Three years ago, I wrote about the top ten questions to ask your potential wedding photographer. Today, I want to expound on that topic. One San Antonio professional photographer has stated that he has seen figures that puts the number of people claiming to be photographers in the greater San Antonio area as 100,000. If this is true, that means that one in 14 people who live in San Antonio claim to be a photographer. 

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How do you weed through this when shopping for a wedding photographer? Or any type of photographer for that matter? How do you lessen the chances that your special day will be ruined?

Believe it or not, photography is a very complex subject. Contrary to popular belief, it is not just as simple as picking up a camera and pushing a button. There is a plethora of information to grasp and retain and put to use when you make each and every image—especially during the chaotic schedule and the extreme lighting challenges a photographer faces all throughout the wedding day. Do you just want to trust anyone to capture these special, once-in-a-lifetime moments?

Here is a comprehensive interview question list to ask any photographer you plan on hiring? You can adapt this to other genres of photography by removing any wedding specific questions. If most of the prospective photographer’s answers are in the affirmative, you can rest easy that you are probably dealing with a true professional. (However, some of these answers should be no.)

Questions to Ask during the Consultation:

1. Are you insured?
2. Do you have backup equipment (camera bodies, lenses, and flashes)?
3. Do you guarantee the deadline at which you will deliver my images?
4. Will we enter into a written agreement? (You should not book a photographer—or any wedding vendor—who does not provide a written agreement.)
5. May I see your last three complete wedding day coverages?
6. Do you photograph other events on the same day/weekend as mine?
7. Do you provide assistance with my wedding day timeline?
8. Do you have a backup plan in case you should become ill or unable to shoot my wedding?
9. Do you deliver quality products or are you just going to hand me a disk?
10. What type of professional training do you receive?
11. Why are you worth the amount you charge?
12. Are you the photographer who will actually shoot my wedding?
13. How long have you been a professional?
14. Is photography your full-time job?
15. Do you have pro-level equipment (as opposed to prosumer- or consumer-level equipment)?
16. Do you have a wedding day team (second photographer, assistant)?
17. If so, do they come standard in your packages or are they add-ons?
18. Do you have some type of professional photography certification?
19. Do you belong to professional photography organizations?
20. Do you have a website (as opposed to just a Facebook/Instagram presence)?
21. How many weddings have you shot?
22. Have you shot at my wedding venue before?
23. If so, may I please see a complete wedding coverage?
24. If not, will you scout the venue before my wedding day?
25. Are the albums you provide made from archival-quality inks and papers?
26. Do you offer parent albums? 
27. If you do deliver digital images, will be they be backed up in the cloud?
28. If they will be stored in the cloud, for how long?
29. Will I be able to print my images? How about my family?
30. Do you plan to arrive to my wedding site early the day of?
31. How long have you been retouching photos?
32. What software do you use to retouch your photos? (The answer should be Adobe.)
33. Will you curate my wedding day photos prior to delivery?
34. What attire will you and your team wear to my wedding?
35. Do I have to feed you and your team?

Questions to ask Yourself After the Consultation:

1. Did this photographer listen to my needs and address all of my concerns?
2. Do I like and appreciate this photographer’s work? Is it easy to envision myself in his/her images?
3. Do I feel a connection with this photographer? Do I enjoy their personality? (You are going to spend most of your wedding day with this person. Be sure you enjoy their personality.)

The post, 35 Photographer Questions to Ask, first appeared on Ata-Girl Photography Co.’s website and blog. Please feel free to comment here, or share this post with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Please email me if you have any questions about this article or want to share a neat idea for a future blog post with me.