There is so much information out there these days that it can be a little overwhelming as you’re newly engaged and searching for all these different vendors. When it comes to photography, there are a lot of options and it can be daunting as you are trying to eliminate down to your best possible options. Well you’re probably wondering how can you do that in the most efficient way possible? As you’re just starting out, these are 5 things you need to include in your initial message to your potential wedding photographer.
Are you available for our date?
This seems pretty obvious, but you can include if you are still searching for a venue and haven’t secured your day, or if you are open and flexible to dates this vendor has open in your general timeframe you are considering.
Do you have pre-made package options or do you create custom packages based on our needs?
This is going to tell you whether or not something can be sent over to you right away without much guidance or if you will need to discuss further your plans and potential timeline to narrow down the options to make your decision a little less overwhelming.
What is included and what are our a la carte options?
Every photographer is different in what is included in their wedding photography experience. For instance, for all of our full wedding day packages, you’ll see a complimentary engagement session is included along with many options to customize your package to fit your needs perfectly.
How do you approach the wedding day and what can we expect as we are taking photos? Do you help us pose or is it all documentary?
This is especially important to see if the style of photography is matching what you have envisioned in your head and what you are comfortable with. For example, documentary photographers are not directing you as much and are sitting back and capturing the day as it occurs naturally. With posed portraits, you are given instruction on the best placement and giving cues as to have as much variety and keep you at ease during portrait time. We happen to have a mix of both to fuse an experience where you can have a mix of candid portraits along with those beautiful moments that are equally as magical.
Are the digital images and personal printing release included in your packages?
Again, not every photographer includes the digital images in their packages. If you are looking for the option of posting online or printing yourself, this is going to be a a very important question. If not, you will have to build that into your budget to purchase the digital files in addition to your package. We do include the digital images and personal printing release in our wedding day galleries and deliver said images in a custom online gallery. You are able to print on your own but we also love to assist you in getting large prints, custom albums, and other print items. *more on this in our reveal party info
Now like I said above, these are just your base questions you want to ask right away so you can determine if you are wanting to hear more from the photographer or move on with your search. We always recommend scheduling a phone call, a zoom meeting, or in-person when possible to dive deeper into the exploratory questions and seeing if you’re going to get along with the photographer/s and feel at ease and comfortable on your wedding day *super important.
You may be thinking, wait, what about the budget? Yes, this is definitely an important question. Most sites will include a starting price, so you can have a range of expected costs before you spend too much time on a vendor that is not going to fit your needs. Of course, photography is a larger investment so it’s great to compare your options- which is why we have 3 custom packages we deliver after our initial phone call so you can make the best decision for you whether that is keeping close to budget or exploring everything you could ever want in your wedding photography experience.
Did these tips help you? Want to know the questions that photographers typically will ask you so you can be prepared for your next meeting? Read in our next blog post here!