Choosing your wedding photographer can be daunting. This is the person that will be with you the most on your wedding day. It’s important to not only feel comfortable with your photographer and their personality, but also with their professionalism and body of work. Here are some questions that you can ask the photographers you’re interviewing. A well prepared photographer will have these questions answered in some part of their website, and these are only a starting point. Make sure to ask your photographer all of the questions you have so that you feel confident about your decision!

As an international luxury wedding photographer, these are questions that I already have the answers to. I make sure my couples leave our inquiry calls with clarity and comfort knowing that I’ll be well prepared to photograph their wedding.

Here are some questions to ask your wedding photographer before hiring them!

• Can we see full galleries of a few of your recent weddings?
• How would you describe your photography style?
• Do you suggest having a second shooter?
  • Your photographer should have enough experience to make this call for you. It’s common to ask for a second photographer from the advice of wedding blogs, but does your wedding truly call for a second shooter? If it’s less than 50 people, if you and your fiancé are both getting ready on property, if your ceremony and reception are at the same venue, if your entire wedding day calls for less than 6 hours of coverage—chances are that you won’t need a second shooter, and that’s some extra money you can save!

• How long have you been shooting weddings?
• Do you shoot digitally, with film, or both?
• Do you charge a travel fee? For what distance? What does that cover?
  • This is especially important to ask for destination weddings or weddings outside of where your photographer is based. A photographer could either charge per mile of distance or give you a flat travel fee to include in your collection. It is typical for a photographer to book a 2 night stay, and may have to include a rental car and gas in their travel fees.

• Do you offer retouching, color adjustment, or other corrective services? Are those included or an additional charge?
• Can we order prints or albums directly from you?
• How long after the wedding will we receive the images? How will they be delivered?
• What is the backup plan if you are unable to shoot my wedding for an unexpected reason?
  • With unforeseen circumstances, especially during it’s always possible that your photographer can’t make it to shoot your wedding. So knowing what their backup plan is before you book them is extremely important. Do they have associate shooters they trust, and can already introduce you to in case of an emergency?
• Will you be posting our wedding on your website and social media? Submitting our photos to magazines or blogs?

And there you have it! Like I said before, this is a great starting place to compile your questions to ask your wedding photographer. As a luxury wedding photographer, it’s important to me to make sure my clients feel comfortable with me and confident in my abilities. This starts during the initial call process. Building a strong relationship through proper questions is a necessary step in order to feel secure that your wedding will be photographed beautifully.

If you have questions that I might have missed, leave a comment below. Also, feel free to reach out if you have any questions about my questions! If you’re curious about how my couples choose their engagement session locations, check out this blog post that breaks down my simple method.