Hiring a professional wedding photographer will be one of the best and most important decisions you will make for your wedding day. They are going to be the person documenting your memories and preserving them for you and generations to come. With that in mind, here are 3 important questions you should ask your potential wedding photographer before you hire them to ensure you’re getting a quality professional experience.

1. WHAT IS YOUR BACKUP SYSTEM?

I’ve been to the school of hard knocks when it comes to backing up photos. From crashed hard to corrupted memory cards, I’ve been through it all. This is why I now know the importance of a good backup system for images of moments that will never happen again. Here’s what you need to know: most modern professional dslr cameras have “dual slots”. That means you can put 2 memory cards in the camera and when a photo is taken, it’s saved to both cards at once. Basically, it’s creating an onsite backup. When those images are taken off the memory card, they should be put in at least two places, like two separate hard drives and possibly even some sort of cloud backup. That way if a hard drive crashes, there’s another safe copy of the images ready to go. Some questions you can ask to make sure you’re getting a professional photographer: do you shoot dual cards? do you shoot with more than one camera? how do you backup images once you get home?

2. HOW DO YOU HANDLE LOW LIGHT SITUATIONS?

Did you know that photography literally means drawing with light? Basically put, no light, no photo. That’s why we photographers tend to go crazy over natural light or “good light”. But that also means when the sun goes down, we have to get a little more creative with making sure things are still well lit. This could mean a flash on the camera, a flash off of the camera, video lights, or other alternatives. This type of lighting is a little more tricky than working with daylight. Someone who is newer in the game may not own lighting equipment, or how to use it. Whatever the case may be make sure you ask your photographer how they plan to handle the low light moments of your wedding day like your nighttime reception or dimly lit indoor ceremony. Better yet, ask to see samples. Which leads me to question #3…

3. CAN I SEE A FULL GALLERY?

I think we’ve all heard the phrase that social media is a highlight reel. Guess what? A photographer’s Instagram and website are no exception. And while there’s nothing wrong with putting your best foot forward, it’s a good idea to see a full gallery (or two!) of a wedding from start to finish.  Looking at a full gallery can offer insight into how may photos you’ll receive, all the different kinds of photos you’ll receive, and how photos in look throughout the various light and location changes a wedding day may contain.

While you may have a million other questions to ask your wedding photographer, these are three of the important ones to have on your list. I hope they help you find a reliable, talented, photographer for your wedding day.  Happy planning!

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