How to avoid the Flaky Photographer

I photographed my first wedding in 2007.

Pam & Brian | Denver, CO - One of the very first weddings I photographed.

At that time, hearing about wedding photographers who canceled or otherwise flaked out on a clients was a rare thing. It was the hushed whispers of legend. Campfire tales about shadows flittering around in the darkness. Ghost stories.

The mere thought of a photographer backing out of a wedding was, frankly, inconceivable.

Today? Such a thing is not just commonplace, but nearly an epidemic. The number of times that I've been contacted by panicked couples in desperate need of a wedding photographer because the person they hired has cancelled or, worse, just ghosted them has become frighteningly frequent over the last several years.

These couples thought they hired a "professional" wedding photographer. Someone they could trust.

Why is this happening? One word...

Saturation.

Wedding photography looks like such an easy and fun career. You show up on someone’s best day ever. You take a bunch of awesome photos. You become an Instagram rock star. So believe me, I get the appeal.

All you need is a camera. Right?

The reality is that lot of people jumping into wedding photography wind up in way over their heads.

This problem seems to be most common at the lower price end of photography, where it hurts the people with the tightest budgets.

I do not envy the task of a couple looking to hire someone to photograph their wedding these days.

Now, before I go any further, I want to stress that the point of this blog post is not to bag on lower cost photographers. A lot of the people in the lower tier pricing are merely inexperienced. Their pricing reflects that, as it should. I get it. I was there when I started out, too. And there are plenty of wedding photographers early in their careers who take this job seriously, are honest, and will show up when they say they will. They work with contracts, and wouldn't dream of cancelling on a client.

But at those lower price points, they unfortunately get mingled in with those who view their agreements with couples as optional. Those struggling to be taken seriously are trying to shove their way through a crowd of those treating wedding photography more like a lucrative hobby, rather than a serious business endeavor.

I'm sure that almost all of the photographers who cancel on their clients began with the best intentions. They entered into their agreements gung ho and ready to go. But best intentions don't really count for much when two months before a wedding a panicked couple has to scramble to find a replacement photographer.

The thing is, there's a side to wedding photography that isn't so readily apparent. This business isn't always the best thing in the world for a normal social life. We work the days our friends and families normally have off from regular work hours. Being hired to shoot weddings means I've missed birthday parties, family reunions, and the weddings of my own friends.

The years I’ve been in business, the idea of missing a wedding has never crossed my mind. I've sucked down DayQuil and shot through a flu. I've inhaled pain pills on the final day of Friday-Saturday-Sunday marathon of weddings. There is no such thing as a "sick day" for an event that cannot be rescheduled. I'm not a superman for doing this. I’m not asking for a pat on the back. And I know of many other professional wedding photographers who have sacrificed or worked through just as much.

This is the job.

I do understand how difficult, even frustrating it can be when a best friend calls to announce their wedding on a date you have already booked for a client. Even so, I have zero sympathy if the response is to bail on a contract with a client. When money has exchanged hands, there is an obligation to follow through. This is the commitment we make. As far as I'm concerned, when my clients sign a contract and give me a deposit, they own me on that day.

I'll have to be in a hospital bed before I'd miss it.

And when you are spending your money, be it $500 or $5000 on a wedding photographer, it is not unreasonable for you, as a client, to expect that level of commitment.

So how do you hire a professional wedding photographer? How do you protect yourself from The Flaky Photographer?

Here are some red flags to watch out for:

Red Flag Number One

Make sure your wedding photographer has a contract. This is the big one. If there's no contract, RUN! I don't care how much you like their photos. I don’t care how much they are within your budget. I don’t care how much you vibe with them. A lack of contract is a non-negotiable deal breaker.

Also, make sure their contract actually says what happens if they have to cancel on you. I mean, even I can't guarantee that I won't get hit by a bus. At the very least, the contract should agree to refund your money. Or make sure to provide (at no cost to you) a replacement photographer.

Finally, ask them if they've ever had to cancel on a client before. If the answer is yes, what was the reason and how did they handled it?

Red Flag Number Two

Ask how long they've been doing wedding photography professionally. At the lower price points they probably haven’t been doing it very long. That’s not necessarily a deal breaker. Ask if they plan to make this their full time job, or if it's just a side thing. There's no right or wrong answer.

What you are really looking for is whether they seem passionate and serious. If are a little too casual about the job, maybe you should walk away.

Red Flag Number Three

Find out if they are willing to let you speak with past clients. Again, if you’re considering someone fairly new, this might be tricky. There simply may not be many past clients for you to talk to. But if you can talk to at least one, it will help give you the peace of mind that they actually have followed through with photographing a wedding before.

If they seem hesitant about this, it should be a huge red flag.

Red Flag Number Four

Talk to your other wedding vendors (reception space, DJ, etc.). Ask if they have heard of the photographer or ever worked with them. If you are going with outside help to plan and coordinate your wedding, such as a company like Event Design, they can be an excellent resource for steering you toward a reliable photographer (as well as other vendors).

Other vendors not having worked with your photographer might not be a big deal. Being unwilling to talk about them or saying negative things could signal a problem.

Red Flag Number Five

If you feel uneasy about the wedding photographer at all, don't be afraid to walk away. It doesn't matter if the price is right. It doesn’t matter if the photos are great. If your gut tells you they might be flaky, then trust it. It's better to locate another photographer, rather than go with someone you're uneasy about. As long as you're planning far enough from your wedding date, you'll have plenty of options. But if you get left hanging out to dry close to your date? That's when it'll be tough to find a replacement.

So how does this all add up?

Maybe unsatisfactory answers to any one of the above might not be a strong enough red flag against the wedding photographer you want to hire. (Except the no contract -- if they don't have a contract, don't even think about it). But several or all of these apply to the wedding photographer you're looking at? It's really not worth it for you to risk it. As long as you're planning ahead, you will be able to find plenty of wedding photographers to choose from.

Also, it's worth pointing that that none of the red flags above had anything to do with how much the wedding photographer is charging. Merely being low cost doesn't mean they are a risky photographer.

Look, if you're reading this, I'm not going to lie. I hope you're considering Studio Orange to photograph your wedding. But even if I'm way out of your budget, I don't want to see you get burned by someone you put your trust in. Your big day is too important for that.

I would say that most of us photographers are generally and genuinely honest and enthusiastic. Most of us are professional. But there are many out there who seem to be causing real problems for couples, and they give the rest of us a bad name in the process. Some diligence on your part will help to keep you safe. It will give you a much better chance of making sure the memories of your wedding are preserved.