Tips Before Hiring a Wedding Photographer in Chicago

Hiring a wedding photographer in Chicago is tough, and handling wedding photography stresses us out too! It is a tremendous responsibility on our shoulders as professional photographers.

Couples have planned the most important day of their lives a year or two in advance and definitely want to have some wonderful pictures to look back at the memory of that day.

Although everyone’s role in the wedding industry is important, in my opinion, the role of the wedding photographer is the most critical of all. At the end of the day, the flowers would perish, the makeup would fade away, and the dress wouldn’t have any use for any other occasions, but the pictures live forever. Therefore Accuracy in photography is very important.

A professional Wedding Photographer captures every detail of the day as well as the interaction and emotion between people in an artistic way that will be treasured by the family forever. Therefore, choosing the right person/company is essential, you may want to pay extra attention when it comes to this important.

Even if you choose the best wedding photographer in Chicago, you always need to know what to ask when you interview your candidate photographer. In your search for The best photographer in Chicago or The highest quality photography in Chicago, you may come across hundreds of names that may or may not be what they advertise for, but you are THE decision-maker and you must eventually choose your artist who photographs your biggest day wisely.

Here is the list of tips before hiring a wedding photographer, as a professional wedding photographer, recommend you consider before hiring a photographer.

20 Tips Before Hiring a Wedding Photographer

1. The photographer shoots in raw format.
2. The photographer is shooting with a professional camera (full-frame).
3. The photographer has professional lenses which can create a shallow depth of field (Prime Lenses)
4. The photographer has a camera that records on two memory cards at the same time to eliminate the risk of losing the file (which is almost zero unless the camera is stolen out of her hands)
5. The photographer won’t leave her camera unattended even for one second, (it sadly had happened here in Chicago that the photographer went to the bathroom in the middle of the wedding and her camera was stolen and all the pictures were gone)
6. The photographer stores the memory cards in two different places at the end of the session to eliminate the risk of losing the cards (in the unlikely case, that her camera is stolen, she will have the files on the other memory card somewhere else, for instance, in her pocket)
7. The photographer has a backup camera.
8. The photographer has multiple flashes.
9. The photographer does off-camera flash during the ceremony.
10. The photographer does off-camera flash during the Reception and speeches.
11. The photographer has plans for emergency situations that may occur on your day. For example, what is she going to do if she gets in an accident and can’t make it to your event? Does she have another photographer available who shoots almost the same style as she does?
12. The photographer has shot enough weddings and events, so she is in control of unplanned or unwanted situations without losing her confidence, because things happen!
13. The photographer has posing ideas that suit you, your style, and your body type.
14. The photographer is not repeating herself over and over with the same pose or lighting techniques. For example, does she have any plan to avoid redundancy?
15. The photographer continues to learn and hone her skills by attending professional workshops and conferences.
16. The photographer has worked with a wide variety of personality types in a way that she can manage every session to get the best result
17. The photographer does indeed have a plan! A comprehensive plan for the entire day and small plans throughout the session.
18. The photographer sticks to the schedule without getting drawn into the fun part and stays focused on creating beautiful pictures!
19. The photographer can handle the crowd, guide people for group shots, and get done the pictures in the best possible way. Believe me! Sometimes it is not easy when everyone else is partying! 🙂
20. And in the end, your choice must be a good wedding storyteller to make your love storybook!

Read more: Choose your wedding storyteller wisely!

What Maloos Photography do for you?

feel free to have a copy of this Tips Before Hiring a Wedding Photographer in hand, when you are interviewing your candidate photographer.

I have an elaborate checklist for you to interview your prospective photographer. please feel free to shoot me an email and ask for it. Here is my email: maloos@maloosphotography.com

With me, all sessions include:

• Pre-session planning and guides. I’ll be with you every step of the way!
• An online gallery of edited, high-resolution digital images
• An app designed for your smartphone (ios/android) to have a selection of your images on your phone to share with your family or friends.
• A Free Second Shooter for all the wedding packages.
• Italian Handmade album options with up to $200 print credit

Do you want to book your free consultation session before to hire a wedding photographer?