Questions to ask a photographer?

Re: Questions to ask a photographer?

• RIFallBride member

  

  May 2012

  It is important to ask to see a full wedding, not just the completed album which will only showcase the best images.  You want to get a feel for their overall images and quality/composition.  Talk through how they work, what happens if they sick, back-up equipment, back-up of images, how long they will be with you, package details, timeline for seeing photos. 
  
  I'm not plugged into the different types of equipment, processing or photoshop.  We didn't want a ton of photoshop used, more enhancements since I don't like when things look too brushed.  Good luck!  Photography was the area I stressed about the most but ultimately found someone that we clicked with and I was comfortable.

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• bells24412

  

  May 2012

  I don't think I am going to be of much help but, I just googled what to ask (insert vendor here) and a whole list of things came up and I just used those.

  

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• musictchr25 member

  

  May 2012

  Here are some of the questions that I came up with when interviewing photographers:

  Style - Determine the style of photographs that you want, and ask the photographer if they are comfortable shooting that way.

  Delivery - How are photos delivered to us after our wedding? How long after the event can we expect to see teasers or proofs?  Are there online ordering options for friends and family?

  Copyright - Will I receive full rights to reprints and photos?

  Engagement Session - Included and length of session? Maximum travel distance between venues/locations?

  Customizing Package - Can we customize the package, ie: removing album, decreasing wedding day time, and adding additional time to engagement session?

  Second Shooter - Do you have a second shooter available? Who will the second photographer be? Is this someone that you have worked with in the past on wedding events? What are the roles of the two photographers on their own, and what are their roles when working together?

  Payment Policy - What is your policy/advised schedule for payments? What is your deposit for holding our date?

  POC - Will you be my POC for the entire length of the contract? If not, who should I contact?

  First Look - I am/am not having a First Look.  How will [not] having a first look be dealt with on the day of?

  Equipment & Backups - What type of camera do you shoot with? What additional lenses do you have for use on the wedding day? Do you have photo backups during the day of, or just after the event? How can you assure me that the photos will not be lost? What kind of compensation would be given if photos were lost?

  Venue - Have you ever shot a wedding at [VENUE]? Can you please show me some of the pictures from that location? Have you shot inside/outside/night/day/dark/light successfully?

  Limitations - Is there a limit to the number of photographs you will take/we will receive? How will you filter through the photographs that you take and that we receive?

  -Amanda-
  Rhody Life
  
  Our Favorite Pro Pic
  
  
  

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• jennybyo

  

  May 2012

  WOW I would not have though to of half of those questions.  Thank you very much.

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• McRogol member

  

  May 2012

  The previous post has excellent questions to ask.  As a wedding photographer and now a bride-to-be myself, the only thing to be aware of is the style of your photographer.   You have to choose someone whose style you like.  As a photographer, I can't be something I'm not, so if you don't dig the way I shoot you're better off finding someone whose style you like. 
  
  Also, watch out for the phrase "digital negatives" you want to know if you're getting touched-up, high resolution jpegs - these you can print and work with.  If the "negatives" are in RAW format you'll need photoshop or lightroom to do anything with your photos.  Not even iPhoto will read RAW format files.

  

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