5 Best Questions To Ask Your Wedding Photographer

Wedding planning can be totally hectic, we get it, we have been there before! Choosing the RIGHT wedding photographer comes with its own challenges and hurdles, especially when there are so many options to choose from. As Knoxville wedding photographers, we have plenty of experience not only being asked questions, but also knowing what questions couples should ask, and the right answers to those questions.

What Questions To Ask Your Wedding Photographer

Here are 5 best questions to ask your wedding photographer, although they are in no particular order.

#1 Can I view a full wedding?

The photos on a wedding photographer’s website usually are only the “best of” and highlights of their capabilities. Some wedding photographers that are just starting out may display “styled shoots” that look like actual weddings. These styled shoots, although beautiful, do not reflect the fast-paced conditions of your wedding day, and the photographer may not be able to create similar images on your wedding day.

The best ways to view a full wedding are by viewing a tangible wedding album or by viewing an online wedding gallery. We would recommend going with the tangible wedding album route even though this usually entails visiting your wedding photographer in question. A tangible wedding album will not only showcase the photographer’s skill in documenting the entire day, but also the true quality of their photographs.

Wedding albums will showcase every imperfection of sharpness, grain, exposure, and more, whereas an online gallery viewed on a small display can hide blurry photographs. Asking to view a full wedding is one of the best questions to ask your wedding photographer because it will blatantly show their capability to document your wedding story.

Viewing a full gallery online is a great alternative, although keep in mind you will be sifting through hundreds if not thousands of photos. This is why we recommend viewing a tangible wedding album as it will only be around 100 photographs in all.

#2 Do your cameras have dual card slots?

This is a little-known question to ask your wedding photographer and we can count on one hand how many times we have been asked. Most professional cameras on the market have two memory card slots and a function that allows the primary memory card to back up to the second memory card. This is essentially an “in camera” backup system.

We have heard and read so many horror stories about how a wedding photographer with only 1 memory card slot, got home and the memory card turned out to be corrupted, meaning a total loss of all of the wedding photos. This is exactly why this is one of the top questions to ask your wedding photographer, and why our studio only uses cameras with 2 dual memory card slots.

#3 Are you proficient at off camera lighting?

The truth is that not all wedding days are bright and sunny, and certainly not all reception halls allow natural light to flood in. This is why you should make sure that your wedding photographer has the skills to use off-camera lighting, especially if your celebration is going on late into the evening. Many wedding photographers do not know how to properly use off-camera lighting, and the only way to know if they do is by viewing a full wedding. This is one of the most important questions to ask your wedding photographer because the last thing you want is dark reception photos that look too flashy.

#4 What is your end product?

One of the most interesting questions to ask your wedding photographer is about the end product. After your wedding day, will you just receive an online gallery of digital images? Or will you receive a gorgeous handcrafted wedding album?

#5 What is your wedding day approach?

The final question to ask is about your photographers approach to your wedding day. You certainly will want to know if they are more hands on, blend into the background or mix of both approaches. Some wedding photographers take a completely hands off approach meaning they will simply document your wedding day with little to no stylizing or input. Other wedding photographers will document candid moments from afar, but also stylize you when needed and provide more input when it comes to posing and positioning.

In Conclusion

Before you arrive at a meeting, remember to make a list of these questions to ask your wedding photographer, and don’t be afraid to ask away.

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