About Their Business

• Do you offer a satisfaction guarantee?  This tells you if you if they are willing to back up their work, and can also be an indicator of how motivated someone is to get it right. 

• Do you have back up gear?  This is a measure of their professionalism and preparedness.  It lets you know if they are prepared for equipment failure, which most professional photographers will tell you is inevitable at some point.

• Do you carry equipment & liability insurance?  This tells you if they are covered (and therefore if you are covered) if, for example, your child trips on a lightstand and either hurts themself or breaks an expensive piece of equipment.

• Why should I hire you?  This tells you what they think differentiates them and what they value.  Which also tells you whether what they value is in line with what you value.

About The Photo Session

• Do you photograph on location or in-studio?  Helps assess whether their style of work will be in line with yours.  Of course this is most helpful if you already know what your own preference is between studio and on-location…

• What is a photo session with you like?  How long does the photo session last and what can I expect?  Lets you know if the photographer has a consistent enough process to be able to articulate a “typical session,” gives you an idea of how much time you need to budget for the session, and should give you an idea of how the photographer interacts with you during a session.

• Do you have any restrictions I should know about, such as whether others are allowed to take pictures while you are working?  This is helpful in establishing correct expectations, as copyright laws are often poorly understood but many photographers do not allow others to take pictures while they are working.  Always good to have a clear understanding up front of any restrictions!

• How much does the portrait session cost, what do your packages cost, and what is your average client spend?  This is a good question to identify a likely range for your total investment.  Your minimum expected cost (session fee + lowest package price) as well as what you would spend if you were an “average” total sale for this photographer.  If your budget is well below the average spend, that is a good sign that you might not be able to get as much product as you would want for that photographer’s price point.

• What should I wear?  Tells you a little more about the photographer’s style (if the answer to this is something that is NOT in your comfort zone, talk to the photographer to see if they will be able to accommodate your style while staying true to theirs.  Too much disparity here could be a sign that you are not a good fit for each other.

About Your Images

• Will I own the copyright or print rights to my images?  This is very important to know, as it determines whether you will need to come back to the photographer anytime you want to buy additional artwork with your images.  Most photographers retain full copyright, but print rights will give you much more freedom to order and use your images as you choose, from where you choose.

• How long until I can view or get copies of my pictures from my photo session?  This gives you an idea of how busy and how efficient a photographer is.  Standards for portrait photography are usually in the range of 1-4 weeks.

• How much/what type of editing will you do? (tip: ask to see a before and after, this is a big part of personal style and can help identify whether their style is right for you!)  Custom photography almost always includes some level of image retouching or editing.  This helps ensure perfect color balance, allows for editing out distracting elements, and can be used to remove any non-permanent marks on skin, hair, or clothes.  A photographer that doesn’t offer any is likely to be a budget photographer.  Getting a before and after sample will give you a good idea of how extensive the photographer’s retouching is, and whether you like their style.  Like photography itself, editing images is an art with many different styles.