Ask Your Photographer These Questions Before You Book Them!
are you available for our date? are you currently working with any other couples for our date?
This seems like an obvious one and of course it only applies if you have a confirmed date. You don’t want to fall in love with your photographer only to find out they’re already booked! If you’ve picked a popular wedding date- sometimes your photographer will be working with more than one potential couple for that date. That is really important information for you to have up front! What if you decide to book them and another couple swoops in the day before you and now you have to start all over in the photographer hunting process?
Fill out this super short form to see if I’m available for your date!
2. what is your turn around time for getting our photos back?
This might seem nitpicky but it’s important! I’ve seen couples get really upset when their wedding was six months ago and their photographer still hasn’t delivered their photos! That’s ok if you’re ok with that wait. Rome wasn’t built in a day! The real important part here is that it is in the CONTRACT when they will deliver their photos by. Without that deadline in the contract your photographer can keep you waiting for your photos for a long time. I’ve seen horror stories of couples waiting over a year for their wedding day photos. Make sure you’re working with a professional that can give you a deadline for when you’ll get your photos back.
In case you were curious, my contract states 8 weeks but I make it my personal goal to give my clients a “teaser” sneak peek within three days of the wedding and deliver all of their photos in under 4 weeks. Truthfully, my contract only says 8 weeks to cover my butt in case of personal illness or emergencies.
3. can we see a full wedding day gallery?
A photographer’s website is always going to be the absolute “best of the best” of their photos. (I know mine is!) Think of the portfolio as window shopping- the window/portfolio’s job is to catch your eye so you come inside the store! Make sure the photographer will let you peek around the store so you can get a solid idea of what your full wedding day photos will look like- not just the highlights.
Here’s are a few of my full wedding galleries ;)
4. How LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER?
This is important because it helps set your expectations. With time comes experience and with experience comes the ability to foresee and prevent any potential problems on your wedding day. Experience also comes with a certain level of adaptability to adjust to different lighting situations quickly. Everyone starts somewhere and that’s ok! It’s just important to know these things!
In case you were wondering, I photographed my first wedding in 2009. I started out just shooting friends weddings once or twice a year for about four years. Then I opened up to shooting not-yet-friends weddings and it snowballed from there!
5. WILL WE BE ABLE TO PRINT OUR PHOTOS?
If it’s important to you to have full resolution digital copies of your photos then you need to ask this up front. Some photographers will only provide you with prints and will require you to come back to them every time you want to reprint a photo. That’s ok if that’s what you want. I provide all of my couples with full resolution digital files of the photos as well as a printing release, which allows you to take your photos to a professional lab and have them printed. Additionally, I include a guide file of where to print your photos for the best quality, because I’m helpful like that.