Hi! If you’re not Cynthia and/or Keaton and stumbled across this page, none of the photos below are mine, I don’t do wedding photography, and congrats on the great google-fu! Feel free to use the information below if it’s helpful!
General Knowledge
A lot of the stuff you see online of brides/grooms will be from styled shoots with models. It’s hard to do that for shots from a reception though so that can be a bit better of an idea of the photographer’s style.
Portfolios are always their best shots, but should still be representative of their style and skill. If you’re looking at a portfolio and it has a wide range of quality or style then there’s a chance they’re likely newer or less reliable on their deliverables.
If you’re looking at a more desirable photographer for the area, you may end up having coffee/zoom to meet with them and see if you mesh with them before they’ll agree to shoot for you. There are only so many wedding weekends so they’ll be a lot pickier about who they take on to avoid drama or cancellations.
Good wedding photographers are used to working with couples who know nothing about photography, and will operate on a motivation of “Make the day easier.” Everything below is a lot of info that the majority of their clients probably don’t think of, so just peace out of the outline if it is overwhelming!
Style
Do they have a consistent editing style that aligns with what you like?
Just a quick breakdown of some of the more prominent styles:
Documentary/Photojournalism - Trendy buzzword at the moment. More fly-on-the-wall approach. Focuses on capturing the event instead of a strictly bride/groom focus.
Portraiture - More traditional, staged style. More focused on the bride and groom.
Editorial - A more high contrast, fashion, magazine style of photography.
Points of conversation on their style of shooting or how they handle the day of
Use of flash at ceremony/reception?
General philosophy of shooting?
Bridal party/family shots after the ceremony or later during golden hour?
Are they comfortable working off a shot list for the bridal party and family portraits? Do they have a time or shot limit for them?
Some documentary-style photographers label themselves that way because they shoot the bare minimum of the bridal party/family shots that “grandparents love” and I will confirm that your grandmother will want them. Also probably Momma B.
Packages
There are a lot of different stages of the wedding process that people get photographers for, and I swear Instagram has expanded them more. I’ll do my best to list all of them out.
Bridal - Before day of photos of the bride.
Engagement - Couple portraits before the ceremony.
Rehearsal Dinner - Coverage of the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.
Getting Ready - Coverage as the bridal party gets ready on the day of.
Ceremony - Coverage during the service.
Reception - Coverage during the reception, frequently contracted for a specific number of hours before hand.
May want specificity on if you’ll be doing a sending off and want photos of that. Or if you’ll want blue hour/sparkler send off.
Honeymoon - Coverage during the following trip if you take one.
Hybrid coverage (video and photography) or strictly still images?
Do you also want video from the wedding/reception? How much video do you want or can you expect?
Is there a second shooter included in the package? Will they be at the wedding and/or reception?
Does the package include any prints/releases or is that a separate investment (more below).
Investment - What you’re paying for images/prints/releases
How many final images to expect?
How long after the event to expect final images?
Are there any minimal purchase thresholds for prints or releases?
A lot of photographers aren’t going to put their pricing upfront on their sites because they’ll be flexible depending on coverage/investment/etc. But, if they’re really obtuse and don’t want to give you a final price until after delivery, or don’t tell you how much prints or releases for final images will cost, it’s a red flag.
There is a huge range of cost depending on amount of time covered, number of events you want covered, experience and demand of the photographer etc.
Kind of an educated guess and just so you don’t get sticker shocked; all in for getting ready, wedding, and 4 hours of reception with investment for prints, I’d expect something in the $2500-5000 range. As a reference, Carrie is going to Oklahoma to do a wedding for a friend this summer and is charging $2500.
There are photographers that will charge crazy $15000+ prices, but you can usually figure that out before contact because they’ll typically market themselves specifically for that clientele through their portfolio, have higher retainers, and be more selective in who they’ll shoot for.
Contract
Cancellation policy (Both if the photographer cancels or if you have to reschedule)
Deposit/retainer and refund policies
Hours contracted for, flexibility if you want more coverage on the day of
Requirements for photographer meal for reception (Frequently handled by caterer/venue, but may have specific requirements for a hot meal)
If there are any requirements from the venue or of guests?
Some photographers put riders that they allow no other photographers/videographers/cameras at the event. Some don’t want kids at the event (pretty rare from my understanding).