Questions to Ask When Searching For Your Wedding Photographer
By Doug Levy
Look - the process of finding a wedding photographer isn't easy. Up until your wedding day, most people's experience with a professional photographer has been limited to school portrait day - and we all remember how painful those were.
To help the newly-engaged, I thought it might be helpful to provide a bit of a set of guidelines/questions you might want to ask when looking for a professional photographer for your wedding day:
Do you bring backup gear?
Every professional should have at least 2 cameras with them - "Sorry, I missed your first kiss because my only camera broke," is not an acceptable answer. Cameras do break - and wedding photography definitely has a bit of boy-scoutism involved - things go wrong, your photographer should be prepared.
Do you archive my photos offsite? How long do you archive them for?
In today's digital world, images equal hard drive space, and the cost of continuing to upgrade drives isn't inexpensive. However, in addition to backing up your photos on a separate hard drive, your photographer should ideally archive them off-site as well. Drives fail, fires happen - again, preparedness rules the day.
How long until after my wedding will it be until I see my images?
Some photographers are able to turn weddings in a week, some in a month, make sure you have an idea of what their typical turnaround is so you're not stuck waiting six months (or more) to see your proofs.
Do you have liability insurance?
Some venues required proof of liability coverage before they'll let vendors work at their site. What happens if a lens is dropped on a guest? If a guest knocks over a photographer's light-stand - again, things go wrong, liability coverage is a must ($1m is the industry standard).
What happens if you get sick?
Ideally your photographer has a network of other working professionals ready to step in if something catastrophic should occur. In Boston, the members of the Boston Photographer's Guild have often been able to step in on zero (same day!) notice to fill in for sick members, or those who have had family emergencies. Again, things go wrong, a true professional photographer is prepared for every eventuality.
How many wedding have you photographed?
Ideally this number is 20-30 or more. In today's world of digital, everybody and their brother think they're a professional photographer - the last thing you want is your photographer experimenting on your wedding day.
What's your cancellation policy?
What happens if the worst occurs and the wedding is called off? Is your deposit refundable (usually not, but sometimes the photographer will give you a refund if they're able to rebook your date).
Can I speak with some past clients? And can I see an entire wedding?
These last two are extremely important. Often past clients can be extremely candid with their likes and dislikes about working with your photographer. That leads to the final question - because anyone can get 2-3 great photos, you'll want to make sure you see excerpts from an entire wedding, at least 100-150 images (or more). Beyond the "hero" portfolio images, you'll want to make sure your photographer is doing a consistent job the entire day.
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