Here are 5 top questions to ask your wedding photographer when you are meeting with them for the first time. These will help you get the information that you really need to ensure that you are getting a true professional in the photography industry.
1. Do you have all your business licenses and retail sales tax license (assuming your state requires collection of retail sales tax)?
a. A professional should have a business license for their photography business. If they do not they are operating a black market photography business and may not be taking photography seriously. Often people will book their photographer 6-12 months in advance and you want them to be in business by the time your wedding comes.
b. A photographer should be collecting retail sales tax if your state requires it. The last thing you want is for them to be shut down by the government for not operating properly. It is worth the peace of mind to know that your wedding photographer is going to be there on your big day, even if you have to pay a little extra.
2. Do you have backup equipment that you will have with you on our wedding day?
a. Accidents happen. A wedding day is busy with all the hustle and bustle of the events of the day and your wedding photographer is right in the middle of it. Cameras get dropped, or knocked around, and sometimes they malfunction no matter how well you take care of them. It is really important that they have a full set of backup equipment for those just in case moments.
3. What happens if you get sick? Do you have more than one photographer at my wedding?
a. Just this weekend I got an email from another photographer that was looking for help an hour and a half before the start of a wedding because they had gotten sick. If this person had a second principle photographer that they regularly used this could have been avoided. Often, if they have a second principle photographer, they will also have additional assistants that could fill in should someone get sick.
b. Also with more than one photographer at your wedding they can get different angles of the same event and also not miss moments even though one may be taking a break.
4. Are the pictures going to be edited when I get them?
a. No matter how "good" the technology is, the files from the camera to the computer go through an interpretation processes, and do not always look the same as they do in the camera. A professional photographer will go through all the photographs and touch them up to correct the colors and make them look consistent throughout the day as well as basic corrections.
5. Can we take some time during the day to take some amazing photos of me and my new husband?
a. The amazing photos that you see on websites and blogs take some time to go take. It is worth the time to go sneak away at some point during the day and get some of those amazing photos of yourselves. Consider it your first family portrait. Those are the photos that you will post online and keep in a frame at your office. Unfortunately, it takes some time to make images like that so you should reserve some time during your day to make spectacular photographs like that.
With these 5 questions, it should help you determine the level of professionalism of the person you are interviewing. These are some very important issues that you might not have thought about asking. It is okay, go ahead and ask the questions. You may really save yourself some head aches if you sort out these things early in the planning process. The biggest piece of advice is this, ENJOY your day, and at the end of the day you will be married even if everything doesn't go perfectly!
Jay Evans runs Picasso Perfect ? Photography, LLC. which is a photography company based in Columbia, SC that specializes in Wedding Photography. Picasso Perfect Photography travels throughout the world to capture the special memories of wedding days. They recommend scheduling a no cost wedding photography consultation to see what Picasso Perfect Photography - Columbia wedding photography can do for you.
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