One of the most important pieces of the puzzle for your wedding day is your wedding photographer. The task of choosing the right photographer can be quite overwhelming and confusing. As entrepreneurs, every photographer runs their business differently and everyone has different experience and expertise. Below are some important questions to ask your wedding photographer. 

In today’s society, photography is becoming more and more of a profession that anyone can try to make a part or full time job in. Cameras are easily accessible and there are so many ways to advertise through social media, Instagram, Facebook etc. You want to make sure you are getting a photographer who works hard that is fully capable of capturing your day in a beautiful and professional manor. You want someone that is experienced shooting weddings and ready to answer any and all questions you may have.

During wedding planning, there are a few important questions to ask your wedding photographer. These include things such as pricing, client image rights, style of photography, experience and proof of past work. Also, get to know your photographer on a more personal level to make sure your personalities will work well together. This is your big day, and your wedding photos will be the one part of your day that will last you a lifetime. These are your memories to cherish long after the wedding and forever!

Pricing and Packages

Pricing and packages vary widely throughout the wedding photography industry. Depending on factors such as the photographer, experience, and location, there can be a price difference in thousands of dollars. Make sure you have a budget in mind going into your search and make sure it is reasonable for what you are expecting from your potential photographer.

The first thing to ask for is an explanation of photo packages offered or a “pricing sheet”. Once you receive the pricing sheet, you can start evaluating if they are in your budget and what each package includes. There are a lot of key pieces that go in to putting together a photography pricing sheet, so be sure to ask additional pricing questions as well. If you are having a destination wedding, ask if the photographer will charge a travel fee on top of the packages they are showing you. If you are interested in hiring a second photographer for the wedding day, be sure to ask if their packages come with one or if that is an additional charge as well. Lastly, always ask if sales tax is included in each package and if there are any additional fees that are not shown in the pricing sheet provided.

Image Rights

Have you ever thought to ask a photographer about the client rights to your wedding images? This is such an important piece of information to ask and here is why. Like mentioned above, every photographer runs their business differently. This also means different client photo rights depending on who you are working with.

If you ask up front, many photographers will tell you that you will receive “full rights to all images”. This is a vague statement, so don’t be afraid to ask them to break it down. Ask exactly what their full rights entail. Do they provide you full digital rights to all edited images and full printing rights? Do they provide only digital rights? If a photographer provides full digital rights only this may mean that you can download all your photos and save them, but they may require you to print through their gallery. This can add up financially in the long run. If the photographer states that they offer full printing rights to the client as well, this typically means you can print your images anywhere you would like. It is important to know these facts and educate yourself by asking your potential photographer these questions.

Dig

You may have found a potential photographer through their beautiful images on Instagram. You may have heard about them through a past bride that is a close friend of yours. Maybe they even popped up on google or an advertising platform. No matter how you found a photographer, it is crucial you ask them for bodies of work and dig a bit through their website.

Find out if they blog sessions on their website. Ask them if the sessions you like were real weddings or if they were styled and staged photo shoots. Go one step further and ask them for at least one full wedding gallery and one full engagement session gallery. This will be well worth your time invested to scroll through these full galleries. Look for things like lighting, consistency, and color. Check out some rehearsal dinners they captured. Do you still love their work after seeing it as a whole? These tips may be very helpful in narrowing down final choices and coming to conclusions about what you really want.

Do You Vibe?

Lastly, get to know your potential photographers. It is important that you feel comfortable and confident in whoever you choose. Less confident brides include a extensive shot list. Remember, you will be spending many hours with them on one of the most special days of your life. You want to feel like you are on the same page as your photographer and that they understand your needs and can achieve your total vision for your wedding.

Set up a phone call or a Skype session with your final two choices for photographers. Ask them questions that you would ask someone in a less informal manor. What do they like to do for fun? Do they have any animals? Do they enjoy traveling? These are simple questions that help you gauge if your potential photographer is similar to you and someone you vibe with.

In Conclusion

It’s so imperative to make sure that you choose the right photographer for your wedding day. With the questions to ask your wedding photographer above, you will be able to choose the perfect one for you wisely and confidently. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get to know them further. You should fully trust your wedding vendors and photography is one of your most important elements to your wedding day.

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