If you’re in the market for a wedding photographer, be it here in the Roanoke Valley or just about anywhere in the United States, all couples need to ask great questions before they book the right photographer for them.

Asking the RIGHT questions is important and being able to have a little education behind the questions asked will help you make a great decision when it comes to an already over-saturated marketplace.

So, today, Carole and I give you the questions to ask, the types of answers you should be looking for in the process, and our advice on booking the right company.

What style(s) do you specialize in?

This is an important thing to know because believe it or not, there are many different styles of wedding photography out there. Here in our region, most photographers try to strive for the “artistic” or “classic” style but there are others like “lifestyle”, “dramatic” or “documentary”. Without getting into each in-depth, they all have various strengths and weaknesses, we will highlight just a few.

Artistic

The artistic style for example, takes those standard images you typically see on places like Pinterest for example out the window, using more of the natural setting in the image, you can clearly tell that its not just documenting the day but it’s almost creating art in a sense. There is a very wide spectrum of this definition, but think of images that you normally wouldn’t see or ones that standout in the same situations.

Classic

This is also known as traditional and it’s your run-of-the-mill wedding photo set.

I know that sounds bad, but in reality it’s not because the truth is, making a professional image is a LOT harder than you might think.

The best way I can explain this style is take your grandmothers wedding album and modernize it for the 21st century.

LifeStyle

Lifestyle wedding photography has a couple of different flavors like “dark and moody”, “light and airy” and the like. Taking more close-up images and using the power of the visual editing program to create emotions using the color of the images is most important in lifestyle wedding images.

Documentary

Unlike the classic style, documentary-style takes things a bit further by adding in a small mix of the artistic style and elevating the images with some processing but keeping the traditional look of things. It’s a great mix of the elements and here you’ll find more natural or non-posed images, basically images as if the camera isn’t in the room. It’s harder to find those moments but the images have a more realistic effect on them.

There is no right or wrong way to answer the question here, but you should definitely have a style that you like.

Will the photos be retouched and color balanced?

Most images will be processed to some point, even in the digital world we live in. Most professionals are going to be taking images in what’s known as raw files (with the extension as *.raw). Professionals are going to switch them to *.jpg so you can see them on your computers, online or smartphones.

But a majority of pros in our region are going to use either Photoshop or Lightroom (sometimes a mix) and provide you with some of the images edited.

Some photographers will process every single image they take before you get them, but more and more are doing a select number of images for the wedding, 100 or a couple hundred, the rest will be cropped but usually left untouched.

What you want to see in this question is if they are going to edit them or if they will offer what’s called “turn and burn” or simply, they take the images, dump them onto a drive and give them to you.

Note: the more a photographer will edit the images, the longer it will take. Our advice, find someone that will edit about 20%-25% of your images and the rest will be lightly touched for a faster turnaround.

What exactly is included in your packages?

Knowing what is in the contract is important. First and foremost, always have a signed contract no matter who you work within the wedding industry.

Second, make sure the contract states how long they will be at the wedding, what elements they will cover, and the terms and conditions for both you as well as them too. Make sure you read everything over carefully in the contract and that it will satisfy your needs.

How many hours of coverage do we get?

This is a very popular question, so make sure that you get enough time with them for your big day. I know many Roanoke Wedding photographers for example will offer 8 or 10 hours during the day, along with a dinner break of some sort. But what you want to hear in this question is the length that they offer in the package and if it will cover your needs for the day.

If you’re having a traditional style wedding, it’s pretty common to have between 8-12 hours for your overall wedding, so make sure that they offer the right range of hours.

Our advice here, have the photographer start about two hours before the ceremony and make sure they stay through your exit, fake or real. After the exit, even if you continue to dance the night away, chances are you will not need them so use those two factors to determine how long you need them.

What is the charge for overtime?

This is always good to know just in case. Most people like us for example, are not going to nickel and dime you if we stay an added 30 minutes beyond the contract. But if you insist they stay much longer than the contract, you’d better be prepared to fork out additional costs. From what we can tell, roughly 70% of wedding photographers will charge an added fee if they stay later than 30 minutes.

What is the deposit and total fee?

Again, knowing how much you need upfront and the total amount is important. Here, in the commonwealth, a business, any business is supposed to charge you sales tax at 5.3%. Even if that fee is part of the overall cost, make sure it’s listed out as a line item in the contract with a specific amount or YOU can get into trouble.

I remember back in 2006 when an up-and-coming photographer was in the region offering wonderful images of their clients, but she wasn’t charging sales tax. When the state found out she wasn’t charging couples, she told the state that it was part of the cost.

Well, turns out, the contracts didn’t have that as a line item and the state came after her for a LOT of money. By the way, she’s no longer in business.

The point is, make sure that all the fees or taxes are itemized so you or the professional don’t get into trouble.

Other fees you should look for is fuel fee, hotel fees, or what’s sometimes known as “travel fees”. Most in the state will not charge you anything and those that are somewhat local may charge a fuel fee. If you’re hiring someone out of state, then you can expect a travel fee and that will depend on the rates for travel.

Will you be my actual photographer, or will it be one of your associates?

While just about all the wedding photographers in our region are solo shooters, there are a few that will not actually partake in your day, rather they are handed off to sub-contractors or associates. That’s not always a bad thing, especially if it’s a company with two or more photographers, just be aware of who will be at the wedding. In most cases, it will be the person that you’re communicating with.

Will there be a second shooter or any assistants?

It’s always good to know about second shooters or if that’s even an option. In our business model, for example, Carole is the main photographer and I’m a second shooter when I’m not filming a wedding.

Some companies might not even offer second shooters and believe it or not, you really don’t need one unless you’re having a wedding with more than 350 wedding guests. While it’s nice to have a second shooter, unless they come with the price tag, you truly don’t need to hire a second shooter.

An assistant on the other hand is helpful to a wedding photographer, prepping for the next thing, taking smaller, more generic images, assistants are mostly there for helping set up things like lights, lining up people for the posed shots, and helping out the wedding photographer. In most cases, they will not be an added cost to you.

How long after the wedding do we get to see the photos?

The answer is going to depend on how they answered the earlier question about processing the images and how long you have them booked for the day. The longer a photographer is onsite, the MORE images they are going to wind up taking.

The more images, the longer it takes to go through them, convert them to *.jpg images, and longer to find the really great ones to touch up.

A fair amount of time would be 2 months, although some take as long as 6 months, some take as little as a couple of weeks. Really, the answer they give depends on lots of factors but as long as you are comfortable with their time frame and it’s in writing, you should be good.

Have you ever shot at my venue(s) before?

While it’s not a show stopper if your photographer has never been to your venue, it is a bonus if they have been. It simply means he or she will be able to help find those little nooks and crannies better to make an awesome photograph.

What are the restrictions for sharing photos online or for publication? What about copyright?

Most wedding photographers will not mind if you post, share online with friends and family, the images of your wedding day, in fact, it’s a great marketing tool for their next client. However, if you post your wedding image and make money from it, that’s a different story.

99% of wedding photographers out there will offer you what’s known as a “print release”, meaning you can show, share and print out the images as long as they are for show, not profitable or business-related.

In a nutshell, most wedding photographers will not provide you a copyright release for legal reasons, but you will have the ability to showcase them, print them for your home or for a family to have, put them on your Facebook or Instagram page, and the like too.

Download These Questions

Don’t worry about jotting these down, we’ve put them on a printable document so you can just open, print, and jot down notes when you’re chatting with a wedding photographer. Just click the link below and enjoy!

Get These Questions (MS Word)