Questions for your wedding photographer

Many brides have a list of wedding photographer questions. These questions may be such things as what is your price, how long do you shoot, do you use a second photographer, what is your style.

The purpose of this article is to provide some questions for you to ask your wedding photographer that you probably wouldn’t have thought of.

What type of camera will you use to shoot my wedding?

Since most brides probably aren’t real knowledgeable about the various kinds of cameras, they likely won’t ask that question. But it can be important and it can provide important information about the photographer.

Basically, there are two types of cameras: crop sensor cameras and full-frame cameras. It’s not important to go into the details of each but suffice it to say that full-frame cameras are professional grade cameras while the others are really not. They are more for the novice photographer. There is a big difference in price, with a crop sensor camera costing in the hundreds and a full-frame camera costing in the thousands. Some photographers may disagree with me here (especially the ones who use crop sensor cameras), but my view is the photographers who use full-frame cameras are more serious about their photography. Here’s my point: if one photographer willing to spend several thousand dollars on a camera while another will only spend a few hundred, which one do you think is more serious about being a professional photographer.

How many lenses do you use to shoot at my wedding and what kind of lenses do you use?

Again, there is a huge difference in lenses. A photographer can buy a 50mm prime lens for $200 or close to $2,000. Again, it seems to go without saying that the $2,000 lens will be better than the $200 lens. What difference does it make to you, the bride? The more expensive lenses use better, high quality glass. These lenses will give you sharper images.

At Lori Black Photography, I use Canon L-series lenses, which are the top grade lenses. I don’t believe in shooting weddings with anything less than superior glass.

What other gear do you bring to my wedding?

Ask what kind of lighting the photographer will bring to your wedding. Constant light or strobe light? A simple flash on camera or a more elaborate strobe light setup. Granted, many photographers don’t want to bother with this elaborate setup, but I believe it should be used for the family formals within the church. That’s why I get to weddings early to set up two or three strobe lights at the alter of the church to be ready when we are doing those family formals.

Some photographers will use a simple flash on camera. That is OK but it won’t distribute the light as evenly across the group of people. That’s particularly true with large groups. The flash will light up the middle of the group but those on the ends likely will be a little darker.

Some photographers don’t use any additional lighting at all, which to me is a bad sign.

How do you continually educate yourself

I’m a firm believer in continuing education, no matter what field you are in. Photographers should continue to attend classes in person or watch classes online to stay up with the trends, learn new tips and tricks, and basically stay up on the industry.

This is something I definitely do.

How do you pose your photo subjects?

Ask the photographer what style of posing he or she likes. For me, I do like traditional posing but I like to mix it up as for. For example, I like to step away from the bride and groom and ask them to just interact with each other. Then I will shoot from a distance with my long focal length lens in order to get more natural looking shots. This will provide a mix of looks and not give couples nothing but images that look formally posed.

In summary

Wedding photographer questions are important so you know what you are getting and whether your photographer is a good fit for you.