you want to see the actual list of questions to ask wedding photographers just click here, but know that a lot of these graphics aren’t really necessary or relevant – especially if you’re planning an elopement. The wedding industry
If you’re planning a destination wedding, click here for my guide on how to plan a destination wedding!
This post is so helpful! I find a lot of couples don’t know what to ask their photographer when meeting up for the first time. Such a great post!
So informative!! Definitely spot on for something that most couples should read.
What a cool idea to go through these questions! SO helpful for couples.
A perfect list of questions! I can’t think of another thing that needs to be asked!
This is such a great idea! These are definitely common questions and a great way to knock them out and get down to the good
These are such great questions and great answers! It will for sure be helpful for brides.
This is such a good idea! I think so many clients don’t even know where to start with questions, so this is so helpful for future couples.
This is such a great post about what’s important to know when booking your wedding photographer!
I am straight up LOVING this article! So much helpful info. You rock!!
Such great questions! Very well written!