meeting with a photographer

soo, what should i ask?! I have all these things in my head, but as soon as I grab a piece of paper...they fly away!! lol What should i make sure is in the contrct too?!

Depends on your budget and what you want.

We really wanted to own the pictures. I'd hate to have to track someone down in 5 years if we wanted a print. We were willing to sacrifice fancy books for the right to our photos. All of them!

Do you prefer more traditional photos or are you looking for a more photojournalistic approach?

We also wanted someone with on-line proofing. Since he's from the west coast, we want to be able to send a link of ALL the photos for family members who couldn't make it to look at. One guy we met with did nothing online

What about coverage? A lot of places I saw left after the cake cutting or the garter toss. Our photog said the last dance is as important as the first dance, and she would stay until the very end.

There are sooo many things you can ask, but these were the basics that were important to us.

here is the questions i looked at when i went photographer hunting.

1. Will you personally be the photographer for our wedding?
2. If the answer is no:
   When can we meet the photographer whose work I'm seeing so I can see if I feel comfortable with that person/ see if we
   are on the same wavelength?
3. If you are not talking to the photographer, also ask:
   If the photographer we want no longer works for your studio when our wedding comes up, what will you do?
4. If you are talking to the photographer:
   Are you a full-time photographer?
5. What do you do the rest of the week?
6. What kind of experience, background, and education do you have?
7. Have you received any formal classroom training as a photographer?
8. How long have you been a wedding photographer, and how many weddings have you photographed?
9. Have you handled events of my type and size before?
10. What are the reasons you think we should hire you?
11. Is this your recent work that I'm seeing?
12. Do you use black and white film when photographing in black and white?
13. I'm looking for a photojournalistic photographer.
    What is your definition of 'photojournalism'?
14. What are your criteria for choosing what you would photograph at my wedding?
15. How do you know how many pictures to take?
16. Who is your most favorite photographer
    (not necessarily a wedding photographer)?
17. Have you ever been published in a photography journal/had a show, etc.?
18. What makes your photographs better or different than anybody else's?
19. Why did you choose wedding photography as a career?
20. What time do you arrive to setup your equipment?
21. Hours of service:
22. Do you bring backup equipment with you?
23. How many people will cover the event?
24. Do you provide a written contract and guarantee?
25. What are your policies regarding proofs?
26. What are your policies regarding delivery times?
27. Is a deposit required? If so, how much?
28. When is the deposit due?
29. May I make partial payments?
30. When is the final payment due?
31. Is gratuity included in the price?
32. If not, what is the percentage of the service charge?
33. What percentage are the taxes?
34. What is the overtime charge?
35. Are there any additional charges not mentioned? (i.e. travel)
36. What are the refunds/cancellation terms?
37. A question to ask yourself: Has the photographer addressed your personal concerns satisfactorily?

Make sure he will give you a CD of all the pictures!

It's funny - I met with my (one and only one!) photographer last monday and I googled questions to ask and I wrote them down; I had about 15.  As we drove down to meet her, I reread the questions, and when we met her I had them with me and barely asked them because she covered every single question that I had. (to me, that is a pretty thorough and seasoned photographer).

As she showed her slideslow on her laptop and I think we looked at 5 or so books she brought with her, all of my questions were answered. (I forgot which ones I did ask but they were more of an affirmation on my end)

Needless to say our ride home was a very good one and we both decided we wanted her to be our photographer.  We signed the contract this morning and sent it back to her with her retainer fee.

Also - all of the questions Gthorne has posted - was also all covered in the contract!