What should I ask my Photographer

I did search for a topic on this, but didn't see one... I meeting with a photographer today.. what kind of questions should I ask?

i have my questions at home (im at work)

umm off the top of my head...

-how many hours do you have them for?
-how many people do they send (for meal purposes)
-how do you choose your photographer (can you choose, do they choose it, do you meet before hand)
-payment schedule
-can you do upgrades after the wedding
-can the eng. shoot be off site (my photo does free in studio but charges for off site)

the biggest thing for me was making sure I had full rights to the pictures.

Some places make you order everything through them and I am wholeheartedly against this.


Also, if you are going with a smaller place (I did) ask what the back up plan is in case of an emergency.

Is there a limit on touch ups? Some include a certain number of hours for touching up images, some are unlimited until they look right.

For me, it was also really important for me to like the person, you have to spend a LOT of that day, I don't want to be annoyed by them.

Definitely ask if you get the duplication rights to the proofs. Some studios will refuse to give or even sell it to you, so you have to buy everything from them for crazy prices. Also, see if they can show you pictures from an entire wedding. Anyone can show a 'best of' slideshow, but the great photographers will blow you away just by looking at a proof album. I just got my wedding album (I know I procrastinated on picking the photos) and both my husband (yes he did although he won't admit it!) and I cried flipping through it. I just love my photographer (Autumn Lin) and I can't wait for our photo session with our newborn son.

here is a copy of my list

4. If you are talking to the photographer:

Are you a full-time photographer?

5. What do you do the rest of the week?

6. What kind of experience, background, and education do you have?

7. Have you received any formal classroom training as a photographer?

8. How long have you been a wedding photographer, and how many weddings have you photographed?

9. Have you handled events of my type and size before?

10. What are the reasons you think we should hire you?

11. Is this your recent work that I'm seeing?

12. Do you use black and white film when photographing in black and white?

13. I'm looking for a photojournalistic photographer. What is your definition of 'photojournalism'?

14. What are your criteria for choosing what you would photograph at my wedding?

15. How do you know how many pictures to take?

16. Who is your most favorite photographer (not necessarily a wedding photographer)?

17. Have you ever been published in a photography journal/had a show, etc.?

18. What makes your photographs better or different than anybody else's?

19. Why did you choose wedding photography as a career?

20. What time do you arrive to setup your equipment?

21. Hours of service:

22. Do you bring backup equipment with you?

23. How many people will cover the event?

24. Do you provide a written contract and guarantee?

25. What are your policies regarding proofs?

26. What are your policies regarding negatives?

27. What are your policies regarding delivery times?

28. Is a deposit required? If so, how much?

29. When is the deposit due?

30. May I make partial payments?

31. When is the final payment due?

32. Is gratuity included in the price?

33. If not, what is the percentage of the service charge?

34. What percentage are the taxes?

35. What is the overtime charge?

36. Are there any additional charges not mentioned? (i.e. travel)

37. What are the refunds/cancellation terms?

38. . Is the photographer open to a list of must-take photos (pictures you definitely want shot)?

39. 10. What kinds of cameras does the photographer use? (This will acquaint you with the photographer's experience and knowledge.)

11. What kind of lighting and other equipment (such as tripods) does the photographer use? Does the photographer bring backup equipment in case of emergency?

A list I got from LIW a while back

QUESTIONS TO ASK:
*Are you the photographer who will be photographing our wedding?
*If not, who will? When can we meet them?
*Do you have an assistant? Will one be needed? If so, can we meet any of them?
*What’s your photography style? Posed and formal, relaxed, photojournalistic, creative, artistic, candid, traditional?
*How many times (how long) have you worked specifically as a wedding photographer?
*How many were similar to the size and formality of our wedding?
*How many other events will you also photograph that weekend?
*What kind of camera do you use?
*Do you have backup equipment and is it in the same quality as the primary equipment?
*Do you shoot in color or black and white or both?
*Do you shoot in digital format that can create both color and b/w versions of the same picture?
*What other kind of equipment do you bring with you?
*How intrusive will lighting, tripods, other equipment or assistants be?
*What kind of input can we have on the direction of shots? *Can we give you a shot list to work from?
*Will there be any travel costs? If so, after how far? How much?
*What time would you begin and how long will you stay until?
*Approximately how many pictures would you take?
*Do you do engagement photos? Is there a fee?
*What are your packages?
*Would we be able to add onto a package later on?
*What is the down payment?
*What is the payment plan? Ie, when do we need to have ½ paid, all paid, etc.
*What’s your cancellation policy?
*Where do you get your photos developed?
*Do you retouch negatives?
*How long would it take to get our images back?
*Do you offer online photo showcasing (if not qualified Pictage, take a pass)?
*Do you provide a cd with our images? Or can we buy the negatives from you?
*How long are the negatives stored?
*What does it cost for re-prints and additional albums?
*How do you dress for weddings?
*Do you have liability insurance?
*What is your cost for additional time during the wedding (ie, reception is running late)?
*Do you have any references?