Over on Danielle Pasternaks Planning Blog she wrote a post the other day “11 not so obvious questions for your wedding photographer!”
From Danielle’s blog – “As you hunt for your team of wedding vendors, you will find several sites offering you “questions to ask” when it comes to your meetings. They serve as great guidelines but what you really want to focus on is how well you gel. If you get along with your creative pro, you will result in LOADS better results every time. They will enjoy themselves more and you will end up much happier.”
We thought she did a great job of identifying some important questions that aren’t always asked! So we thought we’d go through her questions one by one and give our potential clients the answers. Here they are!
01. Will you be our photographer on our wedding day?
We keep our packages very simple. For Photography Trev has a rate and we have a staff rate. Trev’s rate is slightly more because he is an owner and has higher demand so you pay a slight premium. (Eventhough with all packages Trev still oversees and the editing process on all weddings!) If you book Trev’s package you are guaranteed Trev! If you book a staff package you will know who your photographer is about a month prior to the wedding. During prep regardless you will work with Trev who coordinates staffing and the planning process, logistics, your personalized itinerary and serves as your main contact person throughout the process. When you purchase a “staff” package you will typically know who your photographer is 1 month prior. If you want to meet or speak with your photographer prior to your even in addition to working with Trevor on planning just let us know!
02. What will you wear on our wedding day?
Our staff always comes to your wedding dressed in black on black with the goal of “fading into the background”. We do our job best when we do it un-obtrusively. This is always our goal. As Danielle mentions in her blog, if it’s important to you just let us know. We typically don’t wear jackets over our black button downs, but for the most formal of affairs it’s perfectly acceptable to ask us to and we’ll most certainly oblige!
03. Do you have an assistant and/or second shooter?
Our Photography packages come with 1 shooter. (Film with 2) Excellent distinction Danielle makes between 2nd’s and assistants. We do not use assistants but sometimes for certain weddings we strongly suggest the purchase of 2nd shooters while we always encourage it. There is a cost associated with this because as Danielle clarifies a second shooter is a second professional photographer who works at a professional rate. While we do not make money off selling 2nd shooters we charge what we pay them and they are always staff members who work with us on a regular basis.
04. What happens if you become ill on our wedding day?
Emergencies happen. So we hope for the best while planning for the worst. Rest assured emergency situations are always accounted for and a backup plan is always in place!
05. How long after the wedding will we have to wait to see any photos?
Our sneak peak blogposts are usually available within 3 weeks of your wedding date and posted on our blog and your FB page! Turnaround times for your proof DVD’s vary pending the season. (ask for specific dates) For print orders made online we offer FREE next day delivery.
06. Do you have any backup equipment?
Of course! (And importantly all our gear is insured!) Cameras get dropped, lenses break. These are facts of life. Gotta be ready when it happens!
07. What is your attitude normally like on a wedding day?
It’s important to be reserved and polite. The photographer is not the star of the show, but the person who photographs the stars of the show! Oftentimes we get to know our clients through the planning process and really when the wedding day comes… well we feel like we’ve known our clients forever! This is one of the reasons we love what we do so much.
08. How many weddings/events do you photograph in one weekend?
For Films only 1 per night. For Photography and DJ 2 a night 2 max. We have no plans of “multi-opping” or doing more then we do now. This is the amount we are comfortable with while maintaining our high level of quality and service and for now we plan on staying with what we offer now. (critical to understand for film since once we’re booked…. we’re booked! Popular dates book 1- 1/2 years in advance!)
09. Do you allow other people (guests) to take photos while you are?
We typically have no problem with this so long as it doesnt affect our ability to provide the services we’re contracted for!
