5 Things to do Before Meeting a Wedding Photographer

It’s Spring!!…Which means coffee shops are filled with couples meeting wedding vendors and this whole ‘planning thing’ is starting to get real!!

This post is for you if:

+ you’ve just begun your search for a wedding photographer…
+ you’re about to meet a wedding photographer…
+ you’ve already met a couple photographers, but you’re still unsure of how to ask the right questions…

If you can relate to any of the above, then you’ve come to the right place! Here are 5 tips on things you can do before meeting a wedding photographer, to help you decide if they’re the right fit for your day!

Social media is a great way to find a quick collection of your photographer’s work, and – if you’re lucky – get a glimpse into who they are and how they work. Be sure to not only look at what they post, but when they post their images…Do they share sneak peeks on their Facebook/Instagram/Twitter accounts? How many photos did they post from that wedding? Do they tag their clients? Does it look like they love their job? If these things are important to you, check them out in advance!

See a recurring theme here? Get to know them before your meeting!
If they write personal posts, use them as a way to get to know the person behind the lens; if they don’t, read some of their other posts to get a sense for who they are and how they work. This is also a great opportunity to check out their post-wedding workflow: Do they use their blog as a “sneak peek” just days after the wedding, or do they release the post after you’ve seen the whole gallery? Everyone does this differently, and it’s great to know what to expect!

And by this, I don’t mean show up to the meeting without any questions at all…on the contrary, you should come prepared with questions that matter to you! Chances are you don’t need to know the type of camera your photographer uses, and asking them to ‘describe their photographic style’ will be pretty useless when you can see their portfolio and assess that style for yourselves…your photographer should guide the meeting and answer most of these questions without needing a checklist.

So what are my favourite questions for photographers?  The personal ones!!

‘How’d you get in to photography?’; ‘What’s your favourite thing about our venue?’; ‘Why did you name your cat, Hubbell?’! You see, I stand by the fact that you should love spending time with your photographer! And guess what? They’ll likely be asking you these same types of questions, because they want to get to know you too! Of course, they should always get to the basics of their style, their turnaround time, and their approach to shooting a wedding day, but as you go, I hope your number one question is ‘do we click‘? After all, you’ll be spending more time with your photographer on your wedding day than almost anyone else, and this should be a fun and exciting process!

Okay, okay, this should probably be the very first thing you do before contacting your photographer, as we’ll want to be sure we have your date available. That being said, we’re always happy to chat and connect on social media before your date is secured; reach out and say hello!!

Remember, that at the end of the day your photographer should take the lead and answer your most important questions before you’ve even thought of them. What’s important is that you decide if you ‘click’, so that when it comes to signing your name on the dotted line, you know it’s the right decision and that amazing things are in store for your day!