Photography Questionnaires: What to ask before showing up
When you book a wedding it can be really exciting, especially when you're new to the business. But that's just half of it. The other half is knowing enough about the people in front of your camera that you're not guessing when the day gets hectic. A short photography questionnaire does that work for you, if you ask the right things. Too many of us send a form that feels like paperwork, or we skip it and hope the timeline PDF covers everything. It rarely does. Here's what is worth asking before you pack the gear, and what you can leave out.
Most wedding photography questionnaires ask the wrong things
Does this sound familiar? You copy a questionnaire from a wedding photographer you like, add a few extra questions just in case, and suddenly your couple is staring at a document that feels a. not like the photographer they booked and b. more like homework. Or you swing the other way and send nothing, then spend the week before the wedding digging through old emails for a mom's name or the getting ready address.
The questionnaire is a critical piece so you can show up already knowing the people, the places, and the things that can make you look like a total pro and enhance their experience with you.
A good wedding photography questionnaire has three jobs
A great questionnaire serves 3 needs:
-First, the essentials: Not being late or lost
-Second, the creative stuff: The general direction the couple is wanting
-Third, the personal items: Knowing them on a deeper level
If the questionnaire doesn't fit into these categories, drop it.
The Essentials
Here's some examples of things to ask on the wedding questionnaire that would fit into the essentials bucket:
-Where is everyone getting ready
-What time you should arrive and leave
-Planner contact
-Any timelines
The Creative Stuff
This is the part most forms skip, and it's the part that actually shows up in the photos. Some examples of creative stuff inside a questionnaire look like:
- Asking what they wanna highlight.
-Asking how they want the day to feel when they look back at it a year from now.
-Ask if there are people in particular that are really important to them.
-Asking a question about whether they like portraits vs the dancefloor which helps establish the idea if they prefer candid stuff vs posed.
Even asking them how comfortable they are on a scale of 1-10 in front of the camera. Most creative direction is just helping someone feel relaxed in front of the camera and this ask in the questionnaire could really help you understand them better.
The Personal
Every good questionnaire likely has a list of personalized questions that help you better get the couple. Some suggestions:
-Perhaps most obvious, but a general family list of immediate (mom, dad, brother, sister with bride and groom) is tablestakes. From there you can ask if there's any additional one they'd like.
-Asking in the questionnaire if there are any keepsakes, jewelry, invites, personalized things that they really want photographed.
-Any potential deaths or divorces in the family you should be made aware so you don't put your foot in your mouth.
- What the names of grandparents and parents are (this is your job to study before the day so you can have a strong handle on everyone's names).
-What their address is for after the wedding. If you really wanna go above and beyond you can send gifts to your clients on their anniversary and parent gifts as well.
A great questionnaire combines these 3 categories in varied ways without overwhelming the client.
When to send the questionnaire
Typically sending the questionnaire a month or so beforehand is fine. Timelines and details often time are nearly established at that date.
How to use the questionnaire on the day
Swiftbooks will put your questionnaire inside your inbox the day before the wedding for easy referencing. But be sure to ready it over thoroughly the night before. If you have a second shooter, send them the same notes so you're not the only one who forgets the name of the mother of the bride.
Questionnaire's wrap:
Preparing for a wedding day looks like having an awesome questionnaire for any kind of situation a day might throw at you. Swiftbooks gives you a great start here with having questionnaires built into projects so there's less scrambling around looking for client details and more efficiency for your wedding business.
What’s Next for Your Business?
-Check out our other guides to level up your photography workflow: