How to Choose a Wedding Photographer in the Philippines

Choosing a wedding photographer shouldn’t be a snap decision. (Sorry. That one had to come out early.) The food gets eaten and the flowers wilt, but the photos end up on the family wall. Here’s how to choose a wedding photographer in the Philippines: what to look for, what to ask, and what to get in writing before you pay.

Decide what you need first

Photographers can only quote what you tell them. Before you ask anyone for a price, settle:

1. Which parts of the day you want covered. Getting ready, the ceremony, the reception, or all of it. Write down the hours.
2. Whether you want a prenup shoot. It’s a separate session, often on a different day and in a different place, so it changes the quote.
3. Photos, video or both. Some studios do both; others work with a videographer. If you want both, say so from the start.
4. The date, the places and the times. The church or ceremony venue, the reception venue, and how far apart they are.

Give every photographer the same answers. Then you’re comparing quotes for the same job.

Look at full galleries, not just highlights

A portfolio shows a photographer’s best shots. A full gallery from one wedding shows what you’ll actually get. Ask for one or two, from start to finish, and look for:

• Consistency. Are the ordinary moments as good as the showpiece ones?
• Low light. Churches and evening receptions are dim. Check how those photos look.
• People. Candid moments, and the big family photos where everyone has to be in the frame and awake.
• An editing style you’ll still like later. Trends in colour and filters come and go. (Every decade has a filter. Some of ours are best left in the album.)

If you like what you see, ask whether the person who took those photos is the one who’ll shoot your wedding.

Ask what the package includes

A package name tells you little. Ask what’s inside it:

• How many photographers, and for how many hours.
• The prenup shoot, if you want one: included, or separate.
• How many edited photos you’ll receive, or whether you get every usable shot.
• How the photos are delivered, such as an online gallery or a drive, and by when.
• Albums and prints: included, or extra.
• A same-day edit shown at the reception, if you want one.
• Unedited files: whether you can have them, or only the edited ones.

Questions to ask every photographer

Three questions are worth asking every supplier, and they work for photographers too:

1. What is the total price, with every extra?
2. What happens if either of us has to cancel or change the date? Ask for the answer in writing.
3. What is your backup if something goes wrong, such as illness or equipment failure?

Then add the ones that matter for photos:

• Who exactly will shoot our wedding? If it’s a studio, ask for that person’s name and their own gallery.
• How long until we get the photos, and in what form?
• How long do you keep our files, and can we ask for copies later?
• Can you use our photos in your portfolio or ads? Tell them what you’re comfortable with.
• Have you worked at our venue before? If not, ask whether they’ll look at it first.

Ask your church or venue, too, whether it has rules for photographers, such as where they can stand during the ceremony. Better to find out now than halfway down the aisle.

Check for extras

These are the ones that catch hosts out. Ask each photographer about them:

• Overtime. What is the hourly rate, and when does the clock start and stop? Receptions have a way of running long. (So do our videoke turns. We’re working on it.)
• Transport and out-of-town fees, parking and tolls, especially if the venues are far apart or outside the city.
• Meals for the photographer’s team, if they expect to be fed on the day.
• Extra prints, albums and rush delivery, if they aren’t in the package.

Put it in writing

Once you’ve chosen, get the agreement in writing. Chat messages and receipts are a record, but a written agreement is clearer for both of you. It should cover:

• what is included and what isn’t, and the total price;
• who will shoot, the date, the start and end times, and the overtime rate;
• what you’ll receive and by when;
• the payment schedule, with an official receipt for each payment;
• cancellation and change terms in both directions: if you cancel, and if the photographer does;
• a backup or replacement if the photographer can’t make it.

Check the photographer is real

Beautiful photos and a busy page aren’t proof the business exists. Before you pay a deposit:

1. Check they exist offline too. Ask for the business name and its registration or permit details, and check them yourself.
2. Meet or video-call first. Don’t pay a stranger you found only through an ad.
3. Ask the venue or other suppliers who has worked there reliably.
4. Don’t treat reviews, awards or a busy social page as proof.
5. Pay in ways you can trace, and keep every receipt.

Line the proposals up

Put each photographer’s answers in one table, so the differences come into focus. Here’s a made-up example. It leaves out prices on purpose.

	Photographer A	Photographer B
Who shoots on the day	Named, same as gallery	Not stated
Second photographer	Yes	No
Prenup shoot	Included	Charged separately
Delivery date in writing	Yes	Not stated
Album	Included	Extra
Cancellation terms	In writing	Not stated

Two packages can carry the same price and still give you very different days. The table shows you which one fits yours.

When to start

For a wedding, planners commonly advise booking the photographer, along with the venue and caterer, about a year ahead. If your date is sooner, tell photographers the date first and ask who is free.

Get proposals in one place

If you’d rather not message photographers one by one, post your event and compare the proposals that come back. Migala connects you with suppliers. You and the photographer agree the terms between yourselves, so use the questions above on every proposal. Or browse photographers and videographers.

Still working out the numbers? Start with the wedding budget checklist. Choosing the food next? Here’s how to choose a caterer.

Then leave the angles to the photographer and enjoy the day. We’ve been in enough group photos to know there’s no such thing as a good side. (We checked. Twice.)