Questions to ask wedding photographer

I believe that relationships between the wedding photographer and the couple should be more humane than business. At our meeting, I would love to know personally about you and tell you more about myself. I mostly like to just have a good time either at the coffee house, wine bar or skype meeting, let’s just talk!

But the question appears and let’s discover 9 important questions to ask your wedding photographer.

1. On how many other events will you be as a photographer around the weekend?

   This question is designed to find out about how your photographer is busy around your wedding day. Imagine one photographer is taking a few events around the date and if something goes wrong, he should move some days or time. This is a very unusual situation of course and not that many photographers do this, but be careful while choosing a photographer at your wedding. If you ask me, I would say I usually have a day without any events before and after the wedding. If your wedding is a destination, I would arrive much earlier to meet you and have a walk around the area.

2. Do you have a contract? And can I get a copy?

   There a lot of wedding photographers that don’t create a contract for their clients. But you should require a contract from your photographer to get details and evidence for the pricing, photos delivery time, resolution, etc. This contract is created for you and photographer protection. Usually, photographers have a prepared contracts as I have one.

3. What happens if the photographer is ill?

   It is very unlikely that the photographer gets ill on your wedding day, but it is always a very small chance that it can happen. Nobody can protect you from it. So this can be also a topic to talk about at your first interview. The answer can be different, but the most important is that the photographer will take care of this and help you to find a way to go from this situation. If the photographer has a second shooter, he can propose you this option to save your time and health for searching for a new one. If there is no second shooter, I am sure that professional can have many colleagues around the world for different situations.

4. Do you have any extra costs?

   Mostly everything is clear. If your wedding located around the photographer city, there shouldn’t be any costs for you, but if you have a destination wedding, you should ask your wedding photographer “Who will cover expenses for transportation, accommodation, etc?”. As a destination wedding photographer I usually do not have any extra costs around Europe, but there can be some, if your wedding is outside Europe.

5. If my event going crazy and I want you to stay longer, will you stay?

   You don’t want the photographer to add an extra 500 eur when he will provide pictures to you. Even worse, you don’t want him to just pack up and leave when the time is up. So the best thing is to figure out about packages they provide and how many hours it will cover to fit your wedding day.

6. What outfit will photographer wear?

   The wedding photographers is a big part of the wedding day and it is important that they will dress appropriately for the occasion. Usually, I am asking about the dress code of the wedding to get the best fitting outfit.

7. When the photos will be ready after the event?

   Very simple question that you should ask your photographer when you have a conversation. Different photographers have a different delivery time of photos. Usually, it will take anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months.

8. What is the payment method and when I need to pay my balance?

   After the wedding party coming close to midnight, usually, your photographer will start packing his bag. And you are staying with your guests and don’t want to solve any the financial problem and counting your balance in cash. So the best way is to figure out when you have to pay your balance before the wedding day. It can be the same day, the day before or something like five days after the wedding. I usually accept payment via Bank transfer or PayPal.

9. Will you do only color correction or skin retouching too?

   Color correction is the basic post-production technique and it should be used on every picture. But also it is important that your photographer do skin retouching on portraits and close pictures. It can be even small adjustments of shadow on skin that some time happens because of lighting settings of the venue.