1) What is their pricing and availability?
Why are some of the most obvious things not up front and easy to figure out? The first step in booking a wedding photographer, assuming you like their work, is trying to see if they’re available and within budget. Not every photographer has pricing and availability up front. Maybe it is dependent upon where they’re traveling to, the time of year, or depending on the length of your event. All of these variables have the potential to adjust the price and so this reality has the potential to be complicated.
2) Will they understand my vision or direction?
Every wedding event is different. Somethings are going to be incredibly important to the bride and groom and specific things are going to be very important to capture. If you have really personal details you want captured, is your photographer going to be able to capture those specific items? It could be grandfather’s pocket watch, a piece of jewelry passed down from generations, wanting to make sure candid moments with grandparents are captured, etc. All of these moments should an need to be communicated to ensure what is important to you becomes important to your photographer.
3) How will we get along?
Have you ever had to spend an entire evening or event with someone that you found annoying? I hope not, but one of the challenges with planning your most important day, is making sure that the photographer will be someone you will enjoy being around. After all, they’re going to be with you and your family and friends capturing memories the entire day. If you don’t already have a recommendation for a photographer from someone you know, spend a little bit of time trying to get tho know them before your wedding.
4) Will they mesh well with other vendors?
This seems like this shouldn’t be an issue, but you have no idea how well photographers integrate in with other people who could be working at your wedding. Sometimes photographers can have personal motivations for specific images to build their own personal portfolio while completely neglecting what is most important to you. A photographer needs to be on the same page as the event director or coordinator, videography team and making sure they communicate with everyone else who could be impacted if the original timeline has been changed for whatever reason.
5) When will I get to see my photos?
Editing is something that every photographer approaches differently. Most photographers edit all their own images and are very particular about how their work is shown to the world. For every hour of shooting, some photographers can spend three hours of culling, editing, and uploading. Once the busy season hits and there are back-to-back weddings, engagements shoots, etc. there can be a real delay in getting back the 1,000+ images you would be expecting. It’s important to have a conversation about how long the editing process takes.
ABOUT ZION SPRINGS - Here at Zion Springs, we understand these issue and want to make sure your best day ever is stress free. Pricing is up-front and covers your entire weekend event from Friday - Sunday. Having your photographer be a part of every milestone meeting ensures they understand what is most important. Every wedding weekend event will include an engagement shoot to make sure you get to build a great relationship. Our photographer, who has been here for five years, knows our team and will always communicate with our staff to ensure the best day ever. After every Saturday there will be 100+ images ready to be served as a sneak peek in less than five hours after your wedding. If there are any additional questions you have about our digital studio or Zions Springs, please utilize the chat feature on our website. For pricing & packages, click below.