Choosing your wedding photographer is one of the most important decisions you will make during the wedding planning process! Your wedding photos will be one of the only mementos you'll have left from your big day, so it's important to do your research and ask the right questions to find the perfect fit!! Here are 5 questions you should ALWAYS ask before hiring a potential wedding photographer:
1. Do you dual shoot?
This might be the MOST IMPORTANT question to ask, and it's a question most people wouldn't think or even know to ask unless they were a photographer!
What this basically means is that their camera is able to hold two memory cards, so they're shooting on two memory cards at once. This is super important because if one memory card corrupted (which can happen!) they will have the back up memory card and you won't have to worry about losing all of those special moments captured.
2. How do you backup your images?
This is another safety measure to keep your wedding images safe! Personally, when I get home from shooting a wedding, I will immediately backup the images to a LaCie hard drive and I keep the memory card in a filing system that I have. Some photographers also have fire & water proof safes where they will store their memory cards for extra protection! It's so so crucial to ask how your wedding photographer is keeping your images safe. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for wedding photographers to lose wedding images and it's not a risk I would want any of my couples to ever take!
3. How many photos can we expect to get back?
This is a super important question to ask because every photographer is different and you want to make sure you are on the same page! For example, mine is 100 photos per hour, so if you booked an 8 hour wedding with me, you would get a minimum of 800 photos back.
4. Can we see a full wedding gallery?
If your photographer has shot a wedding at your venue, I would highly suggest asking for the full wedding gallery! If they haven't, I would still suggest asking for a full gallery from a wedding during the same time of year as your upcoming wedding. The photos you see on Instagram or other social media platforms are just the highlights, so it's SUPER important you can see how they shoot reception photos, how they shoot in certain lighting, or in certain weather conditions!
5. How can I secure my wedding date?
Most photographers require a deposit to secure your wedding date. This is a super important question to ask so you can know how much your deposit will be and when the remaining amount is due!
There are so many more questions you can ask a potential wedding photographer, but these would be my top 5 questions to ask (and ones you may not think to ask!) to help you choose your perfect wedding photographer!
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