How far in advance should you book your photographer?
Right after “how much” and “how many hours,” this is the question I hear most. The answer depends on what you are booking and when your date falls, so here is the honest math I give everyone who asks.
For weddings
Nine to twelve months ahead is the comfortable zone, and popular Saturdays in April, May, September, and October go first. Photographers can only be in one place per day, so once a date is gone, it is simply gone. If your venue is booked, your photographer is the next call to make.
For portrait sessions
Four to six weeks is usually plenty, with one loud exception. Fall. Everyone wants October light and everyone thinks of it in September, so autumn weekends fill months out. Book fall sessions in summer and you will have your pick of dates instead of the leftovers.
If you are already late
Ask anyway. Cancellations happen, weekdays are quieter, and a morning slot may be open when the whole weekend is not. The couples who email “we know this is last minute, but” are sometimes the ones I photograph two weeks later. The worst outcome of asking is a no and a referral to someone I trust.
“
Our gallery arrived and we cancelled our evening to look at it twice.
Caroline & Wes – Charleston
The simple rule
Book the people before the things. Flowers can be arranged in a month. The person who photographs your day, or your family this fall, needs the runway. If you have a date in mind, today is the right day to ask about it.
