Questions to Ask When Looking for an Elopement Photographer
You’ve started planning your day, are excited to dig into the details, and now you’re ready to start chatting with vendors—which probably means you’re getting ready to reach out to potential photographers for your adventurous elopement.
When it comes to searching for an elopement photographer, there are a few niche questions that can be helpful to ask during the consultation so you can avoid any confusion later. While there are some similarities between weddings and adventurous elopements, there are also so huge differences. For one, your photographer may be the only other person present during your elopement experience! That means that making sure you hire someone whose personality you get along with is really key. Additionally, there are logistical things that have to be dealt with (like weather, hiking, navigating park permits, etc). Before you dive in headfirst and pay that retainer, you want to feel confident your adventure elopement photographer is prepared to handle any and all of those logistical things that may come up. Of course, we can’t control the weather or promise that everything will go to plan, but having an elopement photographer that is prepared to roll with the punches and pivot and make adjustments as needed will help you have the best wedding day possible.
So, let’s dig in!
Questions to Ask When Looking for an Elopement Photographer
Ask for a full gallery
Most photographers blog their weddings and share highlights of their shoots. These highlight reels only show you a sliver of their best work from that day, not the whole story. When you inquire, ask if you can see a full gallery from an elopement day so you can know exactly what to expect when you hire that photographer.
Of course, everyone’s elopement day is different, and lighting scenarios and landscapes will change from elopement to elopement, but looking at a full gallery will allow you to see what moments the photographer focuses on, how they handle harsh sunlight or low light settings, and whether or not they will be the best fit for documenting your day.
Ask about their shooting approach
This is one of those things that sometimes gets forgotten when planning an adventure elopement. There are so many logistics that go into having an adventurous wedding day that sometimes we forget about the most simple (and important) aspect of a photography experience—the creative approach.
If it’s not clear in their website or mentioned in their response to your inquiry, I’d recommend asking your elopement photographer directly: What is your shooting approach on elopement days?
Are they super outgoing and loud and by your side all day? Are they quiet and reserved and take primarily a fly on the wall approach? Are they passive and photograph moments only as they happen? Are they active and love giving direction and creating moments to capture?
Of course, most people probably fall in the middle of one of those binaries, but it is really helpful to ask. What type of shooting style your photographer has will greatly affect what types of images they capture; if they are posing and directing a lot, you’re going to get more artistic and ‘pretty’ pictures. If they are more of a fly on the wall, you’ll get lots of candid, in-between moment imagery. Neither way is necessarily wrong, it’s just important that you are aware of which one you’re getting.
Do we need to have our location picked before we book our elopement photographer?
This is a good question to ask your photographer, especially if you are expecting them to help you with locations and that’s not a service they offer. For my clients, I typically recommend having a general idea. Choosing your location when eloping is an important task and can be time-consuming. I’d recommend having one of two things figured out: your location or your landscape. For example, if you know for sure you want an alpine lake, awesome! Or maybe, you want a sprawling desert with a cute and cozy adobe Airbnb to go home to. If you aren’t sure about the landscape, maybe you know you want it to be in Oregon or Hawai’i. All of these details are helpful info for your elopement photographer and can help you finalize your location and jump into all the fun details. Just remember, most photographers won’t dig into custom location recommendations with you until you’ve paid a retainer, so if your photographer is telling you that the specialized location selection comes after you book, that’s industry standard!
What happens if we get bad weather on our elopement day?
This is one question I go over with my clients on every single consult, and if your photographer doesn’t bring it up, I’d recommend asking!
No matter where in the world you are, when you’re planning to have an outdoor-centric experience—whether it’s an adventure session or an adventurous elopement—there is one huge aspect of the day that you can’t control: weather.
Over the years of photographing adventure sessions and elopements, I’ve pivoted locations due to road closures, pushed back morning sessions due to surprise snowstorms, and (this past winter during the insane Texas Arctic Storm) completely moved a week worth of elopements.
It wouldn’t be fair to expect your elopement photographer to promise you that the weather will be good or that every detail will 100% go to plan or that they’ll refund you if weather causes a cancellation or postponement, but it can be helpful to start the conversation about what might happen if you do encounter bad weather. Is there a backup plan? Will the photographer create the backup plan, or do you need to be the one to create it? How will the backup plan be communicated? All of these are important questions to go over with your elopement photographer before the wedding day.
For me personally, I like to keep a few backup plans in mind at all times. With a background in trip logistics after working as an adventure guide in college, thinking through the logistics of a day, noticing clouds/weather patterns, and doing lots of research on conditions on the days leading up to an elopement are all part of my preparation process. If you’re nervous about the weather for your Big Bend elopement, we can always formulate a backup plan together just in case things goes awry.
Can you help us with getting a permit to elope in a National Park?
This is a great question to bring up with your photographer, and again, it just helps make sure you’re on the same page! While photographers will have their own permits to attain, you as the couple are the ones responsible for getting the permits you need for your ceremony. While your photographer may advise you or point you in the right direction on how to apply for your elopement permit, it is solely your responsibility to get said permit.
So, what permit do you need to elope in a National Park?
While pricing and regulations vary, most National Parks will allow you to get married in the park with a special use permit. You’ll need to purchase this permit and most typically range from about $50-$300. For certain parks, like Glacier National Park, there is a specific list of ceremony locations that you can have your elopement ceremony at. The permitting office should send that list to you when you submit your permit application, but if you aren’t sure, just ask!
You’ll want to make sure to apply for this permit in advance, which is why it’s important to nail down your elopement location as early in the planning process as possible. The last thing you want is to be a few weeks out from your elopement with no set location and no chance of getting a permit for your date. For popular locations like Yosemite National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, permit spots can also fill up pretty quickly, which is another good reason to start planning early!
Here are a couple of other things you’ll want to account for if you are wanting to get married in a National Park:
You’ll likely still need to pay park fees, like entrance fees. If you are planning on having guests at your elopement, it’s always a nice sentiment to pay for their fees as well. A great question to ask your photographer is if their entrance fees are included in the package price, or if that’s something you’ll have to pay for separately.
Most National Parks have designated areas where you can get married. This is also good to know if you are inviting guests, you’ll want to map out the area in advance, especially if you have relatives or close friends who are older, or unable to hike further distances.
Many times there are guest limits. Since you’re already choosing to elope, this may not be a huge deal, but many parks limit guest count. Most allow up to 50 guests, depending on location.
If you are hiring a professional photographer for your day, they should have general liability insurance coverage. This is important because many national parks require it (and require the photographer to apply for a separate photography permit). If you aren’t sure if this is something your photographer has, then be sure to ask!
How will we choose our ceremony location?
Similar to the other location question mentioned above, asking your photographer if they will provide consulting help on the ceremony location will allow you to book someone that can meet your needs and priorities. If you want super hands-on help with selecting your ceremony location, then you’ll want to hire an elopement photographer that specializes in location scouting and has experience with trip logistics. If you already have the details figured out or don’t need as much assistance, then the need to hire a photographer with scouting experience isn’t quite as strong.
While there are some limiting factors depending on which park you are wanting to elope in, if you do have the flexibility to choose your exact ceremony spot, here are some key things to think about:
How many guests will be attending? This may be a big deciding factor because you’ll want to choose a location that’s easily accessible for guests.
What’s a place that’s special to you? Think of everything about your relationship and what makes you and your partner special. It makes it easier to plan from that perspective. Know it’s your day, and it’s ultimately about your happiness.
Is the space intimate? You may not want to elope at a location where there will be many onlookers.
If a client of mine doesn’t have a specific ceremony location picked out yet, I usually help them scout out a spot. First, I send over my in-depth Location Questionnaire with 15+ questions all related to their vision, priorities, and level of experience (questions like: What’s your comfort level with 4x4 roads? Do you want to hike to get your ceremony spot? Is privacy the most important, or views? Etc.). From there, I compile a Location Recommendation PDF of suggested itineraries and locations for their day, completely tailored to their vision, goals, and priorities.
Can we include our children/pets/family?
This is a great question to ask—especially if your photographer has a guest count limit on elopements. For me, the max guest count for an elopement is 25 people. For other photographers, it may be different! Getting this question out of the way in the beginning will help ensure that you’re on the same page and don’t have unwelcome surprises later on.
When it comes to pets or children, I’d recommend being extremely upfront. Children and pets may limit which locations you have access to for your elopement day ceremony, portraits, and activities, so giving your photographer that information from the get-go will help you both be aligned in your vision and suggestions for the day.
While I love my dogs with all my heart, I rarely take them with me to national parks. Most national parks don’t allow dogs on trails, and so pets can be a hugely limiting factor for your elopement day. If you’re wanting to include your pet in every aspect of your elopement day, I’d recommend looking outside of national parks—such as private property, state parks, BLM land, or forest service land as the rules tend to be more lenient with pets.
