Questions to ask your potential Wedding Photographers and vendors before booking them.
Being a part of the Wedding Industry for over a decade you see a lot of things, some touching and heartwarming stories and then a lot of downright awful situations. I have some really mixed feelings about the Wedding Industry as a whole and wanted to save you the stress of having any of these things happen to you as you are planning your big day.
I’m going to start off by saying that every Photographer runs their Business how they see fit. What works for me might not work for others. I pride myself on sticking to my moral compass and being ethical as a Business owner and my bottom line is having happy Couples. Although I am a small Business, I am an Artist first. Yes, I need money and profit, but I run my business with a people-first mindset. I would gamble and say half of the Wedding Photographers out there just want to be rich and are just doing it for the money. They don’t care about their Couples, they don’t care about morals, they don’t care about your photos… they just want to make money.
So how do you spot the con-artists from the true artist? This is not 100% but will help steer you in the right direction while you’re interviewing your potential Wedding Photographers.
Ask to see REAL Wedding Galleries
Why is this important? Because so many “Wedding Photographers” will often go to styled shoots and then blast those photos all over their social media and website as if it’s a real Wedding. Styled shoots are not real. They are usually models, not even a real Couple that pose for portraits on a perfectly styled set. While the photos are usually gorgeous, this is doing a disservice for Couples. Weddings are chaotic and far from perfect. You want to see how your Wedding Photographer handles bad weather on a Wedding Day. Can they light photos in a dark venue? Can they produce Family Photos with over 50 family members in under 30 minutes? Have they even photographed a real Wedding?
When you are looking through a Wedding Gallery these are the things you should be looking for.
- Is the editing consistent throughout?
- Does the Photographer know how to photograph in direct / harsh sun and indoors?
- Does your Photographer edit out the exit signs at the venue?
- Are there a variety of moments and portraits?
- Do you like the variety of detail shots?
- Can you envision what your Wedding will look like by viewing their work?
- Did the Photographer deliver enough photos?
- Were the photos straight or crooked?
- Were there portraits of all of the Couple’s loved ones?
Instagram is a highlight reel just like the Website. No Photographer is going to post horrible work for the public to see. This is why it’s important to see an entire gallery. They might have 1 or 2 amazing images and the rest of the gallery might be totally awful. Ask to see real Wedding galleries and if they can’t provide them to you, it might be time to consider a different Photographer.
Do not hire an “Associate” Photographer
This is the biggest scam in the Wedding Photography world right now and it is so disheartening. When you inquire with a Wedding Photographer and they come back and say they are already booked on your date but one of their “Associates” can photograph your Wedding, steer clear. Unless the company you are inquiring with has a team of Photographers listed on their Website, they probably do not have “Associates”.
There are Wedding Photography groups all over Facebook in most areas of the world where Photographers go to communicate. Every day there are Photographers asking for “Associates” who want to shoot a Wedding under their brand. This is so disgusting on so many levels. They are double dipping and booking multiple Weddings on your date and just hiring whoever is available. In most cases they have never even met the Photographer they are sending to cover your Wedding. How do I know this? Because I’ve been asked more than a few times to “Associate shoot” for other Photographers. You know how many times I’ve done it? Zero. Photographers that do this do not care about their Couples or the photos they receive. They are willing to send a random person they have never worked with to cover your Wedding. Are you willing to gamble your Wedding photos to some random photographer?
If I am booked already I send the Couple names of other Photographers I trust will do an amazing job. I would never offer an Associate Photographer because my brand is ME, not another random Photographer who happens to be available that date.
This is greedy and predatory behavior and a real issue in the Wedding Photography community. If a Wedding Photographer offers you an Associate and that Associate is not listed anywhere on their Website, please hire a different Photographer because this is a 100% money grab.
Check out their reviews.
Go to Google and check the reviews from past Couples. If there aren’t enough, go to Wedding Wire, The Knot, Yelp, Zola and check there. If the Photographer only has reviews on their website but you can’t find any reviews on any public review sites, there might be a problem. If vendors get tons of bad reviews, they can delete their accounts so they can continue their problematic ways.
In my 13 years of having my Business I had ONE bad review from someone who I didn’t even work with. They were being pushy from the first email and I decided I did not want to take them on as a Client and they retaliated by leaving me a bad review on Yelp.
If the Photographer has one or two not so great reviews, ask them about the reviews. If they answer candidly about it, it might have just been a keyboard warrior situation. If there are multiple bad reviews saying the same things, avoid booking with them. I’ve seen Videographers and Photographers scam dozens of Couples by either not showing up at all to their events or never sending the edited galleries. All you have to do is check the reviews.
If you feel comfortable asking, you can always request a reference Couple. Like any job you apply to asks for references. I’m happy to supply any Couple with former Couples as references.
Meet your Photographer in person or via zoom.
You are going to spend likely 6-12 hours of your Wedding Day with your Photo/Video team. It would be in your best interest to like them as humans. Especially if you are an introverted, empathetic or highly sensitive human. Make sure your personalities don’t totally clash. You might love their work online but if their personality doesn’t vibe with you, you might want to find someone that feels more comfortable.
This definitely doesn’t apply to everyone. Some humans can get along with everyone and anyone. I would say 90% of my Couples did care and chose me because I felt safe or like a friend.
Photographers who do not have a real Website.
We all start out bare bones as Business owners with limited resources, but it is definitely a red flag if a Photographer doesn’t have a working website. A Website is the first impression for any Business you are researching so if they do not have a legit Website, they probably are not taking their Business seriously.
Is Photography their side hustle?
This might ruffle some feathers as I have plenty of Photographer friends who have full time day jobs. If Photography is just a side hustle, it might take you longer to get your photos back because you are not their top priority. This might not be important to some Couples and that is fine. If a Wedding Photographer’s only income is their Photography job they are more likely to prioritize their Couples, be readily available to them and you’ll probably get your gallery back quicker. A full time Photographer is going to take better care of their Couples, period. I said what I said.
Does the Photographer have a Contract for you to sign? Does the Photographer they carry Liability Insurance?
These are often overlooked and are probably THE MOST important part of this conversation. If there is no Contract and you give someone money, you have zero recourse if something goes wrong. A Contract with every Wedding vendor protects you. If there is nothing in writing the vendors can take your money, not show up and you have no way of getting your money back.
If a Wedding Photographer is not insured do not hire them because they are not running a legitimate Business. Your Wedding venue will most likely require all of your vendors to carry insurance so this one is not negotiable.
Does your Photographer have backup equipment and dual slot cameras?
This is 100% something every Couple should be asking their potential Wedding Photographers. So many Photographers who are just starting out will show up to a Wedding with one camera and only one memory card in their camera. This is a disaster in the making.
Ask your potential Photographer these questions to make sure they have a plan.
- How many cameras do you bring on Wedding Day?
- Are they dual slot cameras (meaning two memory cards at once)?
- Do you have a backup camera in case of emergency?
- Have you ever lost someone’s photos or had a camera fail?
I know these are not fun or comfortable questions, but you should know this before Wedding Day. Memory cards fail all of the time. If your Photographer is only using 1 card per camera it’s a 50/50 chance your images could be lost. Always go with a Photographer that shoots dual slot. If one card fails, there is a second backup card also saving images. If they are shooting with one camera, what happens if it breaks? Do they have a backup with them?
If their pricing is lower than average.
Every Photographer prices their services differently and has varying costs of doing Business. Photographers with studios are going to charge significantly more because they have more overhead. If you are consistently getting quotes for $4,500 for your Wedding Coverage and one Photographer has the same service for $1,500 you might want to consider why that is. I’ve seen it time and time again Couples online saying their Wedding photos were ruined because they hired a cheap Photographer. Photographers who charge very little are either brand new to the industry, not very good at photography or will get so burnt out from booking 200 weddings a year and unable to deliver quality experience.
My first three Wedding Couples I booked (that were not friends) started at $2,000. I had several years of being a second Photographer to already established Wedding Photographers and I knew how to price myself to make a living and not burn myself out. I wasn’t the cheapest and far from the most expensive.
If you do go with the lowest price you get, make sure you’re looking at full galleries to make sure the Photographer knows what they are doing.
Obviously take all of this advice with a grain of salt. I am a biased Wedding Photographer after all. I am just so tired of seeing Couples being duped, taken advantage of and completely ripped off so I had to say something. As long as you are doing your due diligence and researching your vendors, you should be good to go. If all else fails, ask your recently married friends for their favorite vendors. Word of mouth is a wonderful thing.
Lots of luck and happy Wedding planning!
