There are so many photographers to choose from when you’re starting down the journey of planning your wedding. Here are 5 questions to ask before hiring your wedding photographer.
What Questions to Ask Before Hiring Your Wedding Photographer:
Do you offer an engagement session?
An engagement session is a great way to learn what it’s like to work with your wedding photographer. I really enjoy doing engagement sessions with my couples because it helps to calm their nerves about their wedding day photos. Since my approach to photographing couples always seems to put my couples at ease, my couples always feel really confident going into their wedding day!
What is your photography style or how do you approach photographing weddings?
There are so many different styles of wedding photography. There’s dark and moody or light and bright. Styles vary based on editing, but also depend on how the photographer chooses to capture images. Personally I love light and bright images with a film like inspiration. I think this style is the most timeless way to capture images. It also keeps the focus on you and your loved ones!
You’ll definitely also want to know how your photographer approaches photographing weddings. Asking about the photographer’s style for taking images will give you a good idea about their style of posing, how they compose images, as well as editing. Some photographers will only try to capture candid moments, while others want to help with guided posing. Personally, I think it’s great to have a combination of both! I help my couples when we’re taking their portraits, and guide them through what to do so they never feel lost! Most of my couples do not model, so guidance is so helpful!
Have you worked at our venue before?
While I do not think it’s necessary for your wedding photographer to have photographed your venue for them to do an amazing job, this is such a great question to ask to learn about how they approach new spaces! Every venue is unique and even on different days I may shoot in a different way at a venue because I prioritize finding the best light for my couples! Hopefully your photographer is able to share how they handle different lighting situations!
Ask about images:
Are the images high resolution photos?
When you get your images of course you’ll want to share them with all your friends and family! If you’re sharing online all you really need are web size images, but when you want to print images you’ll definitely want to have high resolution photos! This will ensure that you’re able to print good quality images!
My couples receive their images in an online gallery. They have the ability to download all of their images in both high resolution and web-size photos! What’s great is if my couples want to they can share their gallery directly with their loved ones. They also have the ability to purchase prints from professional print labs if they would like! Having an online gallery makes the whole process of enjoying your images so much better!
Do you watermark your photos?
Another important question around images is asking if the photographer watermarks their images. I prefer to leave the watermark off because I feel it distracts from the photo. I also want my clients to be able to use the images without my logo on it!
How long does it take to get the photos?
You want to know the photographer’s processing time. I have heard stories of couples waiting 6 months for images and I’d really hate for that to happen. A normal processing time is 4-8 weeks. I love to get my couples photos to them within the first 4 weeks because I know how excited they are to see their images, but I always give sneak peeks even sooner!
Do you watermark your photos?
You want to know the photographer’s processing time. My couples are always so excited to see their images! For weddings I love to offer a sneak peek on social within a week of your wedding! I have heard stories of couples waiting 6 months for images and I’d really hate for that to happen. A normal processing time is 4-8 weeks.My couples photos to them within 4-6 weeks because I know how much they want to go through all their images!
Bonus Question: How much do you help with planning?
I always share with my couples that your planner will know exactly how to make your whole day flow well, but your photographer will know how to plan so that day is captured how you want! I have captured so many weddings that I have seen so much! I know exactly how to time the day so that feels stress free and easy for couples! I always find out what’s most important to them and help create a timeline that feels best for them!
Ready to find out about working with Nikole Marie Photography for your wedding day?
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