Photographers

I am also in the process of looking at photographers, so I’m interested to see the responses! One thing I’ve heard as advice is ask photographers how many weddings they’ve done, if they shoot on a dual-slot camera (this means there would be two cards with your pictures on them, so less likely to be lost/corrupted), and what their back-up process is like for the photos. Good luck in your search!

Congrats and here is what I used and what super helpful. https://stephaniekase.com/2017/for-brides/questions-to-ask-a-wedding-photographer-by-a-wedding-photographer/

Other than standard questions about deposit/cost/payment amounts, package information, availability, etc., I recommend asking about things such as:

"What types of poses do you use? Do you incorporate the environment around in the poses, or do you have go-to poses that you prefer to use?",

"How do you capture the images that you do? Do you give direction to setup a photo, or do you capture most of them candidly?",
"Where do you typically stand during the ceremony to take pictures? Do you try to avoid blocking guest views, or do you go anywhere you need to in order to get the best shot?"

Here is an article with other questions you could ask: https://www.brides.com/story/questions-to-ask-your-photographer-before-booking

Also, don't forget to look through their portfolios, but also ask to see full albums from weddings they've shot! This would give you an idea of all the photos they take in a wedding, and see how many of them overall you like (as opposed to just their absolute best images in their portfolio).

Something I did know beforehand is to pay for the quality. Invest in good photos make that a priority in budget. I may have paid more than most for a minimony but everyone including us loved our photos. Anyone I know that went cheaper on the photos did not really love them. I was head over heel, almost crying when I looked at our pictures and think of it this way...you are investing in your memories.

Is their portfolio the extent of what they do? Some photographers have a certain style of dark muted filters, shooting into the sun so the couple is barely visible, shooting from a distance so the couple is hidden in the scenery, and so on which not everyone finds appealing. But a portfolio may stand out as being exactly what you want except for a stray obscure photo where someone is hidden in scenery or colors are weird or can't see them in the sun.


Do they work with a second shooter standard to capture everything?
How long do they work? Do they arrive at the getting ready or is that staged? How late do they stay?
What is the process of ownership of prints? Do they only give you the top 100 pictures in an album or all of the ones taken?
Out of curiosity, what is their process of submitting shots to local magazines?

View Quoted Comment How long did you have your photographer there for? We were thinking about it and between getting ready, first look, cocktail over and reception it will be a 10 hour day.. is that normal/ or typical?

The photographer we used was someone my friend used a few months prior to us getting engaged so when we did get engaged I immediately knew who I wanted to photograph our wedding. My very first question was if she was willing to travel to our wedding and if there was a travel fee. After she answered those questions, I didn't really have any questions about her packages because they were pretty straight forward. I did ask about timing so she sent me a rough timeline based on when our ceremony started. From there we were able to make adjustments based on what I wanted. One thing that was important to me was if she had a second shooter, but I didn't have to ask since all of her packages clearly stated that her husband was her second shooter. If it isn't clear, I would definitely ask. I think having a second shooter is very important. In the morning, she came with us girls while we were getting ready to take getting ready photos and detail photos while her husband checked out different places throughout the venue that would make good places for bridal party photos and our first look. Once he was done, he suggested the different photo opp places to her then he went with the guys to take photos of them getting ready and groomsmen photos since we did separate bridal party photos before the ceremony.

I started with my venue's Instagram so I could find photographers who had experience at our venue.

View Quoted Comment

I did a minimony with three guests so I only paid for 4 hours which was plenty but for getting ready and reception 10 hrs is best. Mine told me better to pay for more hours than less. Oh and be sure to include them in your reception meal as it is customary to feed them.

I think it's important to know what kind of photography you like and why. Browse wedding photos in general from all sorts of sources and see which ones you're drawn towards; try to find a pattern. Once you know what you like, it'll be easier to find a photographer who really fits what you're looking for.

Pay attention to the photographer's social media. Are they active/regularly updating? Does their work on Instagram match their website portfolio?

This can be hard to do when researching, but before you hire someone I would try to meet with them, even via Zoom. Your photographer will spend the entire day with you, and has a lot of influence - you want to have fun and click with them so that you're comfortable in front of the camera!

Our photographer could not be more sweet -- she even sent us a Christmas gift with a candle, popcorn, custom ornament, and a thank-you-for-choosing-me card featuring one of our wedding photos. I know not everyone will do that, but details and thoughtfulness like that go a long way.

The other general tip I have is book a package that includes an engagement session. You want to have a chance to work with your photographer before the wedding day to make sure everything goes well and you love the results!

Definitely find someone who has a style that you like and fits within your budget. Always check their reviews too, and if it seems fishy there might be something off (like watermarks that don't match across photos). I personally don't recommend spending a ton of money on photography unless you're planning to keep your photos on constant display otherwise you will likely spend an obscene amount of dollars on an album that you'll probably only thumb through when you want to riminess or want to show them to your kids years from now.

Just keep in mind that price does not equal quality.

Their cost for printing and if they have a back up photographer.

Here’s the questions I made sure I got answers to either before meeting them (from their website/via email) or during our consultation meeting:

- How long have you been doing photography/wedding photography?

- How would you describe your style?

- Do you only do one wedding per day?

- Have you shot at my venue before? If not, do you scout the location beforehand?

- About how many photos will we get (from engagement session & wedding)?

- How long will it take to get our photos (engagement & wedding)?

- How do you deliver the final photos/gallery?

- Do your packages include a second shooter? If not, what’s the cost to add one?

- How do you work with videographers?

- Do we have a say in the shot list?

- Can we pay an hourly rate if we want you to stay past our booked package time?

- What’s the payment structure (deposit, timing of final payment)?

- How long is the included engagement session?

- Do we get a release form to print/have rights to photos?

- What’s your backup plan (backing up photos & replacing themselves if they get sick/can’t make wedding)?

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I agree, we are splurging on photography but good pictures are important to us, and it's not something I want to cheap out on. Also, your icon pic is GORGEOUS!!