15 questions to ask before booking your wedding photographer

Choosing your wedding photographer is a big decision, they’re the pictures you’ll look back on for years to come! We narrow down 15 questions to ask before booking your wedding photographer.

These are the photos you’ll look back on for years to come — so it’s worth taking the time to find someone who understands your vision, style, and story.

Once you’ve narrowed down the list to a handful of possible contenders, here are 15 questions you should ask potential wedding photographers, preferably face-to-face. By the time you’ve spoken with the last one, you’ll know exactly who to hire to shoot your all-important wedding photos.

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Are you available on our wedding date?

This should be the first question you ask. After all, if they’re not available on your wedding day, you can cross them straight off the list!

What is your photographic style?

Every photographer, be they a wedding photographer or a wildlife photographer, has their own style, and it needs to match the style of wedding photography that you and your spouse-to-be are after. There’s no point hiring a photographer who specialises in highly-posed wedding photographs if you’re after a more natural, impromptu style of wedding photographs. These photographs should capture you two as a couple.

Of course, before even picking up the phone to call potential wedding photographers, you should have checked out their website or Easy Weddings profile to see their previous body of work.

Are you the photographer who will be shooting my wedding?

Sometimes, when you visit a wedding supplier, the person you speak with won’t be the person performing the service, so ask the person you’re meeting with whether they are the one who will be the photographer on the day.

If not, ask to meet your wedding photographer beforehand. There’s nothing worse than not liking the person you’ll be working with for up to 18 hours on a day as busy and emotional as your wedding day!

Wait, what’s a content coordinator?

A wedding content creator (or “content manager”) is someone who captures your day in real time for social media. Think: behind-the-scenes moments, candid reactions, and trending videos you can post before your official photos even land in your inbox.

They’ll follow along with their phone (or sometimes a camera), filming TikToks, Instagram Reels, and Stories from your perspective — and sometimes even managing your accounts so you can stay offline and soak it all in.

Find out more about content coordinators at weddings.

What is your photographic background?

Photographers are artists so they don’t need formal training to be a spectacular photographer, they need a great eye and skill!That said, a photographer’s experience can make a difference to the final result. For example, even an award-winning sports photographer may have a hard time shooting a wedding, whereas someone who has shot dozens of weddings knows exactly what to capture and when.

It’s also important to ask how many weddings they’ve photographed in the past as wedding photography is an extremely specialised form of photography and you need to know that your photographer isn’t going to miss the key moments!

How many camera people and cameras will be operating on the day?

Obviously, the more shooters and cameras, the more pictures you’ll have but do you want lots of pictures, or do you just want to capture the key moments?

This is a very individual choice, but you should know how many people will on-ground with you on your big day and, obviously, this will depend on your wedding photography budget and whether or not you want more than one shooter at your wedding.

Are there any additional costs we may encounter?

Most wedding photographers offer a range of packages aimed at different budgets, but even with set – and very straightforward and transparent – packages, there are always things that crop up that may cost more, so be sure to know what they may be. Are there over-time fees? If so, what are they?

How will you (and any assistants) be dressed on the day?

It is important that your wedding photographers fit in on the day and don’t distract either you and your new spouse – or your guests.

Most wedding photographers dress very conservatively (or, at the very least in smart casual) and blend in nicely, but if you’re having, say, a very formal black-tie event and want them to blend in, be sure to let them know – but don’t expect them to turn up in tuxedos!

What is your cancellation and/or refund policy?

None of us likes to think about the worst, but it is prudent to plan for it, so ask about the consequences should you need to cancel your contract with your wedding photographer. How much noticed must you give? Will you lose your deposit if you cancel? Will you lose it if you re-schedule?

Don’t be afraid to ask these questions because, in the event you need to cancel (or re-schedule), you’ll be glad you did.

What exactly will you shoot on the day?

What’s important to you when it comes to wedding photography? Be sure to convey to your wedding photographer what you want captured. Do you want the guests’ reactions during the wedding speech captured rather than your own? Is the big kiss during the wedding ceremony a priority over, say, capturing the look on your Mum’s face as you’re pronounced husband and wife?

Make sure you give them a run sheet and a “Must Have” shot list!

In how long will we receive our photos?

Depending on what you’ve ordered, the timeframes for receving your final wedding photography may vary from a couple of weeks to a couple of months. Most wedding photographers will have a few sample images up the very same day or within a few days either on their social media or for you to put on yours, but get a clear answer from your photographer as to when you can expect to receive your final package, whatever that may be.

What exactly will we receive at the end of that time?

Find out what you will be delivered at the end of the contract – and in what format, as mentioned above. Does it include a physical album? If so, what size will that album be and how many pages will it include?

Will you back up the images?

You’ll only get one go at your wedding photos and, should anything happen to the raw photos, they’re lost for good.

So, ask your potential wedding videographer about how they store and back-up your photos should something happen to, for example, SD cards or hard drives storing them.

Our advice? Use Dropbox, Google Drive or iCloud to keep it forever (safe!).

Have you worked with videographers before?

If you’re having a wedding videographer, ask your potential photographer whether the two have worked together previously. If they have, that’s great news – and means they’ll probably be able to co-ordinate themselves nicely. If not, hand over the contact details so they can get in touch with each other beforehand, if necessary.

Have you worked at our venue before?

This is important because if they photographer has worked at the place/s you are holding your wedding ceremony and/or reception, they’ll know how things work, where to get the best shots – and how the light works at the time of day of your event, which all adds up to better pictures!

Will you be putting our photos online?

Not everyone wants to share their wedding photos with the world, so if you don’t want your images going online, certainly before you’ve had a chance to vet everything, tell your photographer. If you don’t want them going online, be very clear about it as most photographers will offer sneak peeks or promote the photos they have shot on their own blog or other wedding sites such as Easy Weddings.

Your dream photographer is right around the corner, browse our suppliers and find yours today!