How to Pick a GREAT Professional Wedding Photographer

As a wedding couple embarks on planning their wedding, finding a good professional wedding photographer can be a daunting task – almost like finding a needle in a haystack.  You want to make sure you find a great wedding photographer who can capture all the special moments and spirit of your wedding in a way that touches your heart and whose photographs serve as wonderful keepsakes for years to come. 

You should start your search for a professional wedding photographer early on in the wedding planning process – very soon after you settle on your wedding date.  This is especially important if you plan to have a wedding during the spring or summer, where the good photographers usually get booked up very quickly.  Also, professional wedding photographer fees vary widely.  Wedding photographers are among the more expensive vendors you will hire for your wedding.  So, by starting your search for a professional wedding photographer early will give you a good sense of what your photographer-of-choice will cost you so that you can budget accordingly.  You can search for potential wedding photographers via online searches, wedding directories, wedding magazines, books, and even business directories online which often have ratings for the service providers listed there.  Also be sure to check with your relatives, friends and co-workers for any recommendations of professional photographers they’ve used.

As you search for a professional photographer that is “just right” for you, be prepared to ask some important questions about the photographer’s experience, style and their business.  You would be basically conducting an “interview” with your short list of photographers so that you can compare and contrast their capabilities, style, personalities and experience.  Furthermore, when you schedule an interview with a photographer, try meeting them at their studio so that you can confirm that they are a legitimate business.

So, what kind of questions should you ask the professional wedding photographers?  Here are some questions you might want to consider asking them, as well as adding your own tailored questions to suit your individual needs. 

1. How many professional photographers do you have on staff?  And, will you or someone else be the actual photographer to handle my wedding?  It’s always a good idea to know who the actual photographer will be.  If you are able to meet and speak with this person directly, you can ask them specific questions about their most recent experience.
2. Do you have a portfolio or any samples of your work that I can see – pictures of other weddings that you’ve been hired for?  A picture speaks a thousand words, so reviewing samples of their work can give you a sense pretty quickly of the quality of their work and whether you like their “style” of photography.  And if the professional photography company has several photographers on staff, you might want to try to review the portfolios of the photographers that would most likely be the ones to cover your wedding.  Keep in mind that if you plan to have a wedding indoors or outdoors, during the day or at night, that you would want to review pictures that are similar to the type of wedding you’ll be having.  Many professional wedding photographers have websites where they have posted their portfolios.  So, be sure to check their website first before setting up the interview.
3. Be sure to check with the professional photographer about their availability.  Usually, the good ones get booked up well in advance.  Also, if you plan to have your wedding during the high wedding season (spring and summer), please allow yourself extra lead time in looking for a photographer.  This should be one of the first questions you ask a potential professional photographer, because if they are not available on your wedding day, then you won’t need to continue with the interview.
4. What is your experience with the style of photography that appeals to me the most?  There are so many different styles of photography, from traditional poses, to fun and candid shots, “pictures that tell a story” style, artistic or unconventional, black and white, and more.  If you’re not sure yet what style you like, have the professional photographer show you sample photographs of the different styles they can do.  A good wedding photographer should have the ability to really capture mood, emotion, and sentiment within his/her photographs.
5. What kind of camera equipment do you use – do you shoot with film or a digital camera? Different types of cameras can produce different styles of photography, and can have an effect on setup time and flexibility.  Ask the professional photographer which type of camera equipment they use and why do they prefer it.  Use of digital cameras can usually result in a shorter setup time, and can yield you more photos per hour, with very high quality results.
6. What is your fee structure?  Some professional photographers charge on a lump sum basis for the entire event, whereas some photographers charge by the package or by the hour, and may also include travel fees, setup fees, camera film fees, print and duplicate fees, and so on.  If the wedding runs long, will they charge “overtime” fees?  Many professional photographers require deposits or retainer fees in order to reserve them for a specific date.  The fees that professional photographers charge can vary dramatically. 
7. Will you be bringing a photography assistant with you, or is there the option of having more than one photographer covering our wedding?  This may be an important consideration if you are having a large wedding or one where the venue for the reception or ceremony is particularly large or spread out.  The assistant also performs many tasks like changing film backs, batteries, and shooting candid photos, freeing the photographer to focus on your special occasion.
8. Could you provide a list of references of recent wedding clients?  No matter how good their pictures are, there’s nothing that compares to getting the scoop from a real client.  Ask them questions about the professional photographer’s demeanor, flexibility, courteousness and professionalism while under pressure – working in the studio and/or at the actual wedding.
9. Do you have any limitations on how many pictures you shoot per hour or per wedding?  And, on average, how many pictures do you take per hour?  It’s preferable if they don’t have any limitations on the how many pictures they take per hour or at your wedding.  This is because after the event is over, they will send you proofs of pictures they’ve taken that you will pick and choose from.  So, the more pictures they take, the more you will have to choose from.
10. How long have you been in business?  How many weddings have you done?  How many weddings are you booked for so far this year? Their answer will give you a sense of the breadth of their experience and how it compares to the other professional wedding photographers you’ll be interviewing.
11. Are you affiliated with any professional organizations? Although not a requirement, belonging to organizations such as the Digital Wedding Forum and Professional Photographer's Association to name a few, demonstrate the photographer's desire to remain current with industry standards, trends and technology.
12. Photographing indoors or at night can be tricky.  Sometimes flash photography is not allowed in churches.  How do you handle these types of lighting issues?  This is an important issue, because photographing a wedding will be different from venue to venue.  You don’t want to wait until you get the proofs back after the event to discover that the photographer didn’t address the tricky lighting conditions.
13. Will you require us to sign a contract, and if so, if we want to change something in it before the wedding, can we do so?  What about cancellations? Find out what types of things you can change (if needed) in the contract.  This will give you a sense of the professional photographer’s flexibility.  Also, check their policy on cancellations in case you have to change the venue or the wedding date.
14.  Do you provide touch-up and/or color correction services for the images before the proofs and final prints are made?  Ask the professional photographer what kind of touch-up services they can do and whether they charge extra for it.
15. Do you work with a professional lab for the photo printing of the images?  This will ensure that they can provide the highest quality photo prints as possible and will have some bearing on the turnaround time for the proofs and prints.
16. After the event is over, what is your processing/turnaround time for processing the images, providing proofs and then finally providing the final prints?  Some professional photographers may take weeks or even months to get the final product to you. You’ll be anxious to see them as soon as the wedding is over, so be sure to ask so that you know what to expect.
17. Do you give any guarantees on your services or your photographs?  If the professional photographer has guarantees for products or services, try to get the guarantees documented in the contract if they require you to sign one.
18. Will I get to keep the proofs/negatives?  Or, will you charge me for them?  After you have received all the final prints from the professional photographer, you may want to re-order some photos, so the issue of who gets the negatives or proofs is important.  If you are able to keep the proofs/negatives, this may save you some money from doing the re-prints yourself instead of having the photographer do it.
19. Do you have backup plans in case of bad weather or failed batteries or equipment?  Having a back up plan can provide some assurances to you that no matter what obstacles may come up on your wedding day that your photographer will come prepared.

 

Asking any combination of these questions in your search for a photographer will help you choose a great professional wedding photographer who will be able to provide beautiful, expressive pictures that you will cherish for many years to come!