When you're thinking about booking a wedding photographer in Scotland, you should ask them at least these twelve questions. I'm sure you'll have your own to add as well!
1. How many weddings do you photograph a year?
2. Do you have Public Liability and Public Indemnity insurance?
3. What percentage of your bookings is through recommendations?
4. Can we see some recent completed packages?
5. How flexible are you? (Can you cope with a venue or church you don't know? What will you do if the weather is awful?)
6. Do you bring spare camera equipment with you?
7. Can you recommend other services and suppliers to help us plan our day?
8. How long do we have to wait to see our photographs?
9. Are you a wedding specialist, or do you mainly work in other areas of commercial photography?
10. Do you limit yourself to one style, or can you mix and match to meet our requirements?
11. What can I do with the image files you supply on disc?
12. What do you wear on the day of the wedding?
And in the interests of transparency, here are my answers to the 12...
How many weddings do you photograph a year?
Q Photography: Never more than 35 - I want to approach each wedding in a fresh way. I don't want to be 'burned out.'I know that every wedding is different and unique and I really have to be on my toes and be supper observational the entire day. I don'r resort to cliches and don't expect you or your guests to perform any of the 'hilarious' poses recommended by wedding photography manuals and magazines. My photographs are of the reality of the day.
Do you have Public Liability and Public Indemnity insurance?
Q Photography: Yes, I have both.
What percentage of your bookings is through recommendations?
Q Photography: Usually around 70% each year.
Can we see some recent completed packages?
Q Photography: Of course - when we have our initial meeting, I always bring along the memory stick, and prints or wedding album from a recent wedding. I also have a selection of other albums to show you.
How flexible are you? (Can you cope with a venue or church you don't know? What will you do if the weather is awful?)
Q Photography: Although I now exclusively work as a wedding photographer in Scotland, I used to work as an editorial photographer on Fleet Street (for The Independent and The Daily Telegraph, among others) so I'm used to being thrown in at the deep end, and of having to cope with no prior notice of events at all. Nowadays, if I haven't been to a venue or church before, I will have a quick look round before I start work on the morning of the wedding. That way I know how the gardens look, what the weather is likely to do, and the places we can use in case of 'Plan B' - the wet weather plan!
Do you bring spare camera equipment with you?
Q Photography: Yes - I bring spare everything! Camera bodies, lenses, flash guns, memory cards, batteries, more batteries..... Your wedding day is too important not to.
Can you recommend other services and suppliers to help us plan our day?
Q Photography: There's a few people on my Useful Information page, and I'm always willing and available to help and advise if you're having a problem. Once you've booked me, I'm always accessible via phone or email.
How long do we have to wait to see our photographs?
Q Photography: Normally there's a selection on my web site within a week of your wedding. By the time you're back from your honeymoon, the memory stick will be ready to mail out to you via First Class post. If you've ordered an album, that will take longer, and is partly dependent on how long it takes for you to approve the choice of photographs and design. But once you've done that, your album should arrive within two to three weeks.
Are you a wedding specialist, or do you mainly work in other areas of commercial photography?
Q Photography: I only photograph weddings, and occasionally portraits too. I no longer work for editorial clients, although you can see examples of my previous life on my grosset web site. I'm also trying to work on my personal landscape work.
Do you limit yourself to one style, or can you mix and match to meet our requirements?
Q Photography: Although the vast majority of my photographs are taken 'as I see them' in a fly on the wall style, I do pose photographs too. Obviously there's all the family group shots to take, and the formal portraits of the bride and groom. However, many of the 'posed' photos of the bride and groom are in fact just 'directed' - I position the bride and groom in the best location and best light and then let them express their feelings for each other.
What can I do with the image files you supply on disc?
Q Photography: Because I'm giving you the full resolution image files, you can do anything you want as long as it's for personal, non-commercial purposes. So, you can use one on your thank you cards, or print another on T shirts for your bridesmaids. You can't then sell the cards, or the T-shirts, without my permission. You can make as many prints as you want, but you can't sell them, or make them into posters and take them down to the local market to sell!
What do you wear on the day of the wedding?
Q Photography: A dark suit, a white shirt and a tie. It may seem like an odd question, but I'm frequently asked it! It appears that some photographers dress to be the centre of attention, and frequently, inappropriately. On a hot day, you will not see me dressed casually, and on any day you will NEVER see me dressed like this - the official photographer at my friend Chris' wedding in France!
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