Questions to Ask a Wedding Photographer Before You Book

Choosing a wedding photographer is a strange one. You're handing over one of the most important days of your life to someone you've probably met for about forty minutes, and you won't see the result until it's all over. No pressure.

Most guides on how to choose a wedding photographer tell you to "look at their portfolio" and "check the reviews". Good advice, but it only tells you what their best work looks like. It doesn't tell you what happens if their camera dies halfway through your ceremony, or whether the person you've fallen in love with online is actually the person turning up on the day.

Still figuring out which photographers to enquire with? Start with my guide on how to choose a wedding photographer, where I break down how to balance your budget, experience and hours of coverage, plus how to find a shooting and editing style you love.

So here are the questions I'd ask if I were enquiring with a wedding photographer. Each one comes with a quick explanation of why it matters and my own answer, because I think you should be able to hold me to the same standard I'm asking you to look for. I'm a Milton Keynes wedding photographer covering Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and beyond, so I've put my own answers alongside each question.

Photographers all work differently, and none of these questions has one right answer. The point is that you know the answer before you book.

Questions to Ask a Wedding Photographer Before Booking

Will you be the one photographing our wedding?

It sounds obvious, but it's one of the most important questions on this list. Some photographers take on more weddings than they can personally cover by double-booking their most popular dates and sending an associate to the smaller weddings, and occasionally that's tucked away in the contract. If you're booking someone for their personality as well as their work, finding a stranger at your door on the morning is a real let-down.

My answer: yes, it's me. I made a decision early on that I won't use associates to take on more weddings than I can cover, because I like meeting my couples and being part of your day, rather than reliving it through the editing. Growing my business faster isn't worth more to me than your experience.

The one exception is if I'm ill. In that case I'd let you know in advance and give you a choice: one of my associates steps in, or I help you find a different photographer and refund you in full. An associate isn't a bad thing, it just should never be a surprise.

What's included in the package price?

Self-explanatory, but worth asking, because some photographers keep their pricing behind an enquiry form and don't spell out what the price actually covers. Hours of coverage, a second photographer, an online gallery, usage rights, travel: you want to know what's in and what isn't, side by side with anyone else you're considering.

My answer: everything is on my wedding packages page, so you can see it before you've even said hello.

Are there any additional costs?

Almost every photographer has some extras. That's completely normal. What matters is that they're transparent and, ideally, optional. In my opinion, a package should include everything essential to your day.

My answer: my packages have no essential extras. The only exception is travel if your wedding is outside my usual service area and you're set on having me (sorry, fuel is expensive). Everything else is an optional add-on rather than a hidden cost: a second photographer, prints and albums, additional hours, or an engagement shoot. I don't include these as standard because not all couples need them, and it's simpler than building them into every package and then taking them off again.

What are your booking fees, and when is the final payment due?

Nobody enjoys talking money, but you'd rather know the whole payment picture now than be surprised later: how much you pay to secure the date, whether it's refundable, when the balance is due, and whether there's any flexibility.

My answer: I take a £200 non-refundable date reservation fee. It's the same whatever package you choose, because I'm reserving your wedding day either way. The final payment is due one month before the wedding, and if you'd rather spread things out into smaller payments, I offer payment plans. My client platform makes that easy to set up.

How do you protect our photos before they reach us?

If I could only get you to ask one question from this whole post, it would be this one.

The most common way wedding photos get lost is a corrupted memory card. It's rare, but it happens, and there's no re-doing a wedding day. So please don't book a photographer who doesn't shoot on dual-slot cameras. Dual slots means two memory cards in the camera, so every image is saved twice the instant it's taken. If one card fails, your photos are still safe on the other.

My answer: I shoot on dual-slot cameras, so everything is on two cards from the second I press the shutter. I then back up during your wedding breakfast, which means your ceremony (the most important part of the day) has a third copy before I've even left the venue. As soon as I get home I finish backing up the evening and start a fourth backup. By the end I have two memory cards and two external solid-state drives holding your photos. I'll protect them with my life.

Do you carry backup gear?

You get one go at your ceremony. If a photographer's camera fails mid-vows and their backup is sitting in the car, they can't exactly nip out and grab it. It's an unlikely scenario, but it does happen, so you want someone carrying two cameras on them, at least for the key moments of the day. One is fine during candid's, since swapping cameras at cocktail hour is easy. Some photographers don't have backups at all, personally that's not a risk I think is work taking.

My answer: I carry two cameras all day. Partly that's so my backup is always within reach, but it also means I can run different lenses on each. One has a lens that goes from wide angle to standard, and the other has a long zoom, so I get plenty of variety on the day and can take close-ups of you and your guests without you even realising I'm photographing. Those are the best candids.

Do you have public liability insurance?

Public liability insurance covers the "what if" scenarios you can't plan for, and it protects both you and your photographer. You shouldn't book someone who doesn't have it.

My answer: yes, I do.

How many photos will we get?

I didn't think this was an important question until recently. I'm a quality-over-quantity photographer all the way, but a while ago I came across a wedding that had been covered in around 600 photos in total, before any culling. For comparison, I take well over 3,000 across a full-day wedding. (This is partially because I over-shoot to make sure I have the perfect photo. I'll take five frames of every group shot to make sure nobody's blinking.)

Photographers have very different ways of working, and neither is wrong. But it's worth asking, because the answer tells you how the photographer approaches the day. To me, no matter how small or low-key a wedding is, there's always something happening. Two cousins catching up after years apart, kids on the dancefloor before it's even open. And if it's really quiet, I find something: I'll ask your parents if they'd like a photo together, because they probably haven't had a nice one of the two of them in years. For me that's the difference between doing the job and loving it.

My answer: I don't promise a set number of photos. I deliver every good image, with no duplicates, no blinks and no awkward mid-sentence faces. I aim for a minimum of 60 delivered images per hour of coverage (not counting the wedding breakfast, because nobody wants photos of themselves eating, which makes that number hard to hit there). I'm always trying to maximise your gallery, but I want you to love every image in it, which is why the culling matters.

So yes, absolutely ask how many photos you'll get. But what you really want to know is what your photographer will do to get you more. Will they actively look for moments to capture for you? Will they give you tips on how to end up with a bigger gallery? (I will.)

How long will we wait for our photos?

This is where most couples who have a bad experience run into problems. Photographers take on more weddings than they can keep up with, or they don't leave a buffer for illness or family emergencies, and the backlog grows until your gallery is months late.

My answer: my turnaround is 6 to 8 weeks. That includes a buffer for the unexpected and for busy season. I also take on a limited number of weddings each year. I don't have an exact number, because it depends on which packages are booked, so for every enquiry I check my calendar not just for availability but for how my capacity looks that month, so I never fall behind. I've never once delivered a gallery late, and I intend to keep it that way. I'm as excited to see your photos as you are, so I get them to you as soon as I can.

6 to 8 weeks is quite standard. Some photographers can guarantee faster, which is great, but ask whether they can still hit that timeframe in peak season, and whether it allows for illness and emergencies. Some don't include that and add the time on afterwards if something unexpected does occur.

How long do you keep our photos for?

Your photos feel permanent, but a gallery link isn't forever, and different photographers handle this very differently. It's worth knowing how long your online gallery stays live and how long the photographer keeps the originals.

My answer: your gallery is hosted for a year, and I guarantee I'll hold on to the originals throughout that time. After the year I don't guarantee to keep the gallery, which is why I encourage you to back everything up and send plenty of reminders. I usually try to keep images for around three years for socials, blogs and so on, and as peace of mind if anyone gets in touch later. If you want your gallery to stay online, there's an optional annual subscription to keep it hosted.

We're thinking about a second photographer. Do we need one?

This one is a bit different: it's a question for you as much as for your photographer. But it's worth thinking about before you enquire, and worth asking whether a photographer offers it at all. Not every photographer does, not everyone has a team of people they've worked with before, and some push a second photographer onto every package, which raises the price unnecessarily.

My honest view: a second photographer is almost never a waste of money, unless you're having an intimate wedding with a small guest list and a small package. A second photographer gives you different angles and perspectives, can be in two places at once, and means you get two photos of the same moment from different views, so you end up with more images.

They're not essential, though. The two times I'd say they are: if you want both the bride's and groom's preparation photographed and it's happening at two locations, or if you have a very big guest list. With 100+ guests there's a lot of people to catch candids of, and potentially a lot more group shots. I always ask for a designated helper from your guests to round people up, since they know everyone far better than I do, but a second photographer can make a big guest list far more manageable.

My answer: I offer a second photographer as an optional extra, and I'd always rather you only add it if it genuinely suits your day. If you're not sure, drop me a message and I'll be happy to advise!

Do you offer a call before booking?

A call isn't essential, but for lots of couples it's what puts their mind at ease. And how a photographer communicates before the wedding usually tells you how they'll be on the day. Some don't offer any calls at all, and others prefer to be very hands-off with just the basic information beforehand. Neither is wrong, but you should know which one you're getting.

My answer: I offer a call before you book and another closer to the wedding. Most couples are happy with just the first one, and my questionnaires cover everything we'd possibly discuss on the second. My goal is to make the photography, and your whole wedding day, as smooth as I can. I want to fit in seamlessly rather than become something you have to manage. I want my couples to have a luxury client experience without the luxury price tag. And if you'd prefer fewer calls and touch points, my questionnaire is built so that's absolutely an option, with no hiccups on the day.

One last thing

None of these questions is meant to catch anyone out. They're how you find the photographer who's right for you, whether that's me or someone else entirely. The right photographer will be happy to answer all of them, and probably a few you haven't thought of yet.

If you're looking for a wedding photographer in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire or the surrounding counties, I'd love to answer every one of these questions for you over a call. Tell me about your wedding and we'll start there.