Meet with a photographer?

The wedding day was the first time I met Queenly and Kasey.

Does an engaged couple need to meet with a photographer before making a hiring decision?

A few years ago, I felt it was standard to meet with prospective clients considering hiring me to photograph their wedding. And I had quite a few meetings.

The purpose of these meetings was for the couple to meet me and me to meet them, talk about their wedding and their expectations for their photography. Many times I would bring a laptop or an iPad and show them some photos. A few times I brought a wedding album.

As the years passed, something changed. I don’t know if it was due to Covid 19, or just an overall shift in thinking. I’m seeing that more couples feel they don’t need to meet with a photographer beforehand. I can safely say that I almost never meet prospective clients prior to being hired by them.

I realize that Covid kept people apart. We weren’t meeting each other in person. We stayed at home. That might be part of why these meetings have stopped. But I tend to believe that the reason is other than the pandemic.

I think that more people are doing their research online. They are checking out photography websites and photographers’ photos. In my case, they may be reading the large number of positive Google reviews that I have.

The way I’m hired now is much more easy and efficient. Sometimes I will talk on the phone with the prospective clients, but quite honestly even that is rare. Now I am hired through email and other forms of online messaging.

I will get a message through my website, we will have some online communication and it’s done! Often the first time I meet the couple is at their engagement photo session. If such a session isn’t requested, usually I meet them for the first time at the wedding. That is what happened at my last wedding.

So, back to the original question. Do you need to meet with a wedding photographer before deciding whether to hire this person? That’s up to you and how you feel. I can say I am comfortable without such a meeting, and most of my clients today are as well.