One day we were trying to figure out, just how many Brides and Grooms we’ve spoken to over the last 30 years. Honestly, it has to be over 50,000. And in speaking to all those potential clients and the clients that actually booked our studio, it just amazed us at the variety of and/or lack of questions in our conversations. It got to a point where we just asked our inquirers to sit back, let us educate you, then see if there was anything they felt we left off. Guess what? There was nothing!!

YES, there are important questions to ask a wedding photographer when interviewing them for your wedding photography. But how do you know which ones to ask? We’ve got you! Here is a list of the most important questions to ask and which ones NOT TO ASK (see why below).

There are the basic questions, which we always feel should be brought up by the photographer immediately at the beginning of the conversation:

Do you have a backup camera, back up flash, multiple lenses? But do you know that the type of camera, lenses and flash can easily affect your wedding photography coverage? These are the most important questions to ask your potential wedding photographer.

01.

Professional level wedding photography cameras have 2 card slots. Inexperienced photographers will use the first card until it fills up, then the camera shifts to use and fill the second card. The number one reason for lawsuits with photographers is “loss of images,” where the card or camera malfunctions and the images are lost. Can you imagine, 2 filled cards of memories – ALL GONE!!!!! Our Professional cameras do have multiple card options; however, we use them in an alternative way to which they were designed. We fill BOTH cards at the same time, creating an automatic BACK UP of your images all the while we are shooting. If one card does malfunction, we still have all of your images on the alternate card. We also back up our cards to another (portable) device, as we are shooting throughout the day. BACK UP, BACK UP, BACK UP!!!!!!

02.

Fixed lenses have to be swapped to change the perspective, but OH, what beauty and quality these little babies offer. Yes, it’s more work for us, but we are willing to do the extra effort and give you the best image quality!!!! We bring a mix of wide-angle lenses, telephoto (long) lenses and normal range lenses. Just ask our backs. Zoom lenses have less image quality and less separation of the background. Zoom lenses are easier for the photographer to work with, as he can zoom in and out from a wide view to a close-up view. However, as stated above, the quality is just not there.

03.

Flashes do break. If the photographer only owns one, they might as well go home when it stops working. There are quite a few generic (cheaper) flashes on the market. Some say they are just as good. Our opinion has always been that if you have a Porsche, put a Porsche engine in it. There are several reasons why as a professional, you would want to mate your OEM (original Equipment Manufacturer) camera to your OEM flash. They are designed to communicate together. This is so important when you have a photographer that knows how to really work their flash. The worst-case scenario is that the flash is overpowering, and the backgrounds go dark. If your photographer knows lighting, he can balance the flash (in camera) and get a natural looking exposure.

Appropriate clothing is a reflection of your taste and sometimes a distraction to your event. We have seen everything from Jeans and Tennis Shoes to Hats and vests. Black Formal is always safe, or dress pants and button-down dress shirts. For woman, it’s that, a long skirt or dress. Blending in is the key!!!

05.

Many photographers have a set number to shoot at your event, knowing that they will have to ultimately narrow those down and edit, edit, edit! Emotion does not have a count limitation. Cutting images is only an advantage to the photographer's production time. As a photographer that searches and thrives off the organic and emotional pieces of the day, we consistently capture these moments without any hesitation to a shutter count. It is what it is and because of that, we generally find that we are shooting thousands of images. Editing is a part of our life….

06.

OMG, we can write a book here, so we will try to be brief and to the point. There is NO specific definition on what editing is. Meaning, that one photographers’ interpretation can be to merely take out their bad exposures. Knowing what can and what will not be done to your images is one of the most important parts of hiring a wedding photographer that will deliver the results you expect. However, DO NOT judge your expectations on what you see off their website. ALL images on a website should be edited to perfection. If not, run away quickly!

1. What kind of editing you're going to get?

2. What editing is going to be done to your photos?

3. How many images are going to be edited?

4. Is there anything extra done?

Well here you have to understand your options. In our own words (since this is totally interpretive), this is editing:

1. Remove un-fixable images (bad photographer)

2. Adjust color, exposure, contrast (basic stuff)

3. Adjust sharpness

4. Add dimension

5. Organize images into a storyboard order

6. Add Cheryl’s Secret Sauce

7. Export High Resolution for client (low resolution has limits)

So, what’s done to these images?

There is the ten-thousand-dollar question to ask your photographer!!!!!!

At Cheryl & Jay Photographers, we do it all, but you don't have to worry about #1. All of our images taken are usable quality images to share with you.

Keep your eyes out for more good info coming your way soon.

We have a Wedding Pro Tips Series on Flowers and Entertainment coming next. Then soon thereafter, Hair & Make-up Pro Tips (from our favorite duo).

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