Five Questions to ask your Senior Photographer

Jan 23

We are so lucky in Wichita to have so many great photographers, each with their own style and way of running their business. Here are a few questions you can ask a photographer to know if they are the right photographer for you!

Do I select my final senior photos or does the photographer?
You get to select your senior photos at Stay Wild. You do this at the Image Premiere, which is the same week as the senior photo session. I’ll perform final edits on these images and send them to you in an online gallery. You can share this gallery with friends and family if you want.
There are some photographers who pick their favorites images and send them to you in an online gallery.
How do they care for the images after the photo session?
During the session, my camera records the images on two separate memory cards so there is a backup in case one fails. I also take the upmost care with memory cards after your session. After your session, usually the next day, I upload the images on my computer and backup. I wait until final delivery of images to format my memory cards. For your final images, those are backed up in two different places. I still have images from 10+ years ago.
What is the photographer’s turnaround time?
From shoot day to Image Premiere is the same week. After the Image Premiere, I perform final edits on the images you select. Those usually take one week, two weeks max.
This varies so much between photographers. I’ve heard that some seniors wait months to get their images. Whatever the timeline is, it should be communicated to you up front and specified in a senior photo contract.
Do you have backup equipment? What happens if something happens to their equipment during the photo shoot?
I always have backup equipment that includes extra camera bodies and lenses. I actually had my camera break on a photo session recently and had to pull out my backup camera body.
If the photographer is new, they may not have backup equipment. I know I didn’t when I first started.
Do they offer a consultation or do you meet them for the first time the day of the photo session?

I like to meet my seniors before their session at a Senior Photo Consultation. This is the time where we plan your session and get to know each other!

There are some photographers who prefer to do everything over email and then meet the first time at the photo session.