what should i ask my wedding photographer before booking?
Choosing a wedding photographer is a lot more than just their pretty pictures. For couples planning a wedding in North Carolina, asking the right questions helps you feel confident, protected, and fully prepared. This blog post is going to guide you in the right direction of what questions to ask your wedding photographer during the booking process
essential questions to ask
can we see a full wedding gallery?
Full galleries will let you see how consistent they are in capturing the day, storytelling, and how well or not well they handle different lighting conditions. Websites are usually just highlight moments to attract couples, which is totally fine and very common, but you want to be sure that you aren't getting a bunch of fluff with a couple highlights mixed in.
how would you describe your photography style?
Your photographers approach should align with your day. If you desire a documentary style wedding photographer, then it would be good to know if your photographer has that approach before they show up on your wedding day and realize they are a heavy editorial shooter.
how do you help couples feel comfortable in front of the camera?
If you are a couple or one person of the 2 does not feel comfortable or natural in front of the camera, this is a great question to ask. Professional wedding photographers should be able to pose and guide all couples in a way where they are comfortable and make the sessions and wedding day feel calm and natural.
do you enjoy your job?
I know you're probably looking at this question like "Huh?" I put this here for a reason. Wedding photography in my opinion is not something to get into just because somebody said you can make a lot of money. There needs to be true passion for capturing couples most important moments that can not be done over. If a photographer does not enjoy their job, that tells you everything you need to know and you can start looking at other local photographers (like me).
what happens if you get sick and cant make it?
Life happens. Sometimes your photographer will encounter something that will force them to not be able to make your wedding day. Whether it be the flu, death in the family, or anything in between. However, your day still deserves to be captured and there still needs to be a plan no matter the circumstances. Your photographer should have a plan in place before you even book so you know that if worst comes to worst, you are still protected and taken care of. NOTE: Their contract should also include something along these lines.
how do you protect our images?
Does your wedding photographer shoot weddings and trust the SD card will hold up? Or do they take their SD cards home that hold every single moment from your wedding and store them on external SSD's for protection? This is important to know so you are not wrecking your brain in worry about if your images are safe or not. I personally shoot on 4 SD cards for my weddings so images are always safe during, then when I get home I offload the images to 5 separate drives to guarantee your images are safe.
do you have backup equipment or backup plan?
Because again, life happens. What if they are walking into the getting ready suite and they drop their camera bag and a camera doesn't turn on? Or as you are walking down the aisle their shutter dies and they cant take images. Do they have backup equipment to still be able to perform their job at a high level. Also back up plans, if there is bad weather, timeline goes awry, or just something unexpected, can they adjust and can they weather the storm (sometimes literally) in order to still perform their job at a high level.
can you recommend other vendors?
This is not a question that should make or break whether you choose that photographer or not, but it is a great question to ask because it can alleviate a lot of unwanted stress from the planning process. Since you should be booking your photographer about 9-12 months in advance, if they can recommend other vendors, that alleviates a lot of the guess work for you. If you love your wedding photographer and trust they will do a good job, then 9 times out of 10 you can trust their recommended vendors also. Still do your due diligence however and vet these vendors for yourself.
how quick do we get our photos back?
Not only is this a question to ask, but this should also be listed in your photographers contract as well. If the contract does not list turnaround time, ask if they can add it in their for your protection and also theirs. If they give you pushback, that is a red flag and it may be a good idea to keep your options open to other wedding photographers. If the wedding photographer you are interested in does not have a contract at all, major red flag. This means you are not protected and basically just throwing money into a black hole hoping for the best.
are you insured?
A lot of venues in North Carolina require wedding photographers to be insured in order to shoot there. It would be great to know this before your wedding day comes around and they are not allowed inside the venue and now you are left with no wedding photographer. Trust me, it happens
why do these questions matter?
Wedding photography preserves the moments you did not even realize were happening. Asking thoughtful and intentional questions ensures you are properly informed and protected, and your photographer is prepared to capture your day with care, professionalism, and intention.
still on the search for you wedding photographer?
If you came across this blog post and are still searching for the wedding photographer who can make your dreams come true, then you are in the right place. Im Cam, a North Carolina wedding photographer serving the triangle and beyond. Click below to inquire about availability for your wedding date, and let me help you make your wedding dreams come true!
