I love stories. IG captions don’t quite allow me to share with you all the beautiful details that go into my couples and our time together.
The Blog is the place to learn more about real love stories, real wedding days, and be inspired for your own wedding.
Congratulations you must be engaged! This is such an exciting, crazy, and happy time in both of your lives!! As you begin to get into the thick of planning your wedding day you’re going to be making a LOT of decisions. One of the most important of these decisions is going to be choosing your wedding photographer. How do you find a photographer you can trust to document your day though? I actually wrote a blog on this a little while ago, but the decision is so important that I felt like I needed to dive in further! That’s why we’re covering ALL of the questions you should be asking your wedding photographer before you book. There are a ton of questions to cover, so grab a drink and find a cozy seat as we dive into them!
To start, there are a LOT of amazing wedding photographers out there, which is why you want to be as honest and transparent as you can be while looking for your wedding photographer. You want to choose someone that can document your wedding the way you envision, but also one that can be whatever you need them to be for your wedding day. Whether that’s a best friend that is there hyping you up every step of the way, or a wall flower that quietly photographs all your favorite moments as you exist in them. For this reason it is imperative that you are honest and up front with your potential wedding photographer.
Prior to photographing a wedding day, I work very hard to get to know my couples and really dive deep into your love story. By the time your wedding day comes around we’ll know a lot about each other. This knowledge helps me to document the intimate moments of your wedding day as if your loved ones are loved ones of my own.
Be open about any concerns you have prior to your wedding day with your potential photographer. Are you both inexperienced in front of the camera? Do you get self conscious about PDA? Whatever your concerns may be, they’re valid and something your photographer should be aware of. That way they can work with you to put these concerns to rest, and guide you through your wedding day so that you can enjoy it to the fullest!
When working with me, these are all questions we go over via video call leading up to your wedding day. Your comfort and wedding day experience are my highest priority alongside documenting your wedding day. I don’t just want these photos to look as if you had a fun time taking them, I sincerely want you to have the best time when taking photos on your wedding day.
Be sure to be up front with your photographer about the priorities you have for your wedding day. Maybe you have family flying in from ALL over the country for your wedding and it’s important to you to have photos of them all from your wedding day, posed and otherwise. Or maybe you have a special inside joke with some of your guests that you want to make sure your photographer gets on camera, like Brooke and Hunter did for their wedding day! With your photographer knowing these details about your wedding day, your priorities will also be their priorities!
Every wedding day is different, and so every couple will have different moments planned for their day that they’re the most excited for. Whether it’s heading to a local bar with your wedding parties between your ceremony and reception, or how you and your partner both plan on dancing with your parents at the same time at your reception. Share these moments that you’re most looking forward to with your photographer! This will help your photographer get to know the feel of your wedding day and help build into that excitement that you have.
I said there are a lot of questions you’ll want to ask your wedding photographer, and I meant a LOT! This is a huge decision that you’ll make for your wedding day, so it’s important to be thorough! To work our way through these questions I broke them up into three separate categories, experience based questions, logistics based questions, and gallery questions. Remember that every photographer is different. We have different processes, styles, and personalities, so asking these questions will help you find the wedding photographer that’s best fit for you and your day! As previously covered, throughout your talks with your potential wedding photographer be sure to be open and honest with them!
Your wedding day is a one of a kind experience, but your experience with your photographer extends FAR beyond just your wedding day! This experience starts with your inquiry, and continues through your wedding day all the way up until your photos are delivered. These are the questions you’ll want to be asking to make sure the experience your potential wedding photographer provides falls in line with what you want for your day:
What will communication look like between you and your photographer? Are there planned check-in dates between when you book and your wedding itself, and if so how often? Also be sure to ask about what their policy is in terms of contacting them with questions. Some photographers are very open and are down to chat anytime, while others have a more structured approach to things! I love keeping up with my couples and making sure to have multiple opportunities throughout the planning process to connect and go over the details as we plan your wedding day together.
What pre-wedding preparations do they go through, both for themselves and for the benefit of their clients? Will they be sending you guides and helping you plan out your timeline? What does their overall process look like from the time you book up until your wedding day? Make sure your photographer has a routine that you feel comfortable with and confident in! Along with guides, my couples also receive pre-wedding questionnaires that guide you through many of the important decisions you have to make leading up to your wedding day.
Have they photographed a wedding at your specific venue before? If they have how did that go, and if they haven’t how do they prepare for that? Every venue has its unique lighting, feel, and style to it, so documenting a wedding day with all of these aspects in mind is something your photographer will have to be prepared for. It’s also a good idea to ask your potential wedding photographer if you can see a full wedding gallery of theirs of a wedding that is similar to yours. This will give you a solid look at what your wedding album will look like.
Will they do location scouting for portraits prior to your wedding day? Will this be done in person, online, or both? What other preparations do they go through behind the scenes to ensure that your wedding day runs as smoothly as it can?
Every photographer has a different style for documenting your wedding day, so this question is incredibly important in order to make sure your album looks the way YOU want it to! Do they act more as a fly on the wall, photographing moments without you noticing? Are they more involved and hyping you and your guests up throughout the night? Maybe they’re a mix of the two or something else entirely!
It’s an unavoidable reality that sometimes things just don’t work, or break. Whether that’s something smaller like a flash not triggering, or worse a broken camera lens, sometimes things happen and it is unavoidable. It’s crucial then that you ask your potential photographer if they have backup equipment that they bring to weddings. The last thing you want is for everything to go according to plan for your day, only for your photographer to be unable to document it!
If you intend on having a wedding planner for your day this is a must ask question for your wedding photographer. Have they worked with a planner in the past, and are they open to doing so? Some photographers are MUCH more hands on with their weddings and almost act as a planner themselves. If you are working with a planner be sure to let your photographer know ahead of time so that your planner and photographer can communicate leading up to your wedding day.
There are some key logistical questions that you should be asking your potential wedding photographer before booking them. These are SO important when ensuring that you receive the services you pay for, and that both you and the photographer are protected in this agreement.
This is a MUST ask, and if the answer is no stay FAR AWAY! Contracts are one of the most important aspects of booking a photographer, or any wedding vendor for that matter, as they ensure you receive the services you paid for and that the photographer receives the payment for those services. Be sure when booking to thoroughly read over your contract as well. It may not be the most exciting thing, but you’ll be happy when you do if you catch anything that looks off, such as no delivery date for your wedding album! Like most photographers, I will not reserve a wedding date without a signed contract with my clients in place.
Most photographers will have their pricing on their website, or some may not as they only offer custom packages with unique pricing for each individual client. Either way, once you receive a quote from your wedding photographer it’s important you ask whether the pricing includes taxes or not. If hiring a destination wedding photographer you’ll also want to ask if the price for your day includes their travel costs. Avoid being caught off guard by any unexpected costs!
All photographers, and really wedding vendors in general, will require a deposit in order to reserve your date. If they do not, that is a HUGE red flag and you should proceed with caution! A deposit is what secures your wedding date with that vendor so that no one else can book with them. Is that due upon signing your contract though, or do they have a different due date set? For most photographers including myself, you cannot reserve your wedding date with them without a deposit.
Outside of your initial deposit, the remaining amount of your payment will usually be due at a later date closer to your wedding. Every wedding photographer has a different payment schedule though, so be sure to ask the question of when the rest of the payment is due. Also ask whether the payment is due in full, or if it can be split and paid over time leading up to your date!
In addition to the due date for your full wedding payment, you’ll also want to ask what method of payment your potential wedding photographer accepts. Most accept online payments, some accept checks. Some accept both, while others only accept one or the other.
Some wedding photographers, and other vendors as well, will have an additional fee if you pay with a credit card. This is due to cover the costs of processing fees and will usually be around 1%-4% of the total payment.
Now the moment you’ve been waiting for, your wedding photos! This is one of the main reasons you’re booking a wedding photographer after all!, to have a wedding album that you can adore looking back on for the rest of your lives! These are the questions you’ll want to ask your potential wedding photographer to ensure you receive this album safely and in a timely manner:
First and foremost, when will you receive your full wedding gallery? This should be listed in your contract, and if not that is again a MASSIVE red flag! Some photographers take more photos, or take more time to edit the photos themselves, but either way you’ll want to know what the turnaround time will be for your album so you aren’t left waiting in the dark!
Most wedding photographers will send you a sneak peek of your wedding photos with a mini gallery with some of their favorite images from the day. This is usually sent out within the first few days after your wedding to get you excited and hold you over until the full album comes your way. It’s important to ask your photographer if they do sneak peeks and if so when they deliver them.
We wedding photographers take a LOT of photos during a wedding day! Some photographers also deliver a lot of photos, while others curate this massive gallery down to a more select group of photos. Ask your photographer how many images they usually send out in their wedding album, and also if they charge extra for the full gallery itself.
This is a two part question as you’ll want to choose a wedding photographer that keeps your images safe both on the day of your wedding and once the day is over. For the day of your wedding this comes back to having backups. You’ll want to ask your potential wedding photographer if their camera has 2 SD card slots to ensure there are back ups for every moment of your day. After the wedding is over what is their back up process like, and how long do they keep backups of your images offline? I always make sure to have two copies of your images at LEAST all the way through your gallery delivery.
Once you receive your wedding album you’re going to want to share the photos with your loved ones! It’s important to ask your potential wedding photographer the question of whether others are able to view and download your photos directly from the album, or if they have a special process in place when it comes to sharing images.
Once your album is delivered online, how long will you have access to those photos? Six months? One year? Three years? More? This is important to know so that you can download and get physical copies of the photos you want before they’re gone!
Speaking of physical photos, are you able to order them directly from your photographer? If that is the case I HIGHLY recommend it as these are usually higher quality prints than you’ll receive elsewhere! If your photographer does not offer direct prints through them, ask if they have any recommendations for you to use.
Along with printing your images, what are the rules and rights you have when it comes to posting and sharing images on social media? This is likely in your contract as well, or at least it should be! Be sure to confirm this with potential photographers prior to signing a contract.
PHEW! We made it through the main list of questions to ask your potential wedding photographer before booking, but there’s a couple more that I feel you can and should ask as well! These are more to get a feel of who your photographer is as a person and get to know them prior to your day!
This is a great question to get an idea of what your photographer is most passionate about on a wedding day. Do they love to document those little moments that you might otherwise have not known happened? Are they obsessed with first looks and the emotion they bring out? What gets them most excited on a wedding day and does that fall in line with what you’re looking forward to for yours?
I like this question personally as it gives you more real solid insight as to the type of your photographer you might be booking! What drew them to photographing weddings as their main passion?
Did I or did I not tell you that there are a lot of questions you’re going to want to ask your wedding photographer before booking?! Lucky for you though you now have this list handy and at the ready so that when the time comes to decide on your photographer you’ll be ready! If you’re thinking about hiring me as your wedding photographer and would like to ask me these questions, be sure to send an inquiry through my contact page. And for those of you that would like to see more of my work be sure to check out some of my other blogs as well as my Insta!
February 22, 2024
All love is welcome & celebrated here.
Rachael Marie Photography values inclusivity and will never discriminate against your gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religion, body type, or abilities. You are wonderful, beautiful, and loved here.
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