Meeting photographers on Tuesday - any do's/dont's?

futuremrsgates · July 2012

My mom and I have narrowed our list of photographers down to three and will be meeting with all of them on Tuesday. Any must-ask questions, etiquette, or red flags to look for? The photography of my wedding is one of the most important aspects so I want to be smart here!

MoonlightSilver · July 2012

Ask to see a full album, not just the special, edited pictures. You can also ask what happens if your photog gets sick or can't make it the day of the wedding.

Summer2011Bride · July 2012

The biggest thing to me was that I got the rights to the images after the wedding. If you don't have them, you won't be able to make prints without going through your photographer and probably won't even be able to post them anywhere online. So I'd ask if you get the rights to the photos.

mbrischoux · July 2012

Aside from al of the other questions you'd have to ask (IE, packages, edits, albums, ect), I have another thing you might want to keep in mind.

My brother is profoundly Autistic, and would be at my wedding. He cannot be easily photographed, and since he is big and can be seen as imposing to some people. I know that many people might be put off by him, and I made sure to ask the photographers if they were comfortable with this and if they would be able to understand that he can't do pictures for very long and he won't be able to do the 45 degree angles people might ask of him. I wanted the photographer to feel comfortable, because if they weren't, not only would they feel awkward, but they would also not turn out their best work because they might not know how to adaquately deal with such things. Those we talked to were very impressed that we thought of this, since they've often gone to affairs where there were situations that they didn't anticipate and would have valued knowing about before they got there.

If you have anything similar to this in your family, or any other family situation that might make someone feel slightly awkward about if they weren't aware of it earlier (feuding exes, cranky grands, snarky inlaw situations, other disabilities, divorces, ect), I would certainly ask them how they feel about it and if they've had similar experiences before. Not only will it make your photographer feel more comfortable (hey, you're not the only one they'll be taking pictures of!), it will allow them to do their best work for your wedding day.

I know my situation might seem a little on the unique side, but it's something to keep in mind when choosing a photographer...or at least it was a big deal to us!

theelusive1 · July 2012

Make sure they know your in charge, with that being said they know their job best. One photographer told us how many people to have as guests and to add an additional gm and bm. WTF?! Well you have room the wedding is so small. Well it is not your wedding it is my daughters and she will invite who she wants and how many she wants. We were also told what time of day to have the wedding, he did not like our reception venue. yeah we did not like him either. Photo rights was a must for us. Also having two photographers was a huge plus on our list. Some people forget who is paying their wage. Make sure you write down any special photos you want, bride and grandma etc. The photographer will do their own thing but they also need to make sure they get those special shots. They have no idea who grandma is so it is nice to put someone with the photographer to tell them who is who for those posed shots.

AurorasEnvy · July 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-recap-withdrawal_meeting-photographers-on-tuesday-any-dosdonts?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:12Discussion:cc95838c-cd06-4378-a28c-7d694a352c98Post:58ca85d9-eb67-4cc2-82bf-1920422e1b7f">Re: Meeting photographers on Tuesday - any do's/dont's?</a>:
[QUOTE]Ask to see a full album, not just the special, edited pictures. You can also ask what happens if your photog gets sick or can't make it the day of the wedding.
Posted by MoonlightSilver[/QUOTE]

<div>This is what I was going to say, plus having the rights to all the photos (IE, be able to print them yourself). Make sure it is someone you would feel comfortable working with.</div><div>
</div><div>Photography would be one of the few things I would NOT skimp on money wise. Cut your budget with your gown, flowers, decorations, etc., but not here. It's sad when you get on the wedding recap board and read all the post about girls being seriously disappointed in their photos. It's really all you are going to have after the wedding, so I'd keep that in mind.</div><div>
</div><div>I'd also keep in mind realistic expectations. Wedding photographers usually have an online gallery of their work, but you have to keep in mind that they usually post the best 1-2 photos from each wedding...out of hundreds if not thousands. What you are seeing is a gallery of the BEST of the BEST, and it might have taken them 40-50 weddings to get that selection of photos. I think is another partial reason why a lot of brides are so disappointed, they get used to looking at galleries of the BEST shots from many weddings and then get upset that they don't have an entire wedding album of breath-taking shots.</div>

[Deleted User] · July 2012

Beyond what PPs have said, a few books I've read have said that the contract should include a minimum number of pictures you should get, and what they'll charge the day of if you need to buy an extra hour. And make sure you get along with the person, it'll make the day go so much better

mattycam · July 2012

Ask what type of equipment they will be using and if they have backup in the event of a glitch. I am speaking from experience - our photog had a "camera glitch" and as a result a huge chunk of our reception photos were not taken (speeches, cake cutting, garter/bouquet toss etc.). Fortunately we had a secondary photographer as well as pictures from other cameras but they still didn't caputre all the moments that our main photog was supposed to have captured.

Meeting photographers on Tuesday - any do's/dont's?

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