What questions did you ask your wedding photographer?

My wedding photographer was uninsured and her first time shooting a wedding. The best choice I ever made. It really depends on the work they put into making your day special. She had no experience in weddings and has since done weddings a few times. The thing that made her such a fantastic photographer was the effort she put into it and her personality. Instantly was at ease and trusted the photographer whole-heartedly. If you feel comfortable with your photographer and/or feel like you can trust them the day of... then book them. I've worked with photographers I didn't feel comfortable around just because of their style and professionalism and it has either barely gotten me images I've loved or just left me dissatisfied.

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

AGREED!! This statement is amazing. Along with this we have to remember all photographers have to start somewhere. When I initially started doing weddings I was just like the described photographer. The biggest things to keep in mind, with someone newer there is a risk. Do you want to take that risk? Also, the comfort aspect is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. If you don’t feel comfortable with your photographer you’re going to end up having a bad wedding day. Thank you SOO much for sharing your experience. It’s super important.

@JaviyEve

2 жыл бұрын

I have covered over 40 weddings and I am not insured yet. I am currently working towards getting insured tho.

Awesome, love your content! It’s so beneficial. Thank you for sharing!

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.

Hey John, your work is so inspiring! Quick question, how do you mount the 360 camera to your shoulder?

6:06 Asking if your photographer uses dual card slots is not good enough, IMHO. Also ask specifically if they have their cameras set up so every image goes to both cards - since you can set it up differently. Also, ask if they will be making backups _during the day_ as well. We use portable backup systems to copy everything to, on at least two, but usually three moments in the day. After we copied the cards to the backup system, that system will then send everything to cloud storage. So even if "lightning strikes" on our way home and we lose everything for some freakish reason, the images will be safe in the cloud.

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing that backup process. That's a good point as well about backups.

I get asked a lot : "When will I get my photos". I usually take a month and male sure that in the signed contract and book time in my agenda (not only for the wedding day) but also for the edit. The clients I had loved to see the schedual and time that went into the project :)

great answers to FAQ!

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly! 👏👏👏

Can you make a video going into detail about how to get insured and how to make your business legal please :)

Nice video! My brother's wedding is coming up so it's nice having some reference of conferences/questions they should have. I was wondering about your 5th question: how much is a photographer allow to show the couple? Because as you mention, family photos are always tricky to put online so should have the previous couple had agreed to being shown later on? It would also be nice to have a video on how to choose your weddings, what you should expect on the couples as well. Like you've mentioned before, vibes between the two are important, and maybe the couple likes you but something may have thrown you off about them.. I don't know if it's possible to have a video on that. Anyway, love your content as always! Happy new year.

Hey John Trying to define my style and approach. Can you go in detail a bit

Great!

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.

i love this tone vibe.. warm, could you share how do you color grading your videos

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

I actually don’t color grade my videos at all. This is Fujifilm colors straight out of camera.

4:40 You can miss me with the wedding food. In all my years doing this, only once was the food actually good, and it happened to be tacos from an up and coming roach coach. It was at Cielo Farms btw surprisingly. Wedding food is almost always cold, under seasoned and undercooked at best. Not only do I work best on an empty stomach, but why fight for undercooked cold chicken with cream or a dry piece of beef/salmon ??? Or worse! Being insulted with some cheap boxed lunch. Nothing says hired help more than getting that as your meal. 🙃 If anything, I just ask the client to give my food to someone else, give me a twenty to buy tacos on my way home or just let me have a drink or two from the bar and we're even.

@jbivphotography

7 ай бұрын

Wow really? I’ve been shooting weddings for 10 years now and I’ve only gotten a cold meal/boxed lunch once. All the food I’ve gotten is the same stuff the guests are eating and it’s really good actually. The last wedding I did had a surf and turf. It was great. Sorry to hear you’ve had bad experiences all the time.

Insurance protects both the client and the photographer. If the client sues you, the insurance can cover that as well - injury, errors and omissions, etc.

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

You all heard it here first from Reggie himself. This is exactly what I'm talking about.

Great job, all good questions, I would ask do you have a second and or 3rd camera with you and back up lens? Any of these can fail. I have 2 bodies with me at all times. ready to go, can't miss that 1 moment. Alot of times I run a wide 4k video camera on a tripod for the ceremony as a hail Mary last chance back up, and can pull pretty hi res pics off it if something gets missed or I have a camera issue for a few seconds. I never even erase the sd cards until every photo has been delivered to the bride. Better safe then sorry no issues since 2012, knock on wood, Keep up the great videos!

Kindly share more on question 2, what type of insurance are you referring to? Equipment? Life insurance etc? And whats the benefit to the couple if a photographer is insured?

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

Totally. Basically the main insurance that’s important to the couple is going to be liability insurance. This way if someone gets hurt, or if the photog breaks something at their venue someone is able to pay for it. Insurance for gear/life insurance would be mainly focused for the photographer.

I hope you see this John. But the preset i bought from you is not working for me or does it not work for Canon?

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

Hi. The preset works for all camera bodies. Keep in mind with the preset you still have to edit and white balance the photo. Also if you’re shooting with JPEG you won’t get the best results.

Personally I am not insured at the moment. Where’s the best place to get insurance from?

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

I’m currently using hill and usher. I’m a big fan. The main thing you need to get insured for is liability. Insurance for your own stuff is a little different.

@JaviyEve

2 жыл бұрын

@@jbivphotography cool. Thanks 🙏🏼 what do you use to insure your gear?

@sleepyricky4826

2 жыл бұрын

@@jbivphotography Thank you so much for distinguishing the differences!

How would you answer the question about THE COST, so the client wont hesitate to book your service?

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

Cost shouldn't be a question. If it is then there's a problem to your branding and approach. When I speak with my couples cost isn't a part of the conversation. Value and what they'll be getting are the main things we're talking about. Also making sure we're compatible.

John I think this might be the first time I’ve disagreed with you. On the issue of dual card slots and backup process. You mentioned yourself that when you started 8 years ago, you still needed to grow in some areas. I think to dissuade new photographers is a bit disingenuous. Based on your own video, you wouldn’t have recommend you, early in your career. I’m not saying that the dual cars slots and back processes aren’t important but how can new photographers become veterans if they don’t grow and have growing pains? Plus with the new cards, XQD and CF express, they rarely fail. Just some thoughts from a long time fan of your channel.

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

Totally understand. I also agree with that fact that most cards never fail, I’ve actually never had a card failure in my whole life. The biggest thing here is I’m trying to save couples from the headache of inexperience. While I basically had none of these things I talk about when I started it was a HIGH risk for my couples. That’s also why however I charged lower prices. So it’s more so just understanding that you get what you pay for. I’m going to do another video like this geared towards couples and I’ll be going more into depth with that as well. Thank you for sharing your opinion. Really appreciate it.

@locochoify

2 жыл бұрын

I do agree that it is an important question, just maybe not one that you should worry too much about. Technology can be problematic unexpectedly, and like with insurance, is always reassuring knowing if there is a problem, how will it be handled. I don't think we should demand much about back ups, but at least the fair minimum the photographer should have.

The most important question in my area is "how much will it cost". 😔

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

Cost shouldn't be a question. If it is your branding is off. Put your starting price on your website. This will get rid of the people only concerned about cost. That way you can focus on value and worth of service rather than price only. As someone who "started from the bottom" and has raised prices 4 times trust me that having cost not a pawrt of your conversations because you've already made it clear to your couples is the best scenario.

The people commenting that they are NOT insured is BS!!!! my insurance ( 2 million liability ) is only $28 per months ( thru Hiscox)!! it's not that hard!!!!! just skip a couple of Lattes per month!!!! most venues require insurance!!!!....same as DBA registration : only $60 and valid for 5 years!!! if you don't have insurance, I wonder if you also skip on paying taxes???!!!

@JaviyEve

2 жыл бұрын

👀

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah these are essentials and they're usually easy to get. I'll be honest my first year I had no idea what I was doing but I quickly got on insurances and things. It's totally needed. Also, a lot of couple's venues will ask for proof of insurance from the photographer. It's a must have.

here in Canada, I legit know personally know 5 20 plus year wedding photogs. none have insurance. they dual card slot comment is something I mention often and get shit on about. I think its absurd to shoot a wedding with a one card slot camera.

So you had all of this when you started?

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

I did not. However it was investments I made soon and really early. I think it’s highly important to build upon these things as a photographer and for couples it’s important for them to have the certainty that there wedding photographer is seasoned and experienced. Especially once you get to the higher end wedding clients.

@I_Am_Jos_A

2 жыл бұрын

That's going to take some time, lol. Thanks for all your knowledge, bro. I appreciate it. It would be dope if you would go over marketing stuff. It's the one thing I feel has been helping me get off the ground with all of this.

John, when you started, have you been already insured? Have you had full backup’s? Have you used dual slot, multiple cards? Did you had full wedding gallery when you started? I can answer for you, NO, you havent. You have started somewhere same as anyone who is starting. So please, stop ruining experience for photographers who are just at the beginning of the career. Cheers pal

I disagree with the insured question. Some of the best photographers I have met have never even looked into becoming insured. I am not sure how having your gear insured and covered is important for the couple. There are many other ways for a photographer to prove that they are serious business. Having your gear insured is not up there in my opinion.

@kenlwray

2 жыл бұрын

We'll see if John responds but from my view this is still important. Not about gear but for the public. I'll set an example, say you hand out sparklers for an exit shoot, someone burn themselves and now they want to out in a claim against you as you handed out the sparklers and therefore you're responsible. Without insurance what would you do?

@jbivphotography

2 жыл бұрын

It’s not insurance for the gear (that’s a part of it too) I’m mainly talking about liability insurance (I should have specified). This way if the photographer hurts you, or breaks anything at a venue you’re at you won’t be responsible at all.

@matil7039

2 жыл бұрын

I really don't mean to pick on you specifically, but the comments about the insurance here are very telling and illustrate the point perfectly! It's one of those small things (not necessarily crucial, but helpful) that can help you distinguish an amateur from a professional. Like John said, being a good photographer and running your business well are two totally different things.