We know we’re biased, but choosing a wedding photographer is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make.
You’ll likely have a number of questions you want to ask, however we’d suggest adding the five questions below to your list?
1) When will you arrive and leave on my wedding day? - This can be important if the structure of your day is unusual, or if you really want the evening celebrations to be captured. Most weddings are about 12hrs long, however, it will affect the photography budget if shorter or longer.
2) Have you ever shot at my venue? It can be good if a photographer knows their way around, but also good if they’re coming with a fresh pair of eyes! If they haven't, it's not entirely a disaster especially with Instagram and Google Images, it's quite easy to look at the venue and work out the best places for photos.
3) Do you work from a shot list? - If you have a long list of shots you want to be captured then check the photographer is happy to work in this way, as some photographers prefer a natural style. A combination of both would be ideal!
4) How many images can I expect from my wedding? - A photographer will likely take thousands of pictures, but it can be good to know how many you can expect to receive. Just to give you an idea though, for a 12hr wedding you'd likely get about 800 edited photos which seems to be industry average.
5) Do you bring a second shooter? Some photographers will charge extra to bring another professional with them, however you will get more coverage of your wedding. It's also good to have a second photographer if you want to catch both of you getting ready and the aisle shots from both angles.
6) What’s your cancellation policy? In such an uncertain climate, it can be useful to know what the arrangement would be if you had to rearrange your wedding. For many photographers, as they do a lot of work before the wedding date; might have done an engagement shoot for you and block that date exclusively for you so lose out on other potential work, the retainer would generally be non-refundable as it covers all of those eventualities.