What happens if your Wedding Photographer falls ill on the wedding day?
If you’re like the majority of people planning a wedding, you have probably put considerable thought into who will be photographing your wedding. After all, these pictures will last a lifetime!
But what happens should your wedding photographer fall ill on the big day?
Don’t worry, there are plenty of alternative backup options.
Here are a few things to keep in mind if you find yourself in this situation.
1. What to do if your photographer falls ill on your Wedding Day
If your photographer falls ill on your wedding day, don’t panic! There are a few things you can do to ensure that your day is still captured beautifully.
First, see if there is a backup photographer available.
Hopefully, if your photographer is anything like me, he/she will have just such a list of backups available if the worst happened and for whatever reason, I could not attend your wedding. (For the record, it’s never happened yet in over 20 years with all my weddings).
Most professional photographers will maintain a list of preferred backups that they trust to capture weddings in their absence.
2. How to find a replacement photographer at short notice
If for any reason you can’t get in touch with your photographer or they don’t have a preferred backup, reach out to other local professional photographers in the first instance.
The professional photography community is very competitive but we are also very much a community and in an emergency situation like this, you’ll find that you will be inundated with photographers trying to sort things out.
This is another key reason why you should always hire a professional wedding photographer.
3. Questions to ask potential wedding photographers to ensure they have planned for a situation like this.
When choosing your own wedding photographer, don’t be afraid to ask pressing questions like this.
What would THEY do if they fell ill?
What plans are in place for a wedding day emergency that stops the photographer from reaching the venue?
Ask them specifically how many photographers are on their backup list and who?
Ask what professional organisations they are members of?
Membership of organisations like the UK’s British Institute of Professional Photographers and The Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers show that the Wedding Photographer is serious about the industry and these organisations can also provide any needed support.
For United States-based couples, look for membership in organisations such as the Professional Photographers Association of America.
4. The importance of having a backup plan for your wedding photography
It’s always important to have a backup plan for your wedding day, no matter what vendor you’re working with.
But when it comes to something as important as your wedding photography, you really can’t be too careful.
By taking the time to ask your photographer about their emergency procedures then you are ensuring that any surprises or mishaps are planned for.
Remember, a failure to plan is a plan to fail.
One last thing. Don’t forget about potential equipment failure!
Ask your potential wedding photographer what happens if a camera were to stop working on the day.
In my case I always carry two backup cameras with me on the day. I also have duplicate lenses as well. My camera models also have automatic backup of the images as the cameras write the photographic data to two separate memory cards at the same time. So if one memory card was to fail the data is safe on the other one.
Those are my top tips for finding a replacement wedding photographer at short notice.
Of course, this is just a basic guide, and every situation is different. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to leave them in the comments below, and I’ll do my best to help out.
Or, better still, if you’re looking for a wedding photographer Dorset yourself, why not check my availability and we can have a chat through your requirements and see if we are a good fit?
