Planning your Wedding is such a big thing! You have so much to be thinking about and organising, sometimes it can feel very overwhelming! When it comes to being your photographer, I like to be as transparent as possible with you, giving you all the information you need to help make your decision. After all, your Wedding Photographer is going to be capturing the memories of your day which you will look back on for the rest of your life! I’ve created a handy list of questions you should ask any potential Wedding Photographer before you book them to help.
1. Are you available on our Wedding date?
This might sound pretty obvious, but with the backlog of Weddings (thanks to Covid!), many photographers are fully booked. The first question you should ask is if they are available. I’ve had couples book me up to 3 years in advance, so make sure you check the date with any potential Wedding Photographer before you move on to more specific questions.
2. How would you describe your photography style?
This is important. Many photographers have different styles. Some prefer the more traditional and posed styles whilst others, like myself, prefer the more natural and candid style – capturing the real emotions and special moments within the day. Make sure you ask this question so that you know your photographer will be the right match for you.
3. Can we provide a list of specific shots we would like?
The answer to this should always be YES! You are the most important people on the day. You are spending a lot of money on a photographer and whoever you choose should be able to work to a list of specific shots you would like. If you decide to book with me, I meet with you at the venue prior to your Wedding Day and we create the list together. This gives you some help as sometimes it’s quite difficult to remember everything!
4. How long after our Wedding do we need to wait for our photos?
This is important as you don’t want to be waiting months and months for your Wedding Photographs. When booking with me, I will get the completed photographs with you no later than 4 weeks after your Wedding Date. However, I do aim to get them with you in under 2-3 weeks. I also provide a ‘Sneak Peek’, 3/4 photos from your day, within 48 hours as we know how hard the waiting can be!
5. Will the images have watermarks?
You should always be given photographs without the photographer’s watermark to enable you to print photographs. If you decide to book with me, I give you two sets of your photographs, one set for Social Media (watermarked) and the other for printing (non-watermarked).
6. What are the payment terms?
A Wedding costs A LOT of money. That’s why at Gary James Photography, we are as flexible as possible. All we require is a £100 deposit to secure your date. You can then choose how you want to pay the remainder, as long as the balance is paid 4 weeks before your Wedding date. If you need a little bit more time for us to hold your date before you can pay the deposit, speak to us and we will be as flexible as we can.
7. Do you have backup equipment?
If we’ve learned anything about technology over the last few years, it’s that it needs to be reliable! A good photographer will ensure that they have backup equipment on the day just in case anything goes wrong. Gary attends your Wedding day with two top of the range cameras to enable him to get the best shots, but also in the rare event that anything malfunctions.
8. Are you insured?
Every professional photographer should be insured. At Gary James Photography, we have full public liability insurance. This covers myself, guests and the venue in the very rare event of any serious accident or injury caused. This is very often requested from venues and can provide the certificate of insurance for them if required. If, for any reason, I have to cancel in the event of severe illness, or due to contracting Covid, we would arrange for another photographer or you would receive a full refund. We would do our utmost to find you a replacement photographer likened to our style.
9. Can we see a full gallery of a Wedding you’ve photographed?
You are spending a lot of money and putting a lot of trust into your photographer, so you should be able to see a full gallery of a recently shot wedding. At Gary James Photography, we give you access to an online drive to let you see some of our work in full.
10. Have you shot at our Wedding Venue(s) before?
This is a worthwhile question as it lets you know whether your photographer is familiar with the venue. There is a plethora of venues across Scotland and it would be impossible for photographers to have shot Weddings at every single one. However, if the photographer hasn’t shot a Wedding at your chosen venue(s) before, they should be offering to meet you both at the venue beforehand to check them out, potentially to meet your Wedding co-ordinator and get to grips with exactly what you want. At Gary James Photography, we offer these meetings with you at your venues regardless of whether we’ve shot a Wedding there before or not, as it gives us the chance to get to know you both, your personalities, your venue(s) and your photography wish-lists.
