3 Pro tips on what you will need when finding the right wedding photographer!

Thank you for visiting. I hope that this video helps you out when reaching out to a wedding photographer!

The purpose of this video is to help you be prepared to have a successful connection when reaching out to your list of wedding photographers that you potentially want to hire for your wedding day.

1) Have your base

Having not only your wedding date secured but providing the ceremony and reception location is important to make sure that you have nothing change that would result in searching all over again.  When you send out an email or message on social media, you want to start with having the base so that you can make sure the date is available and then you can continue with the rest of the information that is important to share with that wedding photographer to make sure you are not going back and forth with messages and creating a long drawn out conversation that may lead to frustration and wasted time.

2) What do you want covered

Having an idea on how much coverage you want on your wedding date will fall in line with what is your budget for your wedding photographer.  Most traditional wedding coverage is between 6-8 hours of coverage. However, if you are thinking to have hair and make up coverage this will add 2-5 hours on a wedding day coverage depending on what time your H&M is scheduled in the early part of the day.  

If you are thinking to have coverage past the first dances which is usually 8p, you could add hours of coverage that extend into 9p or 10p. 

Here is an example of a traditional wedding day coverage:

Ceremony time is 2p

And dinner is 6p

Coverage typically would start an 1.5-2 hours before the ceremony to get details, getting ready, having time for a first look with dad, and not feel rushed before the ceremony starts.

Coverage starting at Noon and finishing shortly after the first dances at 8p.

You may be thinking on  all day coverage from hair and make up thru the first dances or even later into the reception. 

Providing this information for your potential wedding photographer will get you more precise results as to what their services will cost. 

Have a budget in mind as to what you are willing to hire your wedding photographer and even share that with them.  Most wedding photographers will have their packages listed on their website or on a price card. Just asking for their general prices is generally a NOT good idea.  Your day could be only looking at 3-5 hour of coverage.  Or you may find that your coverage is 9 hours, where does that fall into their package pricing? Plus if you are getting married on a date that is on the off season between November and April. Pricing may be different specially if your budget is a little tighter.  Having a phone or face to face conversation with your potential wedding photographer is key to find out what they will be willing to do for you specifically for your wedding day, because not all weddings are the same and could find you saving some money.

3) Reach out over the phone or in person with your potential hire

If you are not able to meet with the person you might hire, set up a phone co
nversation after you have made the initial email or contact with them.  After they have replied that they are available for your wedding day, the location works for them, and the budget fits within what they can do for you, set up that phone conversation to get to know how they interact with you and what answer the questions you might have for doing your wedding.  They will most likely ask you questions about your day that you may not have thought to ask.

Face to face is the best result in potentially hiring your photographer.  M
ake a list of your top 3-5 photographers that you would like to meet with after the initial contact.  Meeting with them will either give you a vibe that you want to work with them or not.  It is important that your day is the best day ever and meeting with them will ease your mind that on your wedding day you feel comfortable with the person that you have hired.

For more information, please check out the video that I have created to go more in depth of finding your wedding photographer!

Finding a Wedding Photographer