First of all, Congrats! If you are here you are in the middle of planning your wedding and it is quite an exciting time. It may seem overwhelming to find the right wedding photographer as you are planning your dream wedding and you want to make sure that everything is captured perfectly. This is one of the many reasons why I created this blog, you are not alone and I am here to help make this process better.

You may have tons of questions and one of the most important ones is: What to ask a wedding photographer before hiring them?  Here are the top 20 questions you should ask the wedding photographers you’re considering for one of the most important days in your life.  

1. How long have you been shooting weddings?
This will tell you how much experience they have in the industry and you will have a sense of how they will be as our wedding photographer. 

2. What’s your photography style?
Very important question! You need to know their style of photography because this decides how your wedding photos will look, would you like it to be more classic, journalistic, artsy, lifestyle. Make sure the wedding photographer you choose matches the styles you always dreamed of! 

3. How many hours are included in each of your packages?
Usually, 6-8 hours of coverage is enough, this time allows your wedding photographer to capture you getting ready, the ceremony, and the reception.

4. How much do extra hours cost?
This one is important to know because as I said before, 6-8 hours is usually enough and it’s a common amount of time wedding photographers offer in the wedding packages, but there are occasions where you may need more time. Therefore it is important to know how much they would charge for any extra time you may need. 

5. How much of a deposit do you require?
Every photographer builds their terms differently. Usually, some require 25% others 50% as a deposit to separate your wedding date and will need the FULL amount within the month before your wedding date.

6. What’s your refund or cancellation policy?
In the case of an unexpected situation, you should know how to navigate cancellation with all your vendors and your wedding photographer is no different. It is important to know the time frames of when you will be able to get money back and how much of their deposit is non-refundable.  

7. Can we request specific shots we’d like?
Have specific wedding photo ideas you’ve seen on Instagram or Pinterest, regardless of style ask if you are able to get these specific shots. Make sure to show these to the wedding photographer to make sure they know what you want. 

8. How long will it take to get my photos after the wedding day?
Timeframe of deliverables depends on each photographer but it usually does not take more than 6-8 weeks for you to get your photos back. 

9. What do you love most about being a photographer?
This is a get-to-know-you question that is a MUST! This will show you their passion for photography and their why which is always important. 

10. What’s your backup process for the wedding day?
Your wedding photographer should ALWAYS have a backup of all your photos. What happens if one of their cards fails in the middle of your wedding? It’s rare for it to happen but there is a chance for it happening, so they should have a backup system in place for all their work and your big day! 

11. Can we see a FULL wedding gallery for us to see?
A full wedding gallery will allow you to see your potential wedding photographer’s work in different lighting, and moments during the day. A full gallery has ALL photos of the wedding day, not just what they put on their website or their social media accounts. 

You can check out my portfolio HERE to get a sense of my photography.

12. Do you have a second shooter?
When people ask me if I recommend having a second shooter my answer is 100%. Having a second shooter allows you to capture the wedding as a whole, while you are getting ready the second shooter can capture your partner getting ready, a second shooter gets the moments that your primary wedding photographer doesn’t while they capture the most important moments.  

13. What happens if you can’t show up on the day of?
What happens if your photographer gets sick and can’t make it? It’s rare but it happens! And because of that, it’s vital that they have a backup plan to ensure you will get your wedding photos. 

14. Do you have backup equipment?
Equipment can fail so it is important for your wedding photographer to ALWAYS have a backup for everything, cameras, flashes, etc.

15. Are there any other fees such as travel aside from the package price?
For you to accordingly budget out the prices for your wedding photographer you should always ask about all the fees involved in capturing your big day. Depending on how far your wedding is, a wedding photographer will have traveling fees to make sure that everything is covered. So make sure to ask for all the fees aside from the packages they have. 

16. What’s it like to work with you on the day of the wedding?
Are they your hype person or will they blend in the crowd and capture the moments throughout your big day more naturally. You should also know this to be prepared and know what to expect the day of.

17. Do you require a vendor meal?
Some wedding photographers don’t require a vendor meal but it is customary for you to have one for them. They are working 6-8 hours non-stop on your big day to make sure everything is perfect with your wedding photos! So a vendor meal should be something you budget for.

18. What rights do we have when it comes to digital files?
Rights? You may ask. Yes, usually the photographer has the rights to all of the photos they take, all weddings including yours. You obviously can print them and have them, it is your wedding, but it’s their art so they have the commercial rights for every photo they take. 

19. How will we receive our photos?
Nowadays wedding photographers will send you a link to your wedding day gallery and you can download the photos to your computer from there. However, there are other wedding photographers that will have prints as part of their wedding package. Ask your potential wedding photographer how they will deliver your photos so you know what to expect.

20. How will you be dressed on the wedding day?
Wedding photographers will usually choose to wear black for the day of the wedding or be formal to not stand out to the crowd and be able to blend in as much as possible to capture natural moments throughout the day. If you have a requirement of how they should dress if you have a theme party it can be arranged.

BONUS QUESTION

21. On how many cards do you capture our images?
BACKUPS! Always make sure to know how your wedding photographer is working with their cards, are they using 2 at a time to make sure your images are being backed up at all times, what is their cards backup system so you can be at ease that everything will be taken care of with your wedding photos.

I hope this helped you clear some doubts on what to ask your wedding photographer to make sure you have all your bases covered the day of your wedding! If you would like to see if I am available on your wedding date please feel free to contact me and let’s get started! I will contact you as soon as possible. 

Also, make sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can get notified of any upcoming events, promotions, free dates, and of course my blog! Can’t wait to see you there.