Questions to ask a wedding photgrapher

This post is for Wedding, other topics for will follow in this series.

I have seen just about everything you can imagine in the way of questions related to my photography. Some questions I have been asked are very good questions, and some are not. One really important questions to ask is about experience. Keeping in mind that experience is probably one of the most important topics it is often the least asked question.

First, let me say that I define my photography work into several categories, public relations, portrait, commercial, event, wedding and events, pets, head shots, art, etc. These categories cover most of the areas I do on a regular basis. I am going to narrow the field in questions to ask starting with photography for events like Bar and Bat Mitzvah’s, and Weddings. I also will only briefly touch on the topic of cost or fees as those questions do not relate to the purpose of this article, which was meant to be asking relevant questions to assess a photographers ability to perform a specific task or job.

I also feel these questions are best when asked in person face to face. I assume these questions will be asked after you have seen or viewed some samples of work. I suggest avoiding most, or all these questions by email if possible. In my opinion email is a cold, impersonal way to initially communicate, second you can not see the photographers reaction or use the great visual perspective of response, body language, etc. Lastly, if you do use email or text based questions let the photographer know if you do not live in the area, state, or country as any photographer should be flexible if they understand special needs such as those. It also will help if you make some positive comment, review, or remark on how you came to know of the photographer, trust me photographers, as anyone else like to be liked.

Questions to ask a wedding photographer

• What experience do you have and how long have you been doing this type work?
• How do you prepare for the event, personally and from a before, during, and after the event planning perspective?
• What is your policy on travel, image rights after the event, including copyright and usage rights?
• What is your photography style, candid, formal, traditional, documentary, etc?
• Can you adapt to the style we like if different from your favorite style?
• Are you covered from a liability perspective, what happens in the case of you being unable to perform the job due to unexpected circumstances?
• Do you have options for outdoor locations we may need?
• What is you payment schedule and related policy on late payments?
• Do you work alone or with help, if help is there for you what role does that person play?
• What are realistic times we can expect to allow for formal photos of the families and other sections of the day?
• After the event how long will it take to see the images, get the included items we hire you for?
• What will extra items cost such as prints, framing, web galleries, etc?
• What is your booking process and contract procedures?
• Are we to provide you and your assistant with food during our reception

I feel these few questions will likely answer the real important items, in the process of answering these more than likely many of the lesser important questions will naturally arise. Hope this helps someone out there in cyberspace.