Questions for Your Wedding Photographer

When interviewing photographers for your wedding, there are specific questions you should ask. How thoroughly the photographer answers these questions can be a good indicator of their qualifications. Most photographers, have a certain style, equipment, experience, and preference as to the order things occur on the wedding day. A thorough interview should answer all these questions and give you some idea of the photographer's personality. Below is a list of questions for your wedding photographer. 

1.   How long have you been in business?
2.   On average, how many weddings do you photograph a year?
3.   Are you a member of any professional organizations?
4.   Do you have insurance?
5.   What happens if you get sick?
6.   What type of equipment do you use?
7.   Do you bring back up equipment?
8.   Is there one photographer or two?
9.   Do you bring an assistant with you?
10. What type of packages do you offer?
11.  Are the packages at all flexible?
12.  Do we receive the rights to the photos and if so are they high resolution?
13.  How many photos do you take?
14.  How many images do we receive and how are those images chosen?
15.  After the wedding, are the photos placed on-line and if so for how long?
16.  Are there travel charges to our venue?
17.  How long after the wedding will it take to receive our photos/album etc.?
18.  How much do you require for a deposit and is it refundable?
19.  When is the final payment due?
20.  How long do we need a photographer for?
21.  If my fiance and I don't want to see each other before the wedding, is that ok?
22.  Is it o.k. for other people to be taking photos?
23.  How long do we need to allow for photos before the wedding?
24.  We plan on having a videographer. Is there any problem with this?

While going over this list of questions for your wedding photographer, keep the following things in mind as well:

View and Entire Wedding -  Anyone who takes several hundred photos at a wedding can come away with a couple of good shots. Make sure you see a wedding from start to finish. Often times, photographers will have an on-line photo gallery for their current clients and can share a link with you to view these weddings.

Budget - A good rule of thumb is about 10%-15% of your total wedding budget should be spent on photography.

Personality -  Your wedding photographer will be with you for a large portion of your day. Make sure you get along! If you find them irritating in the initial meeting, you will likely find them irritating on the wedding day! If they seem unorganized or unprepared for your meeting, you probably don't want them photographing your wedding.

Take your time in selecting a wedding photographer. Plan to meet with at least 3 different photographers to get a feel for what's available and what appeals to you. Once you do your research you'll feel better about the decision you make!