How to hire a wedding photographer & When is the best time to book wedding photographers

How to Hire a Wedding Photographer: The most important decision that you make for your wedding day. That’s why it’s so important to know everything that you wouldn’t normally know and sometimes won’t even be told be those who have the information!

We have been professional Wedding Photographers in Scottsdale Arizona for nearly a decade (at the time of this article). In that time we have heard from hundreds of couples like you, we have been told what they like and what they haven’t liked throughout their process.

This guide will tell you EVERYTHING that you need to know for your big day, what photographers are doing & what they’re not. .

Also Consider Reading: Why an Engagement Session is Important

LET’S GET RIGHT TO IT: How to Hire a Wedding Photographer

Best Times to Book

&

How to Hire A Wedding Photographer

• Wedding booking season is defined as the time between January & April
  • The best time to search for and find the best wedding photographer is between these dates. If the photographers that you like are experienced and in high demand there is a better chance that they will already be booked for your date (especially if your wedding is during a popular time)
  • Popular wedding dates in Arizona are; February through April & October through December.

• Meeting with your potential photographer should be easy.
  • We are available 7 days a week day and night because we’re full-time photographers.
  • We offer video consultations, meeting in person, email chatting, text messaging, and of course phone calls all week long.
• Meeting the photographer that you like is important!
  • While most of our consultations take place in person some happen over the phone or on video chat (about 5-10%). While this is fine in many cases you want to be sure to like your wedding photographer. They will be with you before, during (the entire wedding, unlike other wedding professionals), and after.
  • Be sure that you enjoy spending time with the photographer that you hire. Having fun is all part of the process and will make your day and planning more enjoyable. Plus, when you are relaxed and having fun you will look significantly better in your photos.

Consider Hiring a Husband & Wife Team

A husband and wife team has been working together on every wedding and doesn’t depend on someone else to get the job done right.

• Try to avoid part-time photographers
  • They simply won’t have the experience that fulltime photographers have gained over the years. This is important not only for the quality of your photography but also to help manage your wedding day and the planning of your expectations.
• Make sure that they are responsive.
  • If you have sent out inquiries to photographers and they aren’t getting back to you within the hour or even same day consider that a red flag.
  • You can’t be sure that once your hire them that they will be getting back to you in a timely manor when you need something if they aren’t interested enough to respond quickly before you have even made the decision!
• Consider hiring a husband and wife team.
  • “Associate Photographers” (a photographer that works for the true professional – hoping to build a portfolio of their own work) might be good enough but, to us, “good enough” is never good enough for your wedding.

Experience is Everything – Liking Your Photographer is just as Important!

Experience will carry the day and having a connection with your wedding photographer will help you enjoy every moment while helping you to look your best.

• Ask to see a full wedding gallery.
  • Many photographers can pull out their best portraits and showcase them on their website. What is more challenging and requires a lot of experience is delivering a full wedding gallery in stunning quality that is consistent with every other photo in your collection.
• Have they worked at your venue before?
  • Ok, this goes off the the beaten path. To us, it is never a concern if we have not worked at your chosen venue before. While we have worked at numerous venues across Arizona (and even is many other states/countries) we are never limited by our surroundings.
  • It’s true that for many this might be an important factor so, maybe you should consider this with most but, we feel that a true “professional” should be able to make any situation and circumstance beautiful.
  • Experience is more important than familiarity with the venue. We always show up early enough to scope the place out and lighting is always different depending on the weather and the date. We’ll have the lay of the land and what it will take to make everything perfect in no time!

What Other Photographers Are Doing

v.s.

How We Approach Every Wedding

• Selling “packages” with more than 9 hours.
  • Don’t be fooled into buying more than you need. In the decade that we have been full-time wedding photographers we have never, not once, seen the need for more than a 9 hour photography collection.
  • We offer collections from 5 hours, 7 hours, & 9 hours.
  • These blocks are specifically designed to meet the needs of each unique wedding.

• Not allowing “Printing Rights”.
  • These are YOUR wedding photos and you should be able to do with them what you please.
  • Many wedding photographers are requiring that you print only through their service.
  • Unfortunately, that means that they are able to mark the price up significantly (generally about $30 for one 8×10)!
  • We offer an easy to use printing option in your only gallery but we Do Not Mark the Price Up. They are professional quality and cost effective.

Expect to Receive About 70-100 Photos Per Hour

70-100 photos per hour is what an experience wedding photographer can put out and you should also expect them to ALL be hand developed.

• They’re leaving the Timeline planing to the DJ or Coordinator.
  • This might be a viable option but why leave your precious wedding photography to a timeline that suits the needs of the caterer?
  • Lighting is paramount to quality photography so having some input into when your photography should fit in is important to remembering your wedding in stunning quality!
• Many are providing wedding photos undeveloped.
  • “Straight Out of The Camera” (or known as SOC in the industry). With a high quality, full frame camera this might be ok but it’s not good enough for your wedding.
  • We hand develop EVERY portrait in your gallery through a multi-faceted process, ensuring that every photo is consistent with the rest and presents with beautiful depth and color!

• Settling for less than 50 images per hour.
  • We provide at least 70 images per hours and often 100 or more per hour.
• “Second Shooters”
  • Many photographers explain that your wedding photography will be provided (and even sometimes developed) by an “associate photographer“. This is another way of saying that they have hired a novice photographer who is willing to work for minimum wage in order to gain experience and build a portfolio.
  • We are a husband and wife team, we know each others habits and style, we edit together, and we provide double the experience because we always photograph together!