Meeting with photographers

Uhhh... I haven't booked a photographer and my date is 3 months before you. I think you're fine. But check out https://www.herecomestheguide.com/wedding-party-ideas/detail/questions-to-ask-a-potential-wedding-photographer . There is a link to a pdf of helpful questions to ask.

ETA also helps to figure out photography style you like. Find someone whose work reflects how you want your day captured. Some are more natural light, others more with a flair for the dramatic, traditional posed photos, contemporary, photojournalistic, etc..

I booked my photographer 2 weeks ago, we booked him for 6 hours with two photographers and 2 videographers...mainly I wanted to see samples and he provided that. His personality was also a great fit for both of us. I think you are right on track for booking a photographer.

I second what Angel said about photography style. I found multiple photographers I thought I liked but when I put them side by side I realized that I really liked the bright and lots of light style. Some other "darker" photos I thought I had liked but realized it wasn't what I was going for our wedding.

ETA: I know I'm early at planning, I just literally have no work to do at work so I plan lol

See I thought I was good and had plenty of time until I asked on another forum on WeddingWire about when I should start looking for photographers and everyone was telling me that they were having weddings after mine but had already booked photographers months ago. Basically the majority of posters were telling me to book asap lol

Thanks for the link too! Im checking it out right now.

Thanks Criz O, that's a great idea to place certain pictures from different photographers side by side to decide.

What I did was make a spreadsheet. So on the first tab I listed all the photographers, where they're located (I'm going between 3 states of where to hold it) and how much it would be for the package I'd probably get. Then I'd make separate tabs with each photographer and have a screenshot of their pricings and paste a few pictures from their site to get a good idea of what their style is. It was VERY easy to flip back and forth that way! A photographer I thought was really good and thought I was getting a steal (full day shooting, free engagement session, rights, editing, etc. all for under $1,000) turned out to be the worst option I had looked at. So you may have your heart set on someone but when you compare them to someone else's work, you end up finding the better bang for your buck.

I concur with PPs that by the time you talk to photographers, you should already know and like their style and they should be within your budget. Critical questions to ask:

1. What is the back-up plan if photographer is unable to make it?

2. What is the cost if you decide to add time?

3. What is included in the price?

4. When will I receive my pictures and how will they be delivered (website, USB, disc, etc.)

5. Will I get photos in HD and a size suitable to social media?

6. How many shots should I expect to receive?

7. How much do they want for a deposit and when is balance due?

8. (Once you have the price) do you offer a discount for cash? (I got a 5% discount)

9. What is the refund/cancellation policy?

10. Do you have liability insurance?

Photographers may have in their contract when and where you can use the images or that you need to get their written permission to use the images. This is fine but make sure you have quid pro quo - the photographer can't use your images without your permission. (For example, you don't want your photographer selling an image of your wedding to magazine and you don't get compensated.)

Not sure if you want an album or not but these days you can have albums made up (in addition to printing pictures) quite inexpensively through places like Costco or Sam's club. See what your photographer is charging for these items and compare prices.

Make sure you get a written contract and that you read every word carefully before signing. Feel free to suggest additions/deletions to the contract if you are not comfortable.

As for the amount of time, we weren't doing any "getting ready" pictures, so we were planning on 5 hours. We decided a week before to have him start an hour earlier for a total of 6 hours to knock off some formal portraits and we were so glad we did since we got to enjoy the whole cocktail hour with our guests. They really don't need to be there the last hour of the wedding since there are just so many pictures they can take of people dancing. Just remember to plan anything you want them to capture before the last hour.

One bing that was important to me is hat I had right to use on the photographs that were sent to me so I could print my own. That's pretty standard now but still something worth checking out.

I think you're in good time to book a photographer, just don't be hasty or be in a rush! That's how mistakes are made, it's a very personal choice. I can't tell you what style of wedding photographer is right ffor you, but as long as you are aware how different a wedding photographer can be from another, you're that much closer to making an educated decision. So overlooked by many.

What are your exoectations? Do you want a lot of posed and orchestrated photos and do you need someone with a strong directive voice? Or do you want more natural candid and minimal portraits? The better ones specialize in one or the other, not both. This really changes the experience you'll have with each one as well.

Learn the system and approach of each one, don't assume they have to offer something different because people online say something is the norm or the standard, or more is better. Love their work, and their whole approach. See complete weddings and sample blogs, sample albums, etc. so you know their storytelling abilities. Know their lighting skills as it pertains to your event, is it indoor or part of it at night time? Well, this is where self proclaimed natural light shooters fall on their faces. Knowing lighting is important. What are the package offerings? Talk about the timeline with them and let them help you know which option they offer is right for you before you assume you need 10-12 hours of coverage and two shooters, which you don't. That varies by approach and system, and how they allocate their time,

Contracts are a must. Research their track record, who have they worked with? Do any of your other vendors or venue staff know them? It isn't necessary for them to have worked at your venue before,,,you're either a pro or you aren't. No four walls can outsmart a real pro. Don't get into the mentality of asking a bunch of canned questions that may not pertain to them specifically. Or thinking more is always better. Have some good natural conversation and learn more, have each finalist narrowed down rather than try to meet with a lot of them, at that point you're making work or yourself.

Omg these are amazing tips! Thank you guys, I love the idea of the comparison spread sheet. And also to make sure they can't use the pictures with out our permission. I would have never thought of that happening.

Last thing on the spreadsheet - the file will most likely be VERY large considering the pictures are probably HD so make sure you're doing it on a computer that you use to wedding plan. I made the spreadsheet at work and now can't have it sent to my personal laptop (lol oops) but it's fine for me to have at work.

You can't compare someone different from another. The idea is ok, but I can't stress enough how different a true journalist like myself would be from a portrait or Pinterest inspiration photographer, and how different the offerings and experience would be. Make sure you understand photo usage, you don't need to own photos, just have shared usage, I also recommend getting an album since you'll see the quality of it assuming they have samples, and you're less likely to get around to doing it. Rights and all that mean nothing if you don't have tangible goods to tell the story, they're sitting in a sock drawer. Be realistic, open minded, but diligent. No substitute for experience. Be picky but realistic. You'll know. Don't justify something that would bother you. You have one shot at this.

My #1 question was - Do you shoot raw images.

I want the fine details of my dress captured!

What difference does that make? You don't get access to RAW files anyhow.

What are raw images?

I'm no help with questions to ask but as a photographer (not a wedding photographer though, I have so much respect for them, it's not easy!) I would recommend really looking through their photos if you are having a fully indoor wedding. I personally know a couple wedding photographers whose outdoor photos are some of the best I've ever seen but I know for a fact they have a lot of trouble with indoor weddings because of the lighting. I chose my photographer because my wedding is indoors and he's a magician with indoor lighting. If I had an outdoor wedding there is another photographer I would have chosen instead. Most professional photographers will be proficient in both though. If in your searching you find someone who you love but you don't see any photos taken in any locations like yours just ask oid they have any photos they cam show you that are similar. It's hard to post everything you do so they just might not have anything posted on a public site.

RAW format is an uncompressed format that gives you more latitude with exposure and color adjustments, if it's way out, as opposed to the native JPG format that is released to the client. Adobe or other software is required to open them. It seems like odd criteria to base a selection off of. Not all photographers shoot RAW, depends on their system, and none I know would release them. No reason to.

We booked our photographer for 10 hours, which also includes a second shooter and an engagement session. We asked for samples of their work. We also met with numerous photographers and really just clicked with the husband/wife duo we picked. They came super prepared and presented so much information and made us feel very comfortable and at ease. I would suggest looking at their reviews on numerous sites as well.

I wouldn't worry about comparing one photographer to another. Just pick 3 or 4 you really like and are in your price range and interview those folks. You will either love their portfolio or you won't. Then, if it comes down to 2 who are comparable in price, you can look at those 2 and compare, but most likely you'll have a #1 choice in your mind before then.