One sentence that cost a photographer $2,000 – what not to say to a client

I'm a portrait photographer keen to transition into wedding photography, so when my fiancé and I were looking for a wedding photographer, I was intrigued to see who was out there. Because it's a big investment of $2,000 or so, we set up three 40-minute Zoom interviews with wedding photographers from the sites Bark and Wedissimo, aiming to find our perfect match. The results were interesting and showed me what to do and what not to do when I eventually enter the world of wedding photography.

First off, we interviewed a youngish woman. She had a very professional manner, but said she had 15 years' experience. In actual fact, little more than a year of that was in wedding photography, though we all have to start somewhere. She had never shot a wedding at the venue where we're getting married either – but that wasn't the dealbreaker.

She originally said that the copyright in the photos would be ours, and that we wouldn't need to credit her – "They're your photos".

But when I asked if, as photographers ourselves, we could edit them in post to smooth my acne scars, she clearly felt uncomfortable. "I'd prefer that you ask me, she said, which made no sense. What photographer wants to spend even more time editing when someone else will do it for them?

Surely if they're our photos and she doesn't require a credit, it wouldn't matter to her reputation what we did to them? Perhaps she was trying to upsell photo editing services, but her evident discomfort and unwillingness to allow us free rein over the results felt like the wrong fit for us.

It was especially strange to seem to sell the photos as 'yours' before moving further and further back from that position – would you want someone else deciding they own your wedding day?

Next we interviewed an older man. He was pleasant, very experienced and said proudly that he had shot a wedding every weekend for the past year because the site he used loved him and promoted his listing.

He was also very punctual for our interview. But he hadn't shot a wedding at our venue either. He lived two hours' drive away. We asked whether he'd visit the venue before the big day, and he shrugged and said he might rock up a bit early on the day and wing it! Also, when we asked what would happen if he fell ill on the day (a sensible question to ask any freelancer), he first replied he'd never been ill.

After some thought, he said he'd ask an online photography forum for a replacement. We weren't keen on being assigned a random photographer who would just happen to be available in this instance.

However, the last photographer we trialled, Lottie Anderson, was the ideal fit for us. Her photos were great, she had shot a wedding at the venue before, and even offered to meet us there before the day and compile a shot list with us. She also had a roster of photographers who had a similar style to her who would be able to step in at the last moment if she fell ill.

Her price was competitive and she offered a 'confetti reel' video into the bargain. Better still, she had no problem with me editing her photos to retouch my acne scars – she just didn't want us to alter the adjustment settings.

We paid 10% upfront and will pay the remaining 90% a few weeks before the wedding. You can view Lottie's website here.

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