If you are a bride-to-be more than likely you are devoting a serious amount of time into educating yourself about how to plan your wedding, and at some point you will begin researching professional photographers.
Any local or national magazine on wedding planning is going to provide you a list of questions to ask potential wedding photographers. Some of these questions are basic fluff and more than likely can be answered on the photography studios website, while others can provide you with the level of competency of the photographer you are interviewing.
What I want to provide you with are 10 things you can do to ensure good wedding photography at your wedding. But when I say good wedding photography, that means a hassle free experience with your wedding photographer as well as great images!
Here we go!
Item Number One. Make sure to interview your photographer in person, and not just over the phone. If you can’t interview your photographer in person, then at the very least ask for references or check if there have been any complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau.
Interviewing with your photographer in person is going to give you a good idea of whether or not you are compatible on a personal level. Keep in mind that your photographer is going to be with you and your family on one of the most important days of your life, so it’s important that you get along with a photographer you choose.
How did they dress during the interview? Were they professional and respectful? Were they on time to the interview? Do you think that they will be on time to your wedding?
Interviewing with a photographer will also give you a good idea of the quality of their wedding albums. Trying to describe the different design styles we offer over the phone is not an easy thing to do. However, handing a potential client one of our sample albums, or better yet, showing a wedding album waiting to be picked up is truly the ultimate way to communicate the level of quality of the products we offer.
A wedding photographer is only as good as their last wedding album.
Do you have a wedding album waiting to be picked up by one of your customers that I might be able to look at?
If the photographer does present you with an album waiting to be picked up by a client, do not handle the album your self, and do not turn the pages yourself. Allow the photographer to turn the pages for you.
Item Number Two. Try to get a feel for how important continuing education is to the photographer you are interviewing. Do they attend any annual trade conventions? What trade conventions have they attended in the past, and which ones do they plan on attending in the near future?
Item Number Three. Most photographers are going to have a website to display their work, but how do you know that the work being displayed is something that was created recently? If the work being displayed on the website was not created recently, then how do you know if their website is a true representation of what they can create for you today?
Check to see if the photographer’s website also contains a blog. A passionate photographer will be updating their blog regularly. If you find a blog that has not been updated for some time, then perhaps during your initial interview a good question to ask might be why the blog has not been updated for sometime. Do you have some recent work that you can show me?
Item Number Four. Churches in the Houston Texas area are very passionate about preserving the sanctity of a wedding ceremony. Most churches have restrictions that they place on the photographers photographing weddings. In Houston, photographers are not allowed to use their flash during the ceremony. Additionally, photographers may be restricted as to areas of the Church that they can photograph from.
Make sure to ask your church well in advance of your wedding date if they have restrictions for professional photographers. If they do have restrictions, make sure to get this information to your photographer so they can be aware of the church’s rules.
Item Number Five Find out if the photographer is a member of a local professional photographic organization.
Have the photographer ever sat on the board of directors of this organization? Do they attend their monthly meetings regularly?
In Houston, the top professional photographic group is The Professional Photographers Guild of Houston.
These questions are important because the’re going to give you some insight into how serious this photographer is professionally. Any professional photography group is going to have a code of ethics, and more than likely a member of the organization, and especially a member of the Board of Directors will respect those ethics.
These questions are also important as the answer can protect you should your photographer fail to deliver on the promise that was guaranteed in their contract. If after your wedding you find that your photographer has not delivered their product within the time frame that was promised, then with a little research you can contact a board member of the professional organization with your concerns. This of course should only be done after discussing your concerns with your photographer first.
Item Number Six. Does the photographer compete locally or nationally with their photography? What awards have they won from their local professional organization?
The answer to these questions will tell you not just if you’re photographer is ambitious, but if the photographer you are interviewing is excited about improving their work! When a photographer enters their photography to be judged by their peers, what he or she is really saying is that they want to be educated on how they can improve their work, even if the work being entered is already of outstanding quality.
Item Number Seven. Make sure that your photographer accepts credit cards.
Over the years certain individuals have given wedding photographers a bad rap. They have taken people’s money and then never show up at the wedding or event. If you paid cash, then you have very little recourse for getting your money back other than going to court.
To protect yourself, pay for the photographer services with a credit card. This way the credit card provider can possibly act as a mediator, or they may possibly offer some form of purchase insurance which would allow you to get your money back.
Being asked to pay 100% of your balance by cash or check for a discount on your purchase can be a warning sign as to the stability of the vendor you are dealing with.
Weddings can be expensive, so you might as well use a credit card that gives you frequent flyer miles, and with any luck you will spend so much money with your wedding photographer that you and your fiancé can fly anywhere in the world for your honeymoon for free. 
Item Number Eight. At some point towards the beginning of your reception you will have your first dance as a married couple. It’s understandable that often times the couple can become a bit nervous. Sometimes I will find that the couple will begin to talk to each other during their entire first dance. While this is totally a natural way to break the tension of the moment, it doesn’t do much for good photography if all the photographs taken during the first dance are with the subjects mouths open in mid speech.
Embrace one another on the dance floor. Enjoy the moment. Just take it all in. Take this time to reflect on all the history that has brought you to this moment and what the future holds for you both. Don’t be afraid to let the emotion show.
Item Number Nine. You may decide to have a DJ at your wedding. Ask if your DJ has a wireless microphone opposed to a wired microphone.
When it comes time for the best man and the maid of honor to give their toasts, more than likely they will be provided a microphone from the DJ. If that microphone is tethered to the DJ booth, then the individual giving the toast will not be able to move to the center of the dance floor or away from the DJ booth during their toast. The photographer will then have to photograph the individual giving the toast with the DJ stand in the background.
By using a wireless microphone for the toast, an individual can move to the center of the dance floor or at least away from the DJ booth to give a better background for the image. When the toast is given in the center of the dance floor, it becomes very easy to place other guests in the background of the image.
Item Number Ten. Imagine now it’s the end of your reception. Everyone has gone outside to bid you both farewell and to wish you a good long and happy life together.
Give your photographer a few minutes to go outside before you make your departure. Often times in Houston, a photographer will go from inside an air-conditioned environment and step outside into the humidity. When this happens the photographer’s camera lens will fog up.
About three to five minutes of time is needed for the photographer’s camera to acclimate to temperature and de-fog.
Professional Photographer
I first came across your work after I saw the bridal portraits you did for a girl I went to high school with. I’ve been looking at your work and I just have to say that when it’s time for me to start planning my own wedding I’m going to try my best to book you asap! I absolutely love your work and admire the dedication to it that you show in your blog.
Anyway just showing some appreciation!r