Important Questions to Ask Your Wedding Photographer

D. Miller
If you are planning a wedding in the near future, there are many considerations to make. Besides choosing your dress, a tux and picking your bridal attendants, you also need to think about your cake, your wedding location and your photographer. The photographer is one of the most important aspects of your wedding, as this person is completely responsible for recording your day on film. In addition, a wedding photographer is also a big expense and you want to make sure that you choose the right photographer for your wedding needs. Here are some important questions to ask your potential wedding photographer.

Ask to see the photographer's work: When you are looking at wedding photographers, it is always a good idea to see photographs from weddings that this photographer has done before. This will give you a good idea of the style of the photographer, the quality of the prints and what you can expect. You also want to do this so that you can make sure this photographer is actually photographed a wedding before. Taking pictures at a wedding is very different than taking pictures at a sporting event or other types of party. Your wedding should not be the first time that you are photographer has taken wedding pictures.

Ask about prices: do not be shy about asking about prices for wedding packages. A good wedding photographer can cost as much as $2-$3000. This is a huge chunk out of your wedding budget, and you want to make sure you are getting the types of prints that you want. You also want to make sure that this photographer can work within your budget. Ask about specials before the wedding so that you are not surprised after the fact. You may even find a wedding photographer that will allow you to purchase every print on a digital computer disk. Many couples fell that this is a good way to go when hiring a photographer on a budget.

Ask about the photographer's photography style: When you picture your wedding photographs, what do you think of? Do you imagine large traditional prints that you can hang above your fireplace? Or do you imagine a more casual journal style that you can show off in a nice photo album or scrapbook? Just as everybody has different tastes in photographs, every photographer has his or her own style. This is why is extremely important to find out what your photographer has in mind before signing a contract. You certainly do not want to end up with goofy photographs of Uncle Henry at the reception, if you dream of extremely traditional wedding photographs

Ask about contracted time: This is another extremely important question to ask a potential wedding photographer. You know your wedding should last a certain amount of time. But what happens if it goes over the normal contracted time? Will the photographer leave? Will he or she charge you per hour? You may find that many wedding photographers charge exorbitant fees for going over the contracted time. This is something that you should be aware of when hiring a wedding photographer.

Asked about lighting experience: You want your wedding photographs to look a certain way. And you need to make sure that your wedding photographer can work with the lighting is given to you. Are you getting married in a dark candlelit chapel? Those photographs will require different lighting settings and film than a wedding that is going to be held outside in a sunny garden. Make sure that your photographer visits the spot where you will be married before the wedding date, and can adjust his or her camera settings accordingly.

Choosing a wedding photographer can be a daunting experience. This is something that you want to take into careful consideration before ever signing a contract. When you ask the right questions, you know that you will get photographs that will last you a lifetime provides you with memories for years to come.

Published by D. Miller

Freelance writer/editor, mother of two, volunteer for pet rescue  View profile

  • Ask about prices beforehand.
  • Ask about the photographer's style.
  • Make sure you see some of the photographer's work.
Wedding photogprahy became more popular after War World II when more people wanted to capture images of the entire wedding day.

To comment, please sign in to your Yahoo! account, or sign up for a new account.