In 20 years, the music from your wedding will have faded. The yummy appetizers will be a memory. And you probably won’t fit into your dress. But you will still have your wedding images. And you will cherish them more as you get older and move through your life. Your kids will love your images, your parents will have them up on their walls, and they will bring you back to a wonderful day in your life. They will be the images you pass down through your family’s generations.
Do you want to leave such an important, lasting part of your wedding day and your life story to someone who is not experienced, who does not have the right equipment and who doesn’t really know what they are doing?
Your photos are the one thing you have when your wedding day is over – it is important to use a professional to ensure that they are everything you would like them to be.
5 Questions To Ask Your Wedding Photographer
As you shop for your wedding photographer, we recommend meeting with any photographer you might be interested in, because that will help you with your decision. At your meeting, you will be able to tell a few things just by meeting them: if you like them, if they are professional, if they are knowledgeable about wedding photography, and if they will be fun to work with. Unlike other wedding vendors, your relationship with your wedding photographer can span from 6 months to a year. They will be involved from the planning of your wedding through your album and product purchasing process. Below we have compiled some questions to help you figure out some of these matters.
1. What is your style and personality?
Most experienced wedding photographers will have developed a style that they think represents their photography. Be sure you like their style – ask to see their portfolio. If possible, try to see a large group of photos from one single wedding or a full wedding. As for their personality, you are going to spend most of your wedding day with your photographer – make sure you like them! Their personality and professionalism can have a big impact on your day.
Ideally you have checked out a photographer’s pricing before you meet with them. Hopefully, they are flexible in their packages – most photographers understand that not all brides want the same thing and are willing to negotiate or work with you to create your own custom packages.
3. How do you ensure digital safety and where do you store your images?
We are in a digital age and we are all familiar with a computer crashing and losing everything. Make sure your photographer has a plan for digital corruption of files and has a storage plan that makes you feel comfortable. For example, our studio uses 2 – 3 cameras at a wedding to ensure that no images/parts of the day are lost. We then download the images to two different hard drives in our studio.
4. What type of equipment do you use? How many lenses do you have in your bag?
Any experienced or trained photographer should have a digital SLR camera with interchangeable lenses. Multiple lenses should be used at different intervals. In our camera bags we have 2 normal zoom lenses, 2 telephoto zoom lenses and a fisheye lens. A good photographer will know what to use and when.
5. How many weddings have you shot?
Experience as a wedding photographer is a big plus. An experienced photographer will know where to be during the important times of your day, will be able to handle people, will be knowledgeable about timelines. They will also know how to direct big group photos, and will be able to absorb the stress of a tight timeline so you can enjoy your day. They will have to knowledge to edit your photos correctly. And they will be able to walk you through the whole process.
Get our complete wedding photography guide here
Want to find more about our wedding photography, go to our wedding info page.
