I have been photographing and filming weddings in New York and New Jersey for ten years, and the couples who end up happiest are almost always the ones who asked hard questions before they booked anyone. Not just "are you free on our date" but how the day will actually run, who will be standing behind the camera and what happens to the photos once the music stops.
This is the list I would hand my own family if they were interviewing photographers. Use it with us, use it with anyone else you are speaking to. A good photographer will be glad you asked.
Start With Full Galleries
Every photographer has twenty beautiful images on their homepage. That tells you very little. Ask to see two or three complete galleries from real weddings, start to finish, including the getting ready, the family portraits and the reception at night when the light is hardest.
- Can I see a full gallery from a wedding similar in size to ours?
- Do you have work from venues like ours, or from venues with similar light?
- Can I watch a full wedding film, not only the highlight?
If you want to do this with us, our portfolio has real weddings and our films page has the full edits.
Questions About Experience And Style
Style is personal, so the goal here is to find out whether the photographer can deliver the look you love on your day, in your venues, with your families.
- How would you describe your style, and how much do you direct people versus let moments happen?
- How many multi-day weddings have you covered?
- How do you handle family portraits when there are dozens of relatives to include?
- How do you work in a dark ballroom or under colored uplighting?
For South Asian weddings the last two questions matter more than most couples expect. Families are large, timelines run long and the key moments are short. If you want to see how we approach this, read about our South Asian wedding photography.
Questions About Your Events And Timeline
A wedding in New York or New Jersey can be one afternoon or four days across three venues. Your photographer should want to know about all of it before giving you a quote.
- Which events would you recommend covering, and for how long at each?
- How do you plan around a Baraat, a ceremony and a reception on the same day?
- Will you confirm the timeline with our planner before the wedding?
- What happens if the schedule runs late?
Before every wedding my team goes through the timeline with the couple and the planner, along with a family list for the portraits, so nobody is chasing an uncle across the ballroom at the last minute.
Questions About The Team On The Day
This is the question couples forget most often: who is actually coming? The person you meet on a call is not always the person who shows up.
- Will you personally be at our wedding, and who else is on the team?
- How many photographers and videographers do you recommend for our events?
- Can the team cover the bride and groom getting ready in different places?
- Do your photographers and videographers work together regularly, or are they hired per job?
Photo and video from one team is a real advantage. The photographer and the videographer are not stepping in each other's shots, and one plan covers the whole day.
Questions About Video And Drone
- Do you film the speeches and vows with proper audio?
- Can you deliver a same-day edit for the reception?
- Is drone coverage possible at our venue, and who checks the airspace rules?
- Can you capture vertical clips for social media alongside the film?
That last one is new, and it is coming up on almost every call I take. Zola's First Look Report found that couples are increasingly asking their photographers and videographers to capture social-first content as part of the plan for the day, right alongside the traditional album. We already film engagement teasers vertical for couples who want them for their reels.
On drones, ask whether the pilot is certified. In the United States anyone flying a drone for paid work needs an FAA Part 107 certificate, and that matters for your venue's insurance as much as for the footage.
Same-day edits are one of my favorite things to make. We cut the film during the wedding and screen it that night, and the room reaction is always worth it. You can see examples on our wedding videography page, and read about drone photo and video if your venue has grounds worth showing from above.
Questions About Editing And Delivery
- Who edits the photos and films, and are they in-house?
- When will we receive our sneak peek, our full gallery and our film?
- How are files delivered, and for how long can we download them?
- Do you offer albums and prints, and who designs them?
Ask for delivery timelines in writing. At Verma Photography our editors are in-house, so the people who know your wedding are the ones finishing it.
Questions About Contracts And Your Date
- When is our date officially held?
- What is included in the quote, and what would cost extra?
- What happens if a photographer is sick on the day?
- Is there a written agreement that lists every event, hour and deliverable?
With us, your date is held once we both sign the agreement, and that agreement lists your events and coverage clearly.
How I Answer These For Our Couples
Our studio is in New York and we cover Long Island, New York City, Westchester, the Hudson Valley and all of New Jersey, plus destination weddings. When you send us your date, we reply within 24 hours, and the first conversation is exactly this list: your events, your venues, your families and what you want to look back on.
If you are still choosing a venue, I also wrote about Indian wedding venues on Long Island and in New Jersey from a photographer's point of view. And if you want to know what other couples say about working with us, read our reviews.
The Short Version
- See full galleries and full films, not highlights.
- Walk through every event and how long each needs.
- Confirm exactly who will be on the team.
- Ask about audio, same-day edits and drone.
- Get editing, delivery and albums in writing.
- Know when your date is held and what the agreement covers.
Jay Verma
Verma Photography, New York